Monday 8 September 2014

Tough Times


I have a few hours of quiet tonight while I wait for our oldest son to pick up his cousin and bring her here for the night.  She had been Dragonboat Racing in Skaha Lake.
 She will stay the night and then head out to Alberta tomorrow.  She lives in Edmonton so it was so good of her to come the extra hours (6) of driving to come see her Uncle Duncan and then take a rental car back to Edmonton for us.  There is a tale of woe on why she has to do that.  I don't have the energy to tell you about it.  

Duncan roused to cook the bacon for a visit from our youngest son and his family, but ducked back to bed to leave me to finish.



Our bottom line is that Old Man Watching is doing a lot of watching and little activity.  He is being slowly emasculated.  He can't drive, or help pack in the water jugs of purified water he still wants or pack in the groceries.  I have to have somebody listening for him if he is in distress if I go shopping.  He has a bell he can ring and pooh-poohed that but used it that first night he had it to get a pain pill at 1:30 AM.  Showers are becoming a less private affair, and he was always a very private person in the bathroom.  Even when we married he didn't like me to watch him even while shaving, which I found kind of sexy.  He is still shaving himself and reverted to a straight razor as the electric wasn't doing it properly.  Unfortunately with liver failure you bleed a lot if nicked.  Sigh sigh sigh.

People have been wonderful.  We live in dog-free Bed and Breakfast home.  But our rent-a-daughter brought in a new border collie pup she plans to train to herd cattle, and Old Man was so contented to have a puppy in bed with him and licking his face.  It is too late to worry about sanitation and infection. 
 I did wash the bedding the next day though and gave it a good airing on the outside clothes line. 

Old Man's sister came from Alberta to visit with us for a few days and decided to walk the half block to go to church with me.  People were so kind but we cried a lot and couldn't stay for coffee hour.  Our little 8 year old neighbour, Trinity, came with us.

Some First |Nations people came to give us frozen salmon they are catching right now in the Fraser River.  It is illegal for them to sell them but these were gifts to Old Man Watching's family at a time of duress.  Probably that is not technically legal as we do not live on a Reserve, but it does show how big-hearted and generous they are.  We have had so many visitors that I have asked folk to not ring the doorbell but go to the back porch and sneak in and call out softly.  When the doorbell rings he tries to get up to go to answer it.  He is not in pain.  He has gut discomfort mainly from bowel impactions due to the codeine.  But the codeine is turned into morphine by the body and is keeping him at ease with only one every four hours so far.  

Some officials came to give the landlords an award for improving the village and keeping a tidy garden.  






Fortunately I had just deadheaded a lot of mess as I needed to move and do something useful while Duncan was sleeping.  We laughed at the timing but didn't tell the officials that I didn't own the place or even do most of the gardening.

The Stay at Home programme that saves the government money in the long run is starting to kick in.  I will blog about that later if I find the energy.  Good night.

5 comments:

  1. You and your Duncan remain in my daily prayers, Karyn. I am so glad to see you here and to get this update. Wishing I was close enough to help you. It seems like you are surrounded by love, and caring people are doing what caring people do. Peace and blessings!

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  2. Karyn, hello. Finally I got internet connection at school (not at home because there was much damage to our line due to typhoon Yolanda of Haian and until now it is not fixed). So now I can read your blogs again even if it is only in the evenings before I go home. I am sorry and sad about your hubby. Wish there is something I can do aside from praying to ease his suffering. I pray also for your strength and fortitude in having to care for a sick husband. God bless you both, Karyn.

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    1. I was so excited to see your name at the start of a comment that I rose right up out of the rolly computer chair. Wow....you are alive. I had given up hope. Alleluia and Praise the Lord, again and again. I am way behind with my blogging but you have made me get interested again. I have been keeping a file of all the "Duncisms" that have happened. He can be so funny and we have all laughed a lot. Some of it is black humour of course but some is downright bizarre which makes our family and friends laugh loudly. Maybe I should write a book about "Delights of Duncan Dieing". He causes most of the laughter. But it will stop one of these days. He was given 2 weeks to 2 months and he just passed the one month mark. Thanks for some good news on this lovely sunny morning with a crisp tang of Autumn. I hear the village church bell ringing. I was too tired to fix myself up enough to go today. We had a bad night with 6 hours of nosebleeds and then I got one too (commiseration ?) It is also Fall Fait today at the arena but I just can't face all the well-meaning people asking me questions about how we are doing. It starts to feel like torture. So even though 3 friends offered to sit with Old Man Watching while I took in all the exhibits at the country arts and crafts and home-made foods displays, I just feel like spacing out and being alone except when attending to Duncan. This too shall pass. I am not alone.

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    2. Good day Karyn. Glad to hear from you again. Although it took me a couple of weeks before I could see your reply. E blogger is very strange to me. I do not know which or where to click in order to get to your site. Today when I saw your name in google+ I was able to click on it and it took me to your site.
      I admire Old Man's disposition in the face of this crisis. He loves you so much that he does not want you to be sad. Although I know it will be such an effort not to be on your part. When I mentioned you in my prayer this morning, my husband asked who you were, the subject of my petition. I told him you are my friend from Canada who has a sick husband. Now he says Amen to my petitions that includes you and your husband, Duncan.

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    3. I hope you get this reply. I haven't looked in my blog for quite a while but am drafting a catchup letter. I should be able to post it in the next few days. Tending to a dieing person can be like having a new-born. They need constant attention. Just keeping track of medications is a chore before we even start in on grooming and food. Thank you for your prayers. You know that I know prayer works.

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