The Latest Happenings

I was out of town the last few days for a private jewelry show. I had a great time and sold lots of things. I also ended up with several new orders. It was great to spend time with my niece, nephew and the rest of my family.

Unfortunately I drove home and ended up going straight to the hospital with my husband to check in on his 97 year old Uncle. This man is basically my husband's Father. My husband's Dad passed away when my husband was 11 years old and Uncle Joe (his Dad's brother) took up where hubby's Dad left off. He's a great guy. However, he's now seriously ill.

One month ago he had stents put in 2 arteries and it was then that the Doctors discovered he had colon cancer (on top of this he has atrial stenosis and the biopsy results show the cancer has metastasized to the lymph nodes near the section removed). 10 days ago he had surgery to remove the cancer and he did not do well. He had to return to surgery straight from the recovery room to stem some bleeding. That required the removal of his spleen. Ever since he's been retaining far too much fluid and he's not very coherent. His condition changed greatly from last Friday to Saturday. The Pulmonologist told me he's basically just maintaining his oxygenation status which is so-so. Since then he's failed a test of his ability to swallow and his breathing is shallow, somewhat rapid with periods of apnea and crackly(a result of fluid overload). The hospital cultured the sputum and he has developed Staphylococcus aureus. They have him on vancomycin hoping that he doesn't develop MRSA. Needless to say, it doesn't bode well for Joe.

We spent an hour with him and he's very weak, very bloated and barely recognized us. So now we are on "Joe watch". We doubt he'll survive this and even if he did he'll never be the same. It's a very sad time for us. So every day it's back to the hospital to check with the Doctors and spend some time with Joe. Very soon my husband may have to make a final decision.

Until something happens one way or the other I probably won't be blogging. Our time will be spent keeping vigil. We love him dearly and wish him peace

UPDATE:

The decision has been made. Oxygen has been removed and morphine drip is making him comfortable. It's simply a matter of minutes. Thankfully he is at peace. We will miss him. He had a wonderful life and many family members that cared for him deeply. It's now time to mourn and get the funeral process going. I'll be gone for a time. We wish him a speedy journey to a better place.