welcome to the cellar Reziac. :)

Reziac, what would be achieved by this at this point?

I'm not convinced Reziac read the thread.


Sent by magic.

I know everyone expects my next post to be about my mother in law actually dying but she is proving to be one tough patient! Today marks 20 days with no real food other then a bite or 2 of some pizza topping 9 days ago! Gandhi went 21 days without food and only some water and survived but at her age and in her already weakened state it seems to go against what one would consider normal. I'm reminded of that scene in The Search For The Holy Grail where the man is picking up the dead during the plague and the one guy keeps saying, "I'm not dead yet!"

It's also quite amazing that she has moments of lucidness and is alert and can talk to a grandchild or her son on the phone. Granted the conversations are getting shorter.

As I had mentioned earlier my mother in law has so much stuff around her apartment, she has always had a problem with letting go of things. My wife figures she just doesn't want to go without all her stuff.

I'm headed over there in a bit, my wife texted me that mom is sleeping but I know I need to take her dog out and then change mom. My wife is not able to do it, it takes more upper body strength then she has. Thankfully without food intake the diapers are mostly just wet. My wife has her laptop and iPad but other than that it's just cable TV which we don't have anymore at home. I've watched it a bit and it only makes me happier that we don't have it anymore. Nothing but reruns and commercials and second rate shows in my opinion.

Oh well, I'll keep you all posted. Here is a picture of her sleeping with her little dog beside her.

Thinking of you and praying for her.
What Monster said - you are an inspiration! ... and "it didn't read the thread.

Well it's Monday and mom is now not eaten food for 26 days! She is weak and sleeps a lot but then wakes and is very talkative. She still only drinks 10-20 ounces of liquid in a day (water or sometimes some 7Up). I've started using some of the medicines in the hospice E kit. A bit of morphine for pain, haloperidol for anxiety. We have packed out most of her apartment other then what is in her bedroom or the bed my wife is sleeping in, a table and some chairs. The kids took quite a bit. I put some of the stuff on Craig's List and sold her electric wheelchair for $300 which is about all it was worth as it was pretty used.

We joke that she paid for a month's rent and wants to get her money's worth so is waiting for the end of February. And then we joke that she should hold out for March 1st so she can get another Social Security check and one from her pension as well. If she dies before Wednesday we are going to be hard pressed to clear out the rest of the apartment but we figure there isn't much the apartment management can do!

I took this picture of her on Saturday. Her dog loves to have her tummy rubbed.

She's a handsome woman, I'll bet she was a knockout in her 20s.

She looks content and comfortable.

You're a good son, Chris.

She does look happy :) Thank you for not palming her off on strangers and letting her do it her way in her time.

Thanks everyone. Today was very strange. Her dog is about 14 and acted really strange all day, at one point shaking and would only lie under mom's bed and not up in it. She had a stroke last year and recovered but it's like the dog senses how bad her master's health is and is bonded to her. Sounds silly but like in that scene towards the end of ET where they bonded in spirit. It would be great if the dog goes with mom, we could then just put their ashes together. OK, just kidding. But it is very strange.

I made a big spur of the moment dinner for my wife, her brother and son and myself. It was homemade meatballs and spaghetti. It turned out pretty well and even better after we opened the 3rd bottle of wine. I joked that the guy who picks up the trash 3 times a week might not know about mom dying so he might just wonder why she is drinking so much with all the wine bottles we keep tossing out.

So we got to talking.... if she dies tomorrow is it ethical to not tell the hospice nurse until Wednesday so we can get into the next month and get the rent covered. Just wondering. Mom always loved a good bargain so she might approve.

You do what the hell you want man.

Well today is March 1st so she will get another Social Security check as well as one from her pension. We spoke with the business office for her apartment complex which is geared towards seniors. They said the grace period is the 3rd so if she dies before then we don't need to bother with rent. But if she goes past we pay for the month and then if she checks out early they refund part of the rent. That seems fair enough and they said someone from her old senior's apartment gave her name as the referral that brought them to check out the new place. If that person signs the lease then mom gets $1000 referral fee!

Here is a picture from yesterday. Her dog decided to come up and share her pillow. As the days go by she continues to loose weight and the liver spots get and wrinkles get more noticeable. She and her late husband lived in the dessert in Arizona so her skin has a lot of character. I actually think the lines are quite beautiful.

Those lines are medals for experiences she had and wisdom earned from them. She's got been there done that all over her face. :biggrin:

What a lovely picture.


Sent by magic.