No change

The journey to recovery isn't going as well as I'd expected. Dad hasn't had the strength to stand up on his own since we came home from the hospital. He has needed stimulant suppositories, stool softeners and daily Zofran for his nausea. I believe his bowels are shutting down, and there is no return to "normal" life. His appetite during the first few days post-hospital were great. Mom made him fried chicken livers and stuffed peppers, his favorite meals. He was feeling a little bloated on day three, so we thought soups and light foods would help prevent bloating. He spent a few days sitting on the back porch, and even had enough energy to ride around the yard in his power chair. He needed a lot of assistance getting in and out of his chair and the actual moving from couch to chair depleted all of his. His appetite and drive for life declined quickly over the next several days. May 20th was the last day he had been off the couch. The morning of May 23rd, I called to check on him. My Grandma was with him that day, it was Sunday and I was going to church. She said he wasn't doing well, and was vomiting again. I skipped church and went to see him. He looked worse than he did on May 5th, before his first visit to the hospital. He had a fever a few nights before of 101.6. He had been coughing up "flim" for weeks which was becoming thicker and harder to get up and I suspected pneumonia. He hadn't ate in two or three days again, but was drinking Smart Water. It's good because it has electrolytes in it to help fight dehydration. I had a horrible feeling that he wouldn't make it through the night. His temperature orally was 90.2. I blamed the thermometer for being wrong, but I knew this was another sign of impending death. The low body temperature, lack of appetite, little urine production, and his bowels shutting down were all signs. Ashley stayed with Mom and Dad Sunday night and Mom took Monday off work. Through the night, he told Mom that when I got there Monday morning we'd go back to the hospital. He wanted to go. It just wasn't like him to want to go to the hospital. We arrived at the emergency department at Southview hospital at 11am. We knew that the only IV access point was a femoral line in his right groin area. Within an hour a site was initiated, labs drawn and fluids started. We went to MRI, and it showed a small impaction in the lower part of the bowel. We were admitted and had our room, 1007 bed A by 2pm. The MRI revealed pneumonia as I had suspected, and his kidney function labs came back abnormal. He started to become tachycardic right before being admitted, yet another sign of impending death. An EKG was preformed in the room we were admitted to. His heart rate was 120-140 for the next hour. The nurse came in to hang his new antibiotic and asked him if he was having any pain. He clearly stated no. I mentioned his hip hurting and he may need a new bandage so she left the room to get one. He was having hot flashes, and was restless. His hip was hurting and he wanted to turn. He was so weak and needed a lot of assistance. My Mom and I were standing on the right side of the bed, and he wanted to turn toward us. I asked Ashley to stand on the left side and pull the pad he was laying on to turn him easier. As he turned, his breathing slowed and his eyes rolled upward. He took his last breath as we were all three touching him. I had never cried in his presence and my Mom knew that he was gone when I broke down. We cried and held him for the next 25 minutes until the nurse came back. It had taken her 35 minutes to get a 2x2 bandage and I was highly appreciative of that at that moment. We had no living will, and we hadn't yet declared him DNR status. If he passed while medical staff was present, they would have attempted a full code. We have so much to do over the next few days, and I don't even know where to begin my to-do-list.