(no subject)

[kayre]

We accomplished two very important things yesterday. First we got Bill into the hospital bed; then we got him back out.

He was pretty hesitant about getting the bed, but has been so uncomfortable in his chair that he asked to try the bed almost immediately. It took an incredibly long time to get him settled on it properly and then set up a bedside table for him, but once we did, he seemed totally okay with it. There's no doubt that he was more comfortable! The funniest moment was realizing we had him scooted way too far towards the foot of the bed-- and then lowering the head of the bed and raising the foot so we could just slide him into place.

The danger of getting a hospital bed in these situations is that it can be a signal to just give up, and I worried when Bill wanted to stay in bed after his nap. But after dinner my brother-in-law arrived, and persuaded Bill not only to get dressed, but to get into his power wheelchair and wheel around the neighborhood. I had a good talk with Mom about continuing to do that, and dressing him every day, as long as he's got strength.

We also talked about Hospice, but a number of the drugs he's on are considered life-prolonging so it's not time for Hospice yet. Thankfully this area has an intermediate program, called Bridge, for people who are terminal but not ready for Hospice; that's providing a lot of help.

Thank you all for the comments yesterday... they mean a lot to me.