Hospice

I don't believe Mom knows we're using the term "hospice", but we met with them today, Dad and I, about arranging for her to come home.  She knows we met with folks about bringing her home.

Aside from the money issues, it's what she and Dad have decided they want to do.  She wants to have her bed in the front room where she has the panorama of windows to the outside.  We are going to wait until she has gotten through most of the chemo and radiation, so we know that she stays well enough for us to handle at home, (or maybe so the worst is over first, the surprises about how her body will react?), to give us time to set up, to give us time....  But if we need hospice sooner, we can get them to set us up within a day.  And if we decide we want hospice care at Autumn, we can get that there, too.  Dad feels it would be easier to have her here than to drive back and forth.

So, Dad and I are working out how we're going to manage her at home, for the entire duration, if possible. The social worker we talked to is looking into solutions to help Dad hear voices on the telephone and answering machine.  He can hear it ring, but hearing the voices is the hard part for him.  She's also looking into a device to help us keep track of her, so if she wanders too far, we'll get alerted.  I'm saying "we" because I'm hoping I'll be able to be here when working remotely.

Mother is scheduled for her first visit to the local Cancer Center for her radiology consultation Tuesday.

Emotionally, it has been a tough day.  Neither Dad nor I are sleeping well.  It's wearing on us.  Somehow we need to change our thinking to see the glass half full, but it's hard right now.  Severing a fifty-plus year relationship, even gradually...of course it rips and tears and leaves scars.