New Necklace for Mom

As part of Dad's journey, Dad tried to figure out what to do with his wedding ring. A year or so ago, Dad had a pendant made for Mom with the names of their children on one side and the children's birthstones on the other side. Dad came up with the idea of combining these two pieces of jewelry, the wedding ring and the pendent. Unsure of how this might be done, Dad and Mom took the two pieces to Hurdle's Jewelry, a wonderful independent Boulder jeweler. Hurdle's was able to create a very beautiful unique pendant which Mom has been wearing ever since.

Visiting Grandpa

Erin, Luke and Sarah visited their Grandfather today. It was a wonderful visit with lot of noise and lots of hugs.

Comfortable Days and Nights

After two fairly horrible days on Tuesday and Wednesday, Dad has had two very comfortable days. The new medication regime is working and he has been able to sleep laying down. He, of course, continues to get weaker as more days pass without nutrition. However, he was able to take short walks both yesterday and today and several friends have stopped by to say hello. All in all, things are peaceful.

Take care.

Update on Bill's Condition

It seems that we are moving into the next phase of this journey. The tumors in Dad's abdomine have caused his diaphram to spasm giving him great discomfort. There is no sharp pain or chronic ache, but the spasms have been very dibilitating. Tuesday and Wednesday were very hard.

Hospice has done a wonderful job modifying his medications to try to get his level of discomfort down and as of yesterday they have him on a combination of medicines that include a morphine drip that has given him great relief. Last night he said that his circumstance was 100% improved over the same time the prior evening.

Dad has not eaten anything for a couple of days now and, as a result, he is very weak and gets tired very easily. He has decided that he won't eat any more. I expect that he won't be leaving his apartment very much from here on out.

My sisters and I, together with our spouses, have decided to be with Mom and Dad 24/7 from here on out. We've broken up the days into a schedule so that one of us can be in the apartment all the time. With 8 of us, it works out well.

More later. Take care.

Family Dinner - Dad's Birthday

Kim and I have been having family dinner at our house on Monday nights for the last couple of years. It's an open drop in kind of deal and we will have anywhere from 1 person to 18 people stop by depending upon the day.

Last night was family dinner night. Mom and Dad were there along with Sarah, Erin, Ruth and Rick. It was one of the best Monday nights in months. The summer night was warm. The bugs were down. Dad was relaxed, feeling well and engaged in talking about politics and the solution to health care. We stayed out on the patio till long after dark, talking and drinking wine. It was a magical evening.

Dad's birthday is today; 78 years old. He read somewhere that 78 is the average life span of men born in 1931 and therefore he made "par" which, given his golf game, is extraordinary. Many of us are going to have Birthday Breakfast with him, since that's his best meal of the day.