Say a Prayer

Ok...this is from an email I wrote for my mom to send out to family and friends...her dad fell and broke his neck about a week ago and is not doing so hot...the latest news of Vernon. He had several rough nights. He was repeatedly rude and belligerent with the nurses. He was in a lot of pain and confused. He hit more than one nurse. He is very angry at himself for falling. My mom stayed the night on Friday night with him. He only let her sleep 3 hours. He has trouble sleeping due to the pain. He would wake up confused and fell on the floor twice since being back at Timbercrest and trying to get out of bed. My mom arranged for someone from Comfort Care to come sit with him Saturday night and help him if he needed company, blankets adjusted, etc. However, he hit the comfort care lady twice and she will not come back. He has even left a large bruise on my mom's arm, which I saw when she came her Sat. afternoon, and that mark clearly says to me he is not in his right state of mind.
He needs more pain medicine. The determination was made today for him to be entered into the Hospice Program. http://www.hospicenet.org/html/faq.html My mom, dad, Winnie, and Bob met with the Hospice intake person. He will be allowed liquid morphine every hour without having to remember to ask for it. He will be made as comfortable as possible. Hopefully, the change in pain medications will help him to not be so angry and belligerent. He can't be hitting anymore nurses or he'll have to be removed to a hospital where they can tie him down Winnie and Bob will be there for a few days, so he will have company for the next few days. He continues to make comments about wanting to join the Good Lord and Mother. I remember him saying he was ready to die since I was 16 (that was in 1996) and probably every visit since then. He would always tell me the average life expectancy for men.
He still says he wishes it would have been him who passed in Nov. instead of Grandma. He needs help to feed himself as well as a catheter/diaper and everything else involving his care. He was getting moved every 2 hours so as not to develop bed sores. He would not cooperate with physical therapy therapists to help him get his strength back from his neck issue. When they did the mental test, he only got 4 or 10 right (who is president, what time of year is it, etc). He has not walked in over 2 years due to his myasthenia gravis http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/myasthenia_gravis/detail_myasthenia_gravis.htm They thought his heart has been doing better lately, and he was having to take fewer nitro.
If you would like to plan to visit him soon, this would probably be a good idea. Or you may just choose to remember him how you wish the last time you saw him. There is no "expectation" on how long he has, but he was really looking forward to Holly's wedding and seeing everyone Easter weekend, but there is no way he'll be able to attend now as it's the weekend after next. When I was there last Saturday he said he wanted to take off his neck brace for the pictures, so I think him not being able to go will really devastate him. It takes 3 people to lift him, so it would really not be possible.
Please keep him on your prayer chains and forward this to anyone I missed.



And now for today...he is quickly declining since stopping his meds for m.g. and his congestive heart failure. He will probably not make it through the night.

I've called and said goodbye and he is with my mom, dad, Winnie and Bob. The pastor from Zion came and said a prayer service for the dying. The Timbercrest Chaplain has been in and out. Diane S. has also visited. Now it's just waiting for the Father to take him home.