Helping Out a Friend

As some of you know, last September my mom's long time boyfriend (and our friend) moved in with us. His cancer was back and this time there was no cure to be had. The cancer was in the end stages. He did a few rounds of chemo, however in December he decided to end that treatment. Being so sick wasn't worth it.  Things went smoothly for a while. He got to the point that he was feeling pretty good. Slowly he was getting weaker and weaker. More symptoms were appearing, and his pain was increasing. We had some awesome help from Citrus Valley Health Partners. The visiting nurses were great. In the first week of June if was obvious that it was time for Hospice. We moved from Citrus Home Health to Citrus Valley Hospice. The nurses and bath nurses were fantastic! All of the staff members were just awesome people. Sadly Tom was declining rapidly. We signed on to Hospice on June 6th. On June 14, one day after Tom's 80th birthday, he ate his last meal. Then, when his pain was not manageable, the decision was made to move him in house at Citrus Valley Hospice. Wednesday, June 29th he was moved. He was put on a Morphine drip and given shots as needed of Ativan for anxiety. In the early hours of July 1, forty some hours after arriving, Tom passed on. He will me missed by all of us. We have great memories that we will keep with us always. I have been very busy these last few months making sure Tom was as comfortable as possible. Needless to say, I'm a little tired! But life goes on, and I have a plan for the future! My next post will be about what this households future holds!