Looks Like Mom Is In The Home Stretch
My mom is dying and it sucks. Most of you know this: we thought we’d lose her August 2018 when she had pneumonia (for the third time!). I signed her into at-home hospice. In January she was discharged. They do that after six months if it looks like you’ll still be alive for another six months or more. This May, I signed her back into hospice. She’s at home in assisted living, going down to the main dining room for breakfast, reading the paper every day, reading books and watching TV. We’ve been grateful that Mom doesn’t have dementia nor was she in pain.
But in the last ten days she’s been in severe pain and confined to her bed for longer and longer stretches of time. They were giving her morphine but it made her vomit so now she’s on oxycodone every four hours. The nurse figures she has four weeks or more. We’ve never seen Mom this debilitated and sick. Her lymphoma, which has been in remission since 2005, has returned. She doesn’t have much of an appetite, although she’s eating breakfast. After that she has Ensure (liquid nutrition). She’s still drinking fluids, which is a good sign.
I’m the one who talks to her about dying. We talked about her last wishes. She had wanted to donate her body to science, but has changed her mind. Mom wants to be cremated, but she keeps wavering on where she wants her ashes. I want to write it down so we have it for when she’s gone.
This past year has been really grueling. The Jeeves fandom is my happy place and I am more than grateful for it. Not to mention Tumblr and twitter. Well, the latter isn’t really my happy place but I get to vent anonymously.
But in the last ten days she’s been in severe pain and confined to her bed for longer and longer stretches of time. They were giving her morphine but it made her vomit so now she’s on oxycodone every four hours. The nurse figures she has four weeks or more. We’ve never seen Mom this debilitated and sick. Her lymphoma, which has been in remission since 2005, has returned. She doesn’t have much of an appetite, although she’s eating breakfast. After that she has Ensure (liquid nutrition). She’s still drinking fluids, which is a good sign.
I’m the one who talks to her about dying. We talked about her last wishes. She had wanted to donate her body to science, but has changed her mind. Mom wants to be cremated, but she keeps wavering on where she wants her ashes. I want to write it down so we have it for when she’s gone.
This past year has been really grueling. The Jeeves fandom is my happy place and I am more than grateful for it. Not to mention Tumblr and twitter. Well, the latter isn’t really my happy place but I get to vent anonymously.