There were a lot of things packed into the week. In some ways it went way too fast and in other ways last Monday seemed so long ago that I could not remember much about it. It took a team of family sitting around on the deck last night to piece together what we all did last Monday.
Kim and Shane met with Aseracare Hospice yesterday. The papers are signed and she will be receiving visits from their nurses to help improve the quality of her days. They will manage her meds and keep her comfortable. Until the on set of this cancer, Kim was never one for a lot of medication. She is taking more pain meds now in one week than she took her first 50 years of life.
Kim is usually worn out and ready for bed about 9pm. She can sleep off and on for a couple of hours and then is restless until about 3am. The best sleep comes from 3am to 7 or 8 am. Kim is becoming an expert on middle of the night infomercials. She has learned that babies can read from flash cards, you can juice just about anything and there are dozens of machines that can melt away the pounds. She also knows how to stage a house for a quick sale, remodel a kitchen or how to pull off an inter-faith wedding with a book theme. It helps keep the mind busy thinking about something other than the worries. The only problem is the meds may have her dozing out of one show and into the next so she may think the bride is freaking because she can’t find the flash cards because the kitchen is in disrepair and won’t be done for the wedding reception so there will be no place to serve the juice!
Speaking of sleep and rest, we did some re-staging of our own. Gail, Blaise and I moved some beds around and made the downstairs into a guest retreat. This way a caregiver will have a place to spend the night yet not be underfoot so much. I stayed 2 nights last week. We set up a baby monitor so that Kim can holler at us if she would need something.
Miss Hailey was not keen on me staying while she could not. With the 2 beds in the basement, now the grandkids can come again and stay while Kim has the extra help. Shane and Kim use to have at least one grandkid stay a night every week. It will be good medicine for have them on an occasional overnighter.
Kim has the first visit from her hospice nurse scheduled this morning. In fact Shane, Gail, Becky and Kim should be meeting with her now as I write this. I am glad that they are there getting everything managed. I am confident that Kim will have some better quality days (and nights) ahead.
Miss Hailey will have a birthday on Monday. The plan is for a small party to come to Kim on Sunday. Lori and Jess will bring Hailey (and Ryan) to Kim along with cupcakes and ice cream. The great-grandparents and grandparents are going to join in the fun too.
On Monday morning Kim is going to have another procedure at UNMC. This is for the insertion of a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube (PEG tube). It is a tube that goes into your stomach. The Drs are hoping that this will help to make her more comfortable also. Kim is anxious to try this.
Thanks for sharing some of your memories. They are precious, fun, comforting and a lot better than watching brides freak out.
Jan Snyder
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