Doctor Visit

Hi All, After a decent night's rest, Dad has had a much better day today. He was pretty much lucid and had a very restful deep nap (he was snoring away like the ole Pops I know and love). Still, he is really withdrawing, which is part of the process and it is getting more difficult for him to have lots of visitors over at once (he gets a bit overwhelmed and confused when a lot of people are energetically talking around him) - Mom and I are asking that everyone keep their visits short, calm and peaceful, but please still come. Ed, Dad's good friend came this afternoon and Dad really enjoyed it, as he enjoyed Victor's visit yesterday. And Mom loves her ladybugs--I don't know what we'd do without Di, Trish, Jan and Goldie who are with us almost daily (Di virtually of course).

Dad's Hospice doctor, nurse, and social worker came for a very productive visit today. We were able to get just about all of Dad's meds switched to liquids (it's getting harder to swallow), and to have several other questions answered and issues clarified. Dad is having his sedative medication changed also, and we are hoping that it helps him rest more at night.

In the end there were no surprises from the visit. The doctor does feel that Dad's getting close to the end, and said (after clarifying that it is really hard to give a prognosis) that Dad has somewhere from "a few days to a small number of weeks." I tried to pin him down on what a "small number" is--but he wouldn't say. I'm guessing 3 or less, but you never know.

I hope that doesn't sound too harsh. Those of you who know me, know how very much I love my dad - it's just getting to the point where his quality of life is pretty low, and I hate to see him suffer. At the same time, when I went out back today and looked at all the life my dad has created - it's just surreal that he isn't going to be here. You know - at the very least - he is my book, music, hiking, camping, gardening, restaurant, and movie recommender--at the very most - well, - I can't even put it into words.

I hope this doesn't all sound too melodramatic--I hate that crap. ;-)

Toodles, Mar