April 13th - Saturday

 

 

 

Joe had a somewhat restless night last night, so he napped after a hearty breakfast (Cracker Barrel pancake with blackberries, OJ, milk and jello with fruit) for about 3 1/2 hours....with the breathing device on.  For some reason today, Joe had a much better appetite for the other 2 meals of the day.  Lunch:  PBJ (1/2 sandwich), 12-15 Tostitos scoops, and 6 oz. root beer.  Dinner:  Shredded breast of chicken with swanson's broth, carrots and mashed potatoes, and jello with fruit again. 

 

On the weekends, we don't have extra help during the day which is fine.  Since I am working around the house, it's perfectly fine to take care of Joe along with doing my chores.  The kids help out, too.  Becca worked with Joe on some of his range of motion exercises.  Dan helps with the lifting and transporting of Joe when needed.  Both help feed him.

 

We didn't have as many visitors today....most came mid- to late afternoon.  Again, with it being a nice day and the weekend, I realize everyone else has their own "honey do" lists to tackle.  Joe's high school friends (about 11 of them) had a 4-day golf outing in TN, so they asked if they could visit with Joe via Skype.  Surprisingly enough, we didn't have any technical difficulties with the set-up and the "call" went off without a hitch.  Joe really enjoyed seeing and speaking to everyone.  All of them promised to "have a beer" for Joe. 

 

Joe's sister Jane and her husband Jeff stopped by to visit before going to a late afternoon wedding that their daughter Stephanie was in.  Jane stopped by the store to pick up a bag of razors for me.....for shaving Joe.  Ed, Jerri and their son, Joe (from church) stopped by both before and after 4:30pm mass.  We asked if they could get us communion, and they needed our pic.  They also brought a few 12 packs of soft drinks for us, after stopping by the grocery on their way back from church.  Thank you all! 

 

I was having a whole bunch of issues scanning older pics that weren't taken with a digital camera.  Well, I got "trained" how to do it today, so Stephanie R. I won't need your help any longer.  I know what the heck I'm doing now, as evidenced by the 6 pics I scanned and cropped above.  Thank you anyway!

 

We continue to be amazed and astounded by all the help and support we are getting with Joe's care.  We cannot thank everyone enough!  

 

 

April 12th - Friday

 

 

Joe had a better night last night.  We now have very small pillows that go under each hand, and the forearm is on folded towels.  Previously, he was using bed pillows under his forearm and hand.  I think the larger pillow was helping to cut off circulation, and causing the tingling.  Joe is sleeping more during the day.  His power naps are getting longer, but it does help when visitors come over.  He continues to eat very well at breakfast, and not so much for the other 2 meals of the day.

Our 4th day shifter volunteer, Pat (a family friend), helped with Joe's care today.  She also left mid-afternoon to pick up Dan from school, while I stayed with Joe.  Thank you Pat!  I took today off work to get some paperwork and bill paying done.  So many interruptions with phone calls, etc. did not allow me to be as productive as I wanted to be.

Even though we only have hospice nurses at night for now, we still get an aid twice a week during the day for about 1.5 hours to clean up and bathe/shave Joe.  Hospice put in for an aid 5 days a week, and we got one on Friday, her name is Amber.  So, beginning Monday next week, we have a little extra help all 5 days a week....Amber on MWF and Wilma on TR.

Joe's cousin's fiancé (Dennis) stopped by to visit Joe and brought jello/cool whip with fruit...yum!  Two people came to visit Joe in the middle of the afternoon, and unfortunately, Joe was sleeping so they didn't get to visit (Kay-Taco Bell gang, and she brought additional Easter Candy, Reese Peanut Butter Eggs and 2 Almond Joy Eggs, and Tammy, a friend's sister-in-law, who delivered a dinner on the behalf of Joes' HS friends that started a dinner chain).

Our niece, Stephanie, stopped by to visit after school (she's a teacher) and before she needed to get ready to go to her friend's rehearsal dinner.  She is a part of the bridal party at the wedding on Saturday night.  Her parents, Jane (Joe's sister) and Jeff came by to visit in the early evening.  Joe's visitors are lighter on Saturdays and Sundays, and my guess is that everyone has their "honey do" list to get done on the weekends.  Our evening was pretty light, which gave me the opportunity to get a little more sleep myself.

I had a volunteer step up to help me with cropping scanned older photos (thank you, Stephanie, Joe's cousin's daughter).  As you can see from yesterday's entry, I could not figure out how to get just the picture without all the white background.  That help will start with tomorrow's pics, as I need time to scan the pics, e-mail them to her, and give her time to send them back.

Thanks everyone for always asking "what could I/we do to help?".  I've been taking a lot of you up on your generous offers to transport kids, do some grocery shopping, bringing us dinners, etc.  We appreciate everyone's generous offers.  Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers daily. 

April 11th - Thursday

 

Joe is having issues with his arms falling asleep overnight, so he is not as comfortable.  When you can't move your arms and legs, it is very difficult to relax.  The only way to do that is to take medicine to help relax....Morphine and Ativan.  Joe is needing to take more of this each day.  The breathing device is still helping, but he is taking more naps in order to stay awake later in the day.  Joe is still eating well at breakfast time, but lunch and dinner, he is having a difficult time with consuming more than a few ounces of food.

Our 3rd day shifter volunteer, Cathy (from church), was a last second replacement for Laura (from church) whose child woke up sick and ended up with strep throat.  Thank you Cathy for filling in!  Thank you also to Laura, who still stopped by to deliver a few groceries she had picked up for me and briefly visited with Joe, at a distance, so she wouldn't expose him to anything she may have come in contact with (strep).   

Joe's Aunt Posey and cousin Mary Kay visited a second time this week.  As you will recall, they won the "long distance award".  They were able to visit other relatives while in town and spent a few hours visiting with Joe before having to leave to head back home.  Joe's sister Jane stopped by to visit with Joe and with Posey and Mary Kay since she didn't get to see them a few days ago.  Jane's daughter Beth brought her Uncle Joe his favorite breakfast item from Cracker Barrel....pancakes with blackberries. 

Our friend, Pat, stopped by in the afternoon to visit before leaving to go and pick up Dan from school.  She also took him to work for us (thank you Pat!).  Steve (Elder Class of '79) stopped by late afternoon to visit Joe and brought me a bouquet of flowers for being such a wonderful and supportive wife.  That was so nice!  Of course, all the flowers were purple and white!  For those that read the blog from long-distance....Elder HS school colors are purple and white! 

My sister, Jenny, stopped by to visit and take Becca out for an ice cream.  When she got back, Joe had mentioned that he wanted to try and get out to church again.  Jenny has a neighbor friend who has access to a custom van/wheelchair transport that we may be able to borrow next weekend so we can honor Joe's wishes and get him to Saturday afternoon mass.  She also told me that another person made a generous donation to the benefit fund.  However; this person made the deposit at 5th/3rd bank and we have no idea who it was.  Later in the evening, Ed (from church) picked up Dan from his part-time job and brought him home (thank you Ed!).  He also visited with Joe.

Can someone tell me why, when I use the scan feature for a photo, that it ends up with all the extra white space?  I need someone's help here.

Thanks everyone for continuing to keep our family in your daily prayers.  We are certainly feeling all the love from everyone!

April 10th - Wednesday

Joe tends to sleep pretty well overnight with the breathing device, but he is taking more medicine at night to help with anxiety and to relax his breathing.  With just the cannula (oxygen tube in his nose), his breathing is strained and he uses his upper shoulders.  His voice is more breathy.  With the bi-pap device, his breathing is assisted and comes from the abdomen and diaphragm, which is the way Joe should be breathing.  It's more productive and allows for the removal of the carbon dioxide in his lungs.  His voice is much stronger after he awakens from using the bi-pap.  Breakfast continues to be Joe's biggest meal of the day.  Lunch and dinner portion sizes are still pretty light. 

Our 2nd day shifter volunteer, Tom aka T-Bird (Joe's cousin), did a great job helping with Joe's care.  He even brought a crock pot and made cottage ham, green beans and potatoes for our dinner.

 

Joe got a visit in the morning from Kathy, the hospice massage therapist, which he very much enjoyed.  Father Westerhoff came by late morning after mass and brought everyone lunch from LaRosa's.  He gave Joe communion and used the holy water we have from Lourdes.  Steve (Elder Class of '79) stopped by to visit Joe, and Nancy (a friend of Joe's sister, Jane) stopped by and brought banana muffins.  Our friend, Pat, picked up Dan from school again for us....thank you!

 

In the evening, we had a whole bunch of people visit Joe including Scott (Elder Class of '79) and his wife, Debbie (who brought a dinner), Dave (Elder Class of '79 and our "best man"), his wife, Kathy, and their daughter, Lexi, and our friends Susie and her daughter, Missy, and Joe's sister Jane, and her daughter (our niece) Stephanie.  It was a gorgeous day here and it reached 80 degrees.  So, we decided to get Joe outside to enjoy the weather.  It was an entire group effort to get Joe in the patient lifter out of bed and into the electric wheelchair, and then move the oxygen machine out on the front porch (with a really long extension cord) and use the extra long oxygen tubing to enable him to travel down the new ramp and out on the sidewalk to the driveway.  See the group shot of everyone above.

Joe asked that I take pictures of everyone who visits from now on so I can post those on the blog. 

It sounds like a broken record, but we want to continue thanking everyone daily for all the love and support you have shown our family.  People are constantly asking me "what can I do to help you?".  We are so blessed to have such a wonderful support system.  We are so grateful!

April 9th - Tuesday

 

Joe usually does very well overnight with the breathing device, and that trend is continuing.  He is taking more medicine for those power naps, for anxiety and to relax his breathing.  Breakfast appears to be his big meal of the day.  Lunch and dinner volumes are not nearly as hearty.  Hydration, he is doing very well.  Tonight, I'm back to more vacation pics as we didn't have time to scan some older shots.

 

In the morning, Tom (Elder Class of '79) stopped by to see Joe.  Another former co-worker, Rick, drove down from the Indianapolis area to visit.  Our friend, Pat, helped us by picking up our son Dan from school (thank you!).  Our 1st day shifter volunteer, since we currently only have night time hospice help, Dennis (Joe's cousin's fiancé), helped us BIG TIME with Joe's care.  Thank you so much! 

 

We have a winner in the "longest distance to visit Joe" award.  It goes to Joe's cousin, Mary Kay, who drove from NJ to NC to pick up her mother (and Joe's aunt), Posey, and then drive to Cincy.  It was a total surprise for Joe, and he was so emotional that they made the long trek just to pay him a visit.  They brought a potted plant that we can later transplant to the yard.

 

Later in the day, our brother-in-law Jeff completed the assembly of the wheelchair ramp AND cut the entire yard AGAIN (thank you!).  Our niece Stephanie helped Becca scan and resize some older pics for the blog.  

Prayers are helping because Joe is continuing to feel all the love and encouragement everyone is sending his way.  We continue to be amazed and humbled by all the outpouring of love and support.  Thank you all! 

April 8th - Monday

 

 

Sorry everyone!  Another very long day, so I'm late with the blog updates today.

 

Joe had a pretty good night.  Slept very well with the breathing device.  He ate pretty well for most of the day.  He's not taking in as much food, but he is doing well on the hydration.  Today, we ended up scanning some photographs to add some older ones above.  I was told there were too many summer vacation pictures.

In the morning, our friend, Laura (from church) stopped by to give us communion (and stopped at the store to bring canned fruit for Jello salad).  Our friends, Pat and Kay also stopped by to visit.  Vicki (our hairdresser) and her husband, Jerry, visited and they brought more canned fruit.....now we have plenty! 

 

In the afternoon, Jane (Joe's sister) came over and brought bacon/swiss cheese quiche and some baby carrots to nosh on for snacking....that was Becca's request.  Stephanie (my niece) once again picked up my son Dan from school and brought him home.  Her Spring Break has ended, so I have Pat helping me the rest of this week with rides.  Jane's husband, Jeff, and a co-worker, Andy, set up a ramp from our front door to the sidewalk so we can try to get Joe in a wheelchair to take him outside to enjoy the warmer weather.  The doctor originally indicated that this would probably not be possible, so when my sister Jenny tried to organize this when Joe first got home, I told her "never mind".

No one stopped by in the evening last night for the first time since Joe has been home, which was OK because it allowed me to crash.  I was on my feet all day, so by the time I did sit, I didn't move after that.  Joe and Becca, along with Stacy the hospice LPN, sat and watched the NCAA championship game, while I moved to the bedroom to watch Dancing with the Stars.

Prayers are always good and we appreciate everyone's concern and offers for help.  We are so lucky!  Thank you all! 

April 7th - Sunday

Joe had a much better day today.  He got that ever important power nap in late morning so he could interact with all his visitors and be "bright eyed and bushy tailed".  Monday, April 8th is our last day of hospice continuous care....at least at this point in Joe's journey.  Starting Tuesday, April 9th, we will only have a hospice nurse at night (8PM to 8AM).  So, we have to fill in the days ourselves, at least for now.  There will be an aide that stops by for an hour or so twice a week for baths, etc., but we are going to miss this help.  Yikes!  I have some volunteers lined up Tuesday and Wednesday, and a good portion of Thursday.  I still need to find someone for Friday.  If you can help, text me:  513-262-5436.

The pic above has a story behind it.  The incredibly good looking gentleman on the left is Joe.  Guess who the guy is on the right?  This is a picture of McAlpin's teen board from the Crestview Hill, KY
store (I think?) from the early 80's.  Joe and his famous friend were the escorts for the girls when they
modeled bridal gowns.  I personally think the one in the white tux is much better looking guy in the photo.  How about you?  Joe claims his famous friend would remember him.  I wonder.....

Steve (Elder Class of '78) and Dave (Elder Class of '79) stopped by in the afternoon.  Earlier in the day, his cousin T-Bird (Elder Class of '80) paid Joe a visit.  He is going to help us this week with covering one of the day shifts.  Our financial advisor, Ron, also stopped by.  Later in the afternoon, my sister, Jenny, and her daughter Natalie (who stopped at the store and brought milk---thank you!) came to see Joe.  Tim (Elder Class of '79) brought an Italian dinner with Graeter's ice cream, but he couldn't stay and visit because Joe had fallen asleep.

Later in the evening, Joe's sister Jane and her husband Jeff and daughter Stephanie (who took Becca with her to 7pm mass) came over.  Just as they arrived, a thunderstorm started and they had to dash to the front door.  It was a beautiful day and we had the windows open to let in much needed fresh air.  Of course, until the rain started!  Joe's cousin Maria and her fiancé, Dennis, visited and stopped at the store to pick up an item for me (thank you!).  Dennis, like T-Bird, is going to fill one of the day shifts this week.  Jane's daughter Beth, and her new husband, Evan, came by to visit, too.

Many thanks to Stephanie (2nd cousin) for enlarging today's photo for me.  I kept messing around with photo viewer and I couldn't get the pic to enlarge.  I'm in IT by profession but photo enhancements are not one of my technical skills.

Please continue to keep Joe and our family in your daily prayers.  We are so blessed!