VICTOR IS HOME WITH HOSPICE CARE

My mom's laptop is not being very cooperative, so she has asked me to update the blog for her.

Vic was in the hospital until Tuesday afternoon. The docs were debating on whether they should send him to a hospice facility or to send him home. Victor really wanted to go home, so that's where the docs sent him.

The Hospice group is called Compassionate Care. Vic has a nurse who will visit with him 3 times a week and a home health aide who will visit Monday through Friday for a few hours a day. We are impressed with how compassionate the hospice workers really are. They have been very supportive and helpful.

The first night Vic was home turned out to be horrible. He was given a starter kit filled with meds for his first night home, but one of the meds made him sick to his stomach. The nurse was able to straighten out his meds, and his nights have been better for him.

My mom fell at work last week and broke her foot. She was given a removable boot/cast to wear so she can get around. She has been limping around while trying to care for Vic. This has been very hard on her, but she is a trooper! Kristen, Dave, and I have been trying to take "shifts" to stay at the house so that my mom can rest or tend to Vic uninterrupted. Vic needs to take pain meds every two hours, so we can take over the med duties while my mom gets a little bit of sleep.

Although Vic is on many different pain killers, he is still very alert and coherent. He is still his feisty, funny, sometimes thick-headed self. Just last night he played a joke on Dave. Dave stayed for some hours in the evening so that my mom could get some sleep. When he went to give Victor his medicine, Vic told him that there were gloves on the table behind him. Dave wondered what he would need the gloves for, and Vic explained that he would need the gloves for the rectal exam he would have to do. Poor Dave was taking his duties very seriously so he had no idea that Vic was playing around. Dave told Vic that mom did not explain that a rectal would be necessary. Vic then told him he was busting his chops! When Vic told me the story this morning, we were both laughing hysterically! It's good to see Vic laughing.

If you would like to visit with Vic, please call my mom and she will arrange a time.

Tracey