Grampa

Grampa is in heaven now... 9am this morning [Sunday]

He had a smile on his face when he left...

I will miss him...

Thank you everyone for the thoughts and prayers!

Saturday Grampa Update

The hospice book says a person may have a surge of energy before passing.

I believe he had that yesterday. 

[Plus your prayers truly helped too...]

 

Grampa was more talkative than the day before... Maybe talkative is not the right word... Lets see how can I put it? Okay... Grampa seemed to be in this world with us a little bit more than in the other world with his Momma...

 

Sam asked him if he would like some ice cream... We thought he would say no because he has difficulty swallowing... but Grampa shook his head yes...

 

[Grampa has always LOVED his sweets... at his house there is always a drawer full of cracker jacks and candy bars. He also LOVES those little cokes in a bottle! You'd think with his love of sweets he would have dentures.. but I am happy to report Grampa at 84 years old has ALL his own teeth! Amazing huh!]

 

So...Sam's sister Lisa rushed out and bought Grampa some vanilla ice cream... he LOVED it! He actually said "tastes good"!  Whoo Hoo...  He also told our daughter Candice he loved her and goodbye the night before...

She said she lost it when she got in her car...

 

Anyway... after Grampa ate his ice cream [about 6 teaspoons] Sam sat next to his bed and said "Hey Dad... I gotta tell ya about a crazy dream I had the other night...

I took the Pope to a motocross race with me"

 

Grampa smiled... he thought that was funny.

 

He kept trying to talk to us but he just doesn't have the energy to do it.

Sam told him "Dad, I know you want to visit and talk with us, we know your tired of laying in this bed, we know your trying really hard but your body is not co-operating"

Grampa shook his head yes.

"We know Dad, We know that you love us all, just try to relax there is nothing you could say that we don't already know Dad, We love you too, Just try to relax, we are here with you" Grampa shook his head yes.

 

Today... Saturday he is not drinking water, he is not talking [so to speak]

 

Last night the nurse gave him a sedative because it seemed like Grampa was having an anxiety attack because he couldn't breathe [even tho he is on oxygen]

 

Grampa has a will to live like no other hospice patients they have ever seen!

They told us he would be gone by the weekend and we are in the middle of the weekend and he is still here with us...

 

Watching him breathe and fight to live is so frustrating. This is a battle he will not win and a part of me wishes he would just surrender... Maybe that will come in the next few days...

 

I am happy he is at home and not in some hospital...  I am also happy he was able to tell our daughter Candice he loved her and goodbye the other night...

 

Well... that is the Grampa update for today...

I will let you know the minute anything changes...

 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the thoughts and prayers being sent from all of you...

 

Prayers are powerful!

Grampa update... and the Wicked Witch of the West

We are at Grampa's right now and the Wicked Witch of the West showed up.

[Sam's sister Becky]

The one who went back to drugs and prostituting when Grampa broke his hip a couple of months ago.

Anyway I came out here to the car to talk to you guys, Sam's sister Lisa went to go get Grampa some ice cream.

Sam is on the phone in the front yard talking to Kris's landlord [we'll chat that later]

Notice how none of us want to be in the same room with her!

When she first showed up, Sam said Grampa got really agitated, his breathing got quicker, and he started moving around more... She seems to bring out the worst in people I swear!

Then Becky started asking questions at Sam

"How many breaths per minute is he having? why are his eyes half shut?"

Finally Sam told her to read the book the hospice people left us... It gives you the signs to look for when someone is dying etc.. Sam said he finally couldn't stand being in the same room with her so he came out side and answered his cell phone...

She makes  me sick... I have been racking my brain trying to find someone to compare her to... so you can get an idea how irritating she is... so here is 2 examples however you need to times these people by 3 on the irritating scale...

 

Example number 1 - Janice Dickinson from [The next top model - show -]

Example number 2 - Ramona on "Real Stories from the New York Housewives" but again... times it times 3...  because those two people are just examples of woman who think they know it all, seen it all, judge everyone and say things for the shock value during normal conversations...

 

Becky's own children want NOTHING to do with her... If they show up, she has to leave! Now that is pretty bad... but she has done this to them her whole life... show up, clean up, never apologize for leaving them the last time, just acts like she is the boss and can do no wrong! A few months later she is just gone one day back to the streets and drugs...

Anyway she is probably coming around to see what she can get when he dies... She literally makes me ill...

 

Well I better get back inside... The Wicked Witch of the West just left and Sam's sister Lisa just came back with some ice cream for Dad...

Thank you all your prayers... It is helping and he is having a much better day today...

 

I'll tell ya more later... just know he is still hanging in there...

High Desert House this week

Some of my favorite photos of the week at our High Desert House...

water fountain

Bolts giving me the stink eye

Sam's sister Tina's new doggie at Grampa's house last night

 

Grampa update... its going to be soon

Sam and I just checked into a hotel [10pm].  Its been a long day.  We woke up at the High Desert House and it couldn't have been a more beautiful day. 70 degrees, sunny, no wind! Why does that happen when you have to leave?

[we got a call last night from Sam's sisters telling us Grampa is pretty bad and he is asking for Sam]

So we finished cleaning up the construction mess we had going and headed down the hill 40 minutes to home. We dropped the dogs off with the boys, showered quickly, grabbed some clothes and drove 2 hours into Los Angeles to Grampa's house.

 

When we arrived we were greeted outside by our nephew Nicholas. We gave him a big hug and headed inside to see Dad.  It was not good.  Grampa is fighting every step of the way. The hospice people are truly amazed at his will to live. They say he won't make it through the weekend and I have to agree with them.  He can barely speak. The only things he said all day was Water and Momma.

"Can you see your Momma, Dad?" and he shook his head yes. Later he said "Where is Grampa, Momma?" he is obviously getting very close to death.  He is not eating at all but he does say "Water" I gave him about 20 teaspoons of water today and swabbed his mouth for him. He is SO dehydrated... you can feel it when you hold his hand.

I told him "Dad, we love you... we are here by your side... we will be fine Dad. Don't worry about us" that seemed to calm him and he fell asleep for a about 2 hours.

 

Oh! The best news of all... you won't believe it!  Monsignor came by to give Dad last rites and he said "I have to go to Ireland to also be with a dying relative but I have instructed all the priests that we will NOT take the flag off the coffin for Clancy's funeral! The reason I have changed my mind on this is because I know Clancy will haunt me for the rest ofmy life if I do not grant him this wish"

We all would have...  Besides Dad made us promise to hold the funeral on the steps of the church if it wasn't allowed... Especially for a past Grand Knight in the Knights of Columbus...

Speaking of the KC... having the Pope here visiting the
U.S. reminds me of many years ago when Pope John Paul II came to Los Angeles.  Grampa being a Grand Knight was an usher during the Mass with the Pope.

 

So anyway that is the update on Grampa... I'll keep ya posted on any changes in his condition but just understand his time here on earth is coming to a close.

 

I am trying to remember his last day here on Earth is also his first day in Heaven... and that makes it a little easier... 

Hi D and Grampa update

 

Today Manny came over to the house and stayed about 5 hours... he sat in a chair watching Sam, Kameron and Kieffer build the room off the garage... I sat next to him and listened to his stories... For 82 he's as sharp as a tack!  Never been married but he sure does love the ladies!

He dates a woman in her 50's... and the stories he tells are pretty funny... I don't know what it is about me but I love listening to old men tell stories! I sure enjoyed Artie's stories too... In fact Manny reminds me a lot of Artie...  Manny use to work at the Palm Springs Racquet Club back in the day... the days when it was a private club where all the old celebrities use to hang out. Anyway... I enjoyed his company very much... I made him spagetti and sent him howme with a bag full of home cooking... His eyes lit up when he looked in the bag... That made it worth every minute of cooking it all.  I LOVE feeding old men... especially old bachlors!

After Manny left I checked my phone Sam's 2 sisters called... Uh oh... Grampa! Big Sigh...

I called them back and they are by Grampa's side... he will be gone by the weekend... [according to hospice] and he is asking for Sam... actually Tina said he kept saying something but it is hard to understand him... so she said Dad write it on this paper... he wrote "Sammy" she said "Sam is ok Dad, he comes every week with Kendra to see you" "Are you asking to see Sam, Dad?" and he shook his head yes...so we are packing up to go home... Its almost 8pm and we have to put all the building material stuff away and lock it up... then we will drive to Grampa's to see him in the morning.

 

Day 3 Hi D

Yesterday morning Sam and I started cleaning up the yard... Kris had raked up 3 piles of leaves and then left them there... they had gone all over the yard again... So Sam and I raked and hula hoed the prairie grass... and raked some more! We filled up 9 wheelbarrows! NINE! I guess you could say I am sooo sore today! 

The guys are outside right now building the garage room

[Kameron, Kieffer and Sam] we are going back home in the morning...

If you told me 3 weeks ago Kieffer would be outside running a saw and holding big beams after how bad he broke his leg... I never would have believed you! Wow the miracles of modern medicine and youth!

I am taking a ton of pictures  but I can't post them from here... this laptop is from the stone age I swear... I am on dial up right now... it takes forever to just read my mail and to read everyones journal entries... but I am grateful to have the laptop up here... it is WAY better than writing stories long hand on paper and then typing it up from the paper like I did in Texas!

 

Anyway, not much else going on...