Dad's First Full Day in Hospice
We arrived yesterday night to find Dad coughing a lot. It's really a nasty, gut wrenching kind of a cough that can't be helped. He seemed quite restless but talked a bit when he heard Sasha's voice. Nathan and I thought that most of the patients in the ward look so much better than Dad. He just looks worn out.
This morning he seemed more at peace and slept for most of the time we were there. Sasha sang the ABC song at the top of his lungs so that all the hospice patients and perhaps all the hospital patients could hear. Then he proceeded with his version of the Wheels on the Bus as loud as he could followed by a rousing chorus of No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. I guess if you're three there is absolutely no point in singing if you can't sing LOUD. I told the nurses who were chuckling about the absence of certain letters in the ABC song that I hoped the other patients were hard of hearing. They laughed. Perhaps if you're transitioning into death it's comforting to hear a little voice joyfully singing as loud as he can about monkeys falling off the bed, bumping their head and mama calling the doctor and the doctor said No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. I hope so because there's sure to be more serenading when we return after nap time.
We made an appointment with the family pastor to review the program on Thursday. We also have an appointment with the funeral home on Thursday afternoon as well. We've picked Mom's favorite photo of Dad, his favorite songs, found some biography information and Brent has selected a favorite shirt for Dad to wear since he never wanted to be in a suit again.
Tomorrow we'll get up at the crack of dawn to drive Sasha to O'Hare for his big Texas adventure. It's really a good time for him to be in a happier place. We'll stay the day in Illinois and return to Iowa on Thursday morning. Hopefully we'll also get a call from Nick letting us know that everything's good at the Embassy. I still haven't heard back from them despite sending them an email on Friday. I called Nick to have him inquire and told him of the rest of our struggle. It's just too stressful here to worry about the visa too. It's interesting how everyone deals with stress in a different way. Nathan is 'twitching', Brent isn't sleeping and I think I could sleep for an eternity (well ... if I didn't have a three year old asking "Mama are you sleepin" every five seconds).
We're hoping for a quick and peaceful transition to Mom. Ice Iowa deserves that.
This morning he seemed more at peace and slept for most of the time we were there. Sasha sang the ABC song at the top of his lungs so that all the hospice patients and perhaps all the hospital patients could hear. Then he proceeded with his version of the Wheels on the Bus as loud as he could followed by a rousing chorus of No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. I guess if you're three there is absolutely no point in singing if you can't sing LOUD. I told the nurses who were chuckling about the absence of certain letters in the ABC song that I hoped the other patients were hard of hearing. They laughed. Perhaps if you're transitioning into death it's comforting to hear a little voice joyfully singing as loud as he can about monkeys falling off the bed, bumping their head and mama calling the doctor and the doctor said No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. I hope so because there's sure to be more serenading when we return after nap time.
We made an appointment with the family pastor to review the program on Thursday. We also have an appointment with the funeral home on Thursday afternoon as well. We've picked Mom's favorite photo of Dad, his favorite songs, found some biography information and Brent has selected a favorite shirt for Dad to wear since he never wanted to be in a suit again.
Tomorrow we'll get up at the crack of dawn to drive Sasha to O'Hare for his big Texas adventure. It's really a good time for him to be in a happier place. We'll stay the day in Illinois and return to Iowa on Thursday morning. Hopefully we'll also get a call from Nick letting us know that everything's good at the Embassy. I still haven't heard back from them despite sending them an email on Friday. I called Nick to have him inquire and told him of the rest of our struggle. It's just too stressful here to worry about the visa too. It's interesting how everyone deals with stress in a different way. Nathan is 'twitching', Brent isn't sleeping and I think I could sleep for an eternity (well ... if I didn't have a three year old asking "Mama are you sleepin" every five seconds).
We're hoping for a quick and peaceful transition to Mom. Ice Iowa deserves that.
posted by Tamara at 1:45 PM
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