First thing this morning, Dad’s eyes popped open and he was awake and alert. He wanted to get out of bed and go to his bathroom to get a bath and a shave and get dressed for company. It was great to see him on his feet using his walker. Elaine and I were right there in case he should fall, but he did fine. He even ate a good breakfast!
A little later, my sister and her family and my mother came over to visit with Dad. Lauryn and her husband have a cold, so they wore masks. I was impressed with how Lauryn was listening to Dad and trying to comfort him about the regrets I mentioned him telling me yesterday. She had had time to think of an answer for him, and I think she had a good answer. Whether Dad can hang onto that or not is another question. Lauryn sat by Dad’s side and asked him about his final wishes. She had all kinds of questions for him. Eventually, he started to get drowsy, so she and the rest of them went to get lunch and let him rest before the big event of the day.
During their visit, Pam came over with a plastic box full of blueberry muffins and another of cookies. She had heard that there was some discussion about having snacks available for the clan gathering this weekend, so she had whipped some up for us. The muffins were still warm from the oven! She got to meet Lauryn and her family, and because Lauryn had read my blog from yesterday, she knew who Pam was. Pam had wanted to just bring the snacks over and bow out, like the servant-heart she is, but I was glad that Lauryn got to convey her appreciation for all that Pam and Dave have done for Dad and Elaine.
This afternoon, Uncle Mac and my cousin Susan, came over to visit. Uncle Mac immediately went over and sat down next to Dad and they started talking. The rest of us were talking with Susan so I suggested we go into the living room to give Dad and his brother some space. Elaine had gone to her room to take a nap and missed seeing the company. I had thought about waking her up, but I decided she probably needed her sleep more. Dad eventually drifted off again, so Uncle Mac joined us in the living room.
Elaine and I went out to check the mail after she got up from her nap. She had found yesterday’s mail in their mailbox this morning, but between then and this afternoon, someone had jimmied their mailbox door open and if there was any mail in there, it was gone. It was really strange that someone would choose their mailbox and not any of the others that were on the same post. I could see where it appeared someone had put a screwdriver under their lock and popped it up so that it no longer worked. That’s the last thing Dad and Elaine need right now. I still can’t figure out why it was just their mailbox out of 6 or 8 boxes that was broken into.
After all the company went home, we got Dad up briefly to get him into his pajamas and he wanted to brush his teeth for the first time since he’s been home from the hospital. He’s been talking about wanting to sleep in his own bed, so I asked if he’d like to get into it then, but he said it was too early. He went back out onto the hospital bed, and then he fell asleep and we weren’t able to move him when it was bedtime. In fact, when we tried to sit him up in his bed, it caused him a great deal of pain, so I called hospice and they advised me to give him a low dose of morphine. After I did, Elaine told me she disagreed about the need for morphine because his pain seemed to be temporary once he laid back down. She and I need to talk with hospice to figure out what is appropriate in situations like this. Do any of you have experience you can share with us?