Maybe a Glide Path?

An eventful several days leaving us largely not a lot changed, except: Ed is now registered fully as a hospice patient with Bellingham Hospice.  Yesterday, their social worker came and filled out a bunch of papers that I signed for him, and today, the hospice nurse came in the morning and attached a morphine pump to his right arm and a lorazepam line to his left arm.  The pump is set to automatically supply a small dose of morphine on a regular schedule and we can increase that dose at will with some limits; the lorazepam is injected into the line as needed to keep him calm. He had been showing some agitation, restlessness, etc.  That improved very quickly after the line was first used.

Ed himself is conscious but with limited ability to express himself verbally; he can demonstrate Yes or No to specific and clear questions;  So there is clearly consciousness.  He smiles when we say something funny, extends his hand in welcome to visitors; shows me when he needs his lips moistened or his eyes cleaned or when he needs a touch or hug or kiss.  If provoked  by something (like sudden and sharp pain), he can fling himself up to a standing position (as he did yesterday), but unless he is holding on to something, he will fall. What he was hanging onto was me which led to a few exciting moments, since my strength is a poor match for his weight.  But we rescued ourselves without any downside and are advised to be on the lookout for such moments.  And the morphine pump may obviate them in any case.

There are no ingoing or outgoing food or fluids for some time.  He slept quite easily through the night, last night, from about 10 pm until about 8 am, without any pain indications or pain medicine.  And we are blessed with a pair of Canadian neighbors, retired medical professionals, who come round regularly to help us with anything that needs to be done and last night, Lorrine spent the night, which was a great gift.

This morning, Ed's daughter Mia arrived in time to receive the hospice nurse's instructions about how to manage the pump and the subcutaneous line, which I was not very quick to comprehend, and Mia has now given him his first lorazepam injection (and will teach me how to do it).  Tonite,
Annika will arrive, but their stay will be somewhat short because of the short warning time demands on their schedules.  Shelly and his family will be here Friday-Sunday, and then we will see where we are next.

We are being well cared for, and your thoughts, love, and good wishes are with us through this time.