Call The Lifeguard

Went down at 2 AM last night because Pops was agitated and couldn't breathe. He is full of water in his upper respiratory system and he was struggling. He was in a semi coma state, but struggling, until about 7 AM. Atropine was given twice while I was there and did not seem to do much. Ethan, from hospice, came by around 8 AM and I talked with him. The atropine should work if given every two hours. He was not getting it every two- so I emphasized to him to communicate and make sure everyone knew this. I do not want him to struggle if it can be avoided. Ethan did say that all the patients he has seen at this point who can still verbalize state that it is not painful. It is painful to watch and hear, that's for sure. Ethan also placed an indwelling catheter and that should give Pops relief because his bladder will stay empty and he won't have that urgency, which has been bothering him.

Mom saw the doc yesterday and she has bronchitis. This morning she felt worse than ever, and also feels bad because of her not hardly feeling well enough to stay with Pops. Tough go for the two of them. Pops has not eaten in 3 days as far as I can tell and has had minimal water. Sips a time or two a day. He had none yesterday. This is "good" in the fact that if he keeps drinking he could linger for awhile in this shell of a state. I say "good" because this will end it quicker because he is not living- just wasting away in pain and with labored breathing. This is being controlled with meds but can still be tough at times to keep it under control. Wish I had better news to report.

I do want to put his Life Timeline video on the blog but it is too big. It is 15 minutes. I tried the blog and also youtube but I guess it needs to be in 2 parts. I'll work on it. I've learned a lot of computer tech stuff by doing this thing.