Home At Last

What a whirlwind of activity the past 2 days. Yesterday they were a little concerned about some diarhea and took a sample to check. It could be from the tube feedings, the antibiotic, an infection, or bacteria. There was the usual parade of people in his room. I was glad Angie was there to go to the OHSU pharmacy and get his liquid medicine. Hospice wanted him to have a 30 day supply. We have had a little trouble with a couple of the medicines and got some "holdovers" in Corvallis. Right now I think we are covered. Curt and I were finally able to leave about 1. The OHSU Case Worker made an appointment with Hospice at 2:15 here. We asked the Reistads to be there about then and let them in (through our garage). I made good time and was home about 2:20 or 2:25. The Hospice lady with the paper work was here along with Curt's assigned personal nurse (Linda Smith). The "head" nurse came a little later and set up everything. She made a chart of the feedings (5 a day) and medicines (several at different times). I am finding it useful. It seems like you finish one feeding (it takes about 35 or 40 minutes for the food drip into his tube) and it isn't long before the next one. There have been a lot of phone calls, e-mails, and visits from friends. Gordon Reistad picked up a single dose of one of the medicines late yesterday afternoon. Then he and Kathleen returned with supper for them and me. I will have leftovers for the girls and me tonight. My neighbor (Grace Swanson) had gotten a few groceries for me. Her husband put moss killer on our yard and was going to mow it. They will be leaving for Arizona this Thursday. I had a little trouble with one of the medicines last night and called OHSU. From now on I will call one of the Hospice nurses.

Curt only got up a couple times last night. They want me to get up with him, so I take care of my business then too. We both slept pretty well. Susan Creighton picked up some more medicine for Curt this morning. Hospice pays for all the medicine, food and supplies so I don't have to worry about any of that from now on. Curt has a low dose pain patch on, but still gets some pain, so I give him some liquid oxycodone a few times a day. He keeps his eyes closed most of the time. I had a few calls from Hospice this morning. They will arrange for respite care so I can play tennis or walk or whatever. They also told us about a website called http://www.lotsahelpinghands.com/. Maybe Beth or Angie or I will have time to set that up soon. We have been getting lots of kind messages of support and offers for help. Kathleen Reistad has arranged for some food through our Congregational Care at church while we have all this company. Someone from my bridge group (Irene) just brought a frozen lasagne. The "Ladies in the Basement" (via Farl Tubb) at our church brought a beautiful lap quilt today. The Hospice Nurse (Linda) came at noon to answer questions and monitor Curt. She will return tomorrow so she can talk to Angie and Beth too. Beth arrived late this morning from Chicago and Angie brought her here about 1:30 (I think). They have done a couple loads of wash, rearranged some things, etc. I still need to figure out where to put all the supplies, etc. Angie is going to return to Lake Oswego tomorrow evening (Wednesday) and then return with Maddie and Vega on Thursday evening after their swimming lessons. Maddie and Vega do not have school on Friday. Jason, Aaron and Sam arrive about 8:15 PM on Thursday and Jef will drive them here. Curt's brother and wife (Denny and Sandy) will arrive from Atlanta on Saturday afternoon and stay at the Hilton Garden Inn in Corvallis on Saturday and Sunday nights. Jason and the boys leave Portland about 1:40 on Monday. We're not sure yet how they will get up there yet. Denny and Sandy leave Portland on Wednesday morning. They are renting a car.
Its time to flush Curt's last feeding now. I hesitate to put names in the blog, because I might forget someone. We just want to let everyone know how much we appreciate you.