February 10, 2015 Hospice

February 10, 2015 Hospice

Leland entered the Hospice system on January 27th.  One of the nurses came to the house for an intake interview, then Wednesday the 28th, we met his assigned nurse, Gina.  We picked up his "comfort pack" at the pharmacy and he began the program.  It was a little disconcerting to see meds labeled "for end of life discomfort or anxiety".  The anti-nausea drugs were essentially the same, in higher doses, which were largely ineffective.  He became progressively worse, we were not able to go to church on Sabbath and by Sunday night he had kept nothing on his stomach since early that morning.  Each time I called Hospice, they were very responsive, but by Sunday night when I called and told them "this just isn't working", we were told to bring him to Ray Hickey Hospice House to get the nausea under control.

We arrived there at 10:15 pm. We were immediately met by staff who took us to his room, got us settled, and brought in his medications.  They have an excellent patient to staff ratio, their teams consisting of 1 nurse and 3 CNAs for 6 patients. They answer the call lights promptly, with very little waiting, very kind, friendly, helpful and technically excellent.  Evidently most of the patients there do not eat much, so there is no kitchen with working staff, instead there is a nutrition room which is stocked with easy to prepare foods such as frozen potatoes, eggs, fruits, juices, crackers and such.  The CNAs prepare any food desired any time of day and bring it in.

The nausea continued all night, but by morning Leland felt like eating a little, so they brought him some food, which was a mistake, as his stomach immediately rejected it.  They then told him his stomach needed to rest, they changed his meds again, trying new ones each time, but nothing worked until by afternoon on Monday they accessed his port, put in an IV line and and injected Zofran into the line.  By evening he was feeling actual hunger, a sensation which had been replaced by nausea  for the last two months.   He had a small amount  of chicken-flavored broth with a couple of soda crackers; it tasted good to him and he kept it down.  Sometime in the middle of the night, he asked for a banana, ate most of that and kept it down too.  On Tuesday morning Dr. Chowdhury, Hospice Director,  told us we could go home later in the day.

 We arrived home around noon to find a lovely surprise on the doorstep consisting of potato soup, artisan bread, home made candy, flowers and a leather-bound book, Jesus Calling, from three of our dear friends at Riverside Church, Dottie, Lynda and Barbara.  Two more precious friends came to visit from Goldendale, Nancy and her daughter Amy, so we had lunch together as the house-keepers Todd and Cherilyn sent over, cleaned the house. We have been the recipients of so many kindnesses and thoughtful deeds; Mark and family cleaning and organizing the storage room and garden shed, Ken Line repairing sheet rock damage so painting can be done, visits from people we love, cards, emails, phone calls,  and more than I can recall right now.

Leland has been feeling so much better since that Tuesday, it is as though he came back from the brink of the grave.  We were able to have a family birthday party for him on Friday night for his 69th birthday.  All the family was here, including Dawn and her daughter Ena.  Except for Cherilyn who was home with an awful sore throat and fever. We were all disappointed she was not able to be here, and she was too.  Dawn and Chaunda took lots of pictures of the balloons and the rustic but simple and elegant center piece Chaunda created. Dawn did a video of everyone saying Hi to her, capping it off with Phoenix saying Hi Mommy! which was the highlight. It was sent immediately from Dawn's Smart Phone, so Cherilyn was able  participate a little anyway. And Leland was able to eat everything and enjoy it!

Today we will meet the Hospice Chaplin, there are errands to do, bills to pay, which Leland is teaching me to do,  and general chores.  Not so much laundry as has been, as the night sweats creating piles of towels, sheets and t-shirts seem to be getting less thanks to another medication change. We now dealing with lack of sleep for another reason, one of his meds, a  compounded combination of several anti-nausea drugs in a suppository called "The Bomb" which bypasses the stomach, has Dexamethazone in it, which is keeping him pretty wired.  He is sleeping only a couple or three hours at night, and very short naps in the day.  I will call our nurse today and ask if that amount of Dex can be lowered to let him get more sleep.

As he edges closer to to the end of his journey, the Bible promises become ever more precious to both of
us, and the comforting presence of Jesus more real with each passing day.  We are so grateful for the knowlege of our loving Saviour, for the promises of eternal life, for love of family and friends through this journey which would be unbearable without it. And we are grateful for those who minister through the Hospice program, wonderful resources made available to those who would  suffer ten-fold without it.