May 9th - Thursday through Sunday, May 12th





For those of you who have been following this blog and Joe's journey, I need to let you know that if you want to stop by and visit, you need to do so this week as I don't know how much longer Joe will be able to have visitors.  Joe is struggling with his breathing more and more.  His voice is gone, and only but a whisper.  He is almost continually on the bi-pap device to assist his breathing and sleeps most of the day.  When you call or text, know that I have done the best that I can in terms of letting you know when it is a good time to visit.

Thursday:
Our day shifter today was Becca.  Joe's Aunt Jean and our friend Kay, stopped by during the day, but Joe was sleeping.  Our niece, Stephanie, brought by poster board for Dan to work on a school extra credit project and to visit with her Uncle Joe.  Jeff, our brother-in-law, once again came over to cut the grass for us.  Our friend, Karen K., stopped by and GOT MILK for us.  Andy H. (Elder Class of '79) brought us a dinner and danish for breakfast, but Joe was dozing off again....although I did get a picture.  By the way, Joe's ginormous scab on the bridge of his nose finally fell off.  YAY! 

Friday:
Our day shifter today was Pat.  Joe's cousin, Lisa (who came into town from TN) and her mother, Aunt Mary Jane stopped by to visit and brought us a hanging plant for our shepherd's hook in the front yard.  That was well timed, because I hadn't yet been to Home Depot to get our plants yet.  Thank you!  Our friend, Kay stopped by and brought candy for Joe's sweet tooth and a gift card.  Joe's sister, Jane, brought us a few tubes of toothpaste and came by to visit with her brother.  Jerri and Ed B. (our friends from church) brought Dan home at the end of his work shift.  Thanks to all.

Saturday:
Our day shifter today was Becca and me.  Steve M. (Elder Class of '79) stopped by to see Joe but he was sleeping.  Our neighbors, Mary Alice M. and her daughter, Katie, brought us Tropicana OJ, lunch from Arby's (French Dip subs and Jamocha shakes....OMG), and flowers for me for Mother's Day.  She tried to tell me they were from my son, Dan, but he didn't claim them.  MA, thanks for thinking of me.  It means a lot.  Jerri and Ed B. (our friends from church) picked up Dan from his work shift, stopped by with a couple of soft drink 12-packs, and brought back communion from 4:30pm mass.  Thank you everyone!

Sunday:
Our day shifter today was me!  Joe's sister, Jane, stopped by to visit with Joe.  My sister, Jenny, and her husband, Steve, came by with a jello creamsicle pie.  Joe had a very rough Saturday night and Sunday.  He was very anxious, normal med dosage didn't seem to help, he struggled with coughing, was sweating profusely and he could not get comfortable.  He also didn't eat or drink much of anything all day, so his output was limited, too.  When he was off the bi-pap for a very short period of time, he struggled to focus his eyes on you.  I asked him if he felt drugged, to which he responded with a head nod of yes.  I got worried and called hospice.  They sent out an RN to evaluate him.  She determined that he didn't get more than 3-4 hours of sleep at any one time and he was just plain exhausted.  However; since she had only just met Joe, she also commented that we could be entering the next phase in this horrible disease.  I upped his meds so he could sleep through the night.

I apologize for leaving all of you hanging these last few days....wondering about what was going on.  It was a combination of long days, not having the energy to update the blog and 2 days of waiting for security software updates to load on my laptop.  UGH!

Keep our family in your prayers as I think what the RN said about moving into the next phase is correct.  I find myself crying more and wondering "why Joe?".  It's so unfair that someone so vital is being totally stripped of everything and wasting away right before our eyes.  It kills me to not be able to take the pain and frustration away.  You try your best to keep things upbeat but even that is getting next to impossible to pull off these days.  It helps to know that all of you, our support system, continue those prayers for Joe and our family every day.  We thank you!