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Keeping a Vigil
Dec. 3rd, 2011 02:47 pmI'm back in Nashville. My friend and housemate DK came with me this time, thinking we were just coming for a weekend visit. We arrived yesterday late afternoon, rented a car, checked into a motel, got some dinner, and then went over to the hospital. (We didn't go straight to the hospital because Mom was indisposed when we called when we arrived, and told us to go get dinner first.) Last night Mom was awake, alert, and happy to see us. She was glad to meet DK, and didn't want me to leave when it was time to say good night.
This morning my sister called a little before eight and said the Hospice had called her: Mom was having a lot of difficulty breathing and wanted her family to come down immediately. DK and I arrived at the hospital around 8:30, and mom was mostly unconscious, laboring for breath. My sister and stepdad had also just arrived, and my aunt (mom's sister) and uncle arrived a little later. Since then we've sat by Mom's bedside.
They are giving her morphine and medication for anxiety, and while her breathing is labored, with long pauses between breaths, she doesn't seem to be in pain. She's opened her eyes once or twice, enough to recognize that we are here. For the most part she is sleeping, and has been since I arrived this morning. The medical staff said they thought she would probably die today or tomorrow, although they have been proved wrong before.
Assuming they are right, the memorial service will be at the end of the week or next weekend, so we'll stay here until then. Of course if that changes, so will our plans.
It is so strange to sit here in the hospice room, with my family, waiting for Mom to die. We talk to one another like it was just another day, in some ways, but alert to the pauses in Mom's breaths, wondering if she will take another one.
I appreciate the love and support all y'all have given me. According to the nurse, Mom was talking about her spiritual journey a lot yesterday, and she asked several times when I was arriving. It seems like she was waiting for me to get here.
In lieu of flowers, my family is asking for donations in Lenda DuBose's name to either Heifer International, or to The Friends of Warner Park (50 Vaughn Road, Nashville, TN 37221-3706) to benefit the Nature Center
I"m crossposting this from dreamwidth to LJ because there's something wrong with LJ
This morning my sister called a little before eight and said the Hospice had called her: Mom was having a lot of difficulty breathing and wanted her family to come down immediately. DK and I arrived at the hospital around 8:30, and mom was mostly unconscious, laboring for breath. My sister and stepdad had also just arrived, and my aunt (mom's sister) and uncle arrived a little later. Since then we've sat by Mom's bedside.
They are giving her morphine and medication for anxiety, and while her breathing is labored, with long pauses between breaths, she doesn't seem to be in pain. She's opened her eyes once or twice, enough to recognize that we are here. For the most part she is sleeping, and has been since I arrived this morning. The medical staff said they thought she would probably die today or tomorrow, although they have been proved wrong before.
Assuming they are right, the memorial service will be at the end of the week or next weekend, so we'll stay here until then. Of course if that changes, so will our plans.
It is so strange to sit here in the hospice room, with my family, waiting for Mom to die. We talk to one another like it was just another day, in some ways, but alert to the pauses in Mom's breaths, wondering if she will take another one.
I appreciate the love and support all y'all have given me. According to the nurse, Mom was talking about her spiritual journey a lot yesterday, and she asked several times when I was arriving. It seems like she was waiting for me to get here.
In lieu of flowers, my family is asking for donations in Lenda DuBose's name to either Heifer International, or to The Friends of Warner Park (50 Vaughn Road, Nashville, TN 37221-3706) to benefit the Nature Center
I"m crossposting this from dreamwidth to LJ because there's something wrong with LJ
