Last night, I had to sign an DNR order at the hospital. Should something happen, Mike doesn’t want heroic measures, he wants to exit this life gracefully. This form was the hardest one for me to sign. But I knew his wishes and so even though his daughter got upset, I filled out the form that stated his wishes.
He is now in a rehab center- not a nursing home and the place is nice. He is equipped with quite a sarcastic wit so some of the nurses don’t quite know what to do with him. For example, this morning I went and visited him early (with Dexter in tow!) and I was sitting there and the nurse comes in- “Mr Miller how are you?”
“How should I be?” Mike replied.
“Well, umm- do you know where you are?”
“I’m right here! Where are you?”
Poor nurse tries again; “Do you know who is the President of the United States?”
“Thomas Jefferson?”
I looked over and Mike and shook my head slightly which he saw-
The nurse didn’t know whether to take that seriously or what to do and then Mike said-
“Oh okay, it was just wishful thinking that Obama dude is in charge!”
LOL
All his kids are here and they wanted to stay here to save money, but two of them are allergic to cats! They weren’t here but 20 minutes when Donna’s throat started to get hoarse and Doug started to sneeze. So after they took me to the movies, they found lodging elsewhere.
I woke up this morning and my whole body was numb. My face was numb, my hands were tingling- it was the strangest feeling. I had a really bad headache and just tried to ignore everything. It took a few hours to get right again, the coffee helped. I think it is just an emotional crash. I am not sure.
I have so much to do; write thank you’s to everyone who helped me meet some of my vet debt, straighten up the house and fill the feral feeders outside, go upstairs and find a few books for Mike to read and I just sit on the couch or in my computer chair assimilating everything that has happened.
I am sharing a photo of Dexter visiting MIke this morning- he is allowed to come in and he seemed to want to go to the other folks in the hallway and give them some puppy love. I think I will start training him for a therapy dog- if I can figure out how!
A sense of humour is invaluable in times of trouble. It sounds like you and Mike have plenty of humour. And it’s good that Dexter can come and visit Mike. That’ll help, too. I’d see a doctor about the numbness, though. That’s not something to fool around with, especially with the stress you must be under.
Having to do a DNR is very hard, to have to execute one is one of the hardest things ever. In your heart you want to do anything and everything that can be done to save your loved one. But you have to love them enough to honor their wish. R.I.P Mom…
Sometimes you have to laugh — or else you’d cry. It is so tough when someone we love is in trouble and we can’t fix it ourselves and must rely on others. Be careful the stress doesn’t get you down too far. Try a little break once in a while, just 15 minutes at a time, go somewhere to be alone and do some deep breaths and try to relax. You’ll be surprised how this can help sometimes.
My thoughts are with you and I’m cheering you on in my heart.