It was sudden and it was gentle. We signed up for hospice at 6pm yesterday, primarily because I thought hospice care would have a better chance of dealing with her malnutrition (I had been unable to get her to consume more than 500 calories for any day in the previous 2 weeks). But this morning, before I even had a chance to get the new meds, I was unable to wake her to take her regular pain medicine. I called hospice, a nurse arrived and confirmed what I already knew – that she had slipped into a coma. The nurse made her comfortable. Another nurse arrived at 2pm to monitor her condition. At 2:45 she urged me to come into the bedroom because she thought death was near. It was. At 2:53pm her loving heart stopped beating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
21 hours in hospice. Must be some kind of record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I will write an appropriate tribute tomorrow. Tonight I will sleep. Alone. Well. Rusty will be with me. But it will feel very lonely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It was sudden and it was gentle. We signed up for hospice at 6pm yesterday, primarily because I thought hospice care would have a better chance of dealing with her malnutrition (I had been unable to get her to consume more than 500 calories for any day in the previous 2 weeks). But this morning, … Continue reading