Wed and Thurs

1/7/2009
Phil is getting closer to the end as I know we all are but his end is closer, I hope, then the rest of ours. He spends most of the time asleep. He wakes and says good bye to those who visit and then falls back to sleep.

I am hoping that we have his vomiting under control finally. That has been tough for the last three days. The answer was reglan, zofram and cut lemons by his bed. I think that the lemons was the only thing that really worked because the drugs did not work until we tried the lemons. The hospice nurse suggested it. Anyway, we are going to keep giving the drugs because we don't want the vomiting to return and experimenting is not our goal.

The kids are spending a lot of time here and that is good. They answer the phones and greet the guests. They are a blessing to have. My sister and her husband have spent a lot of time and that is also good. People who need are welcome to come and say their good byes. I told him he is not allowed to die on the 9th because that is Michael's birthday and that would really suck for him so he has agreed. He would like to schedule it for today.

1/8/09
Yesterday was a good day for him. In the afternoon he perked up a bit. While visiting with Michael he asked to have his irish cross replaced and the replacement blessed. He lost the cross that he wore around his neck when he had a CAT scan done. They asked him to take it off and he lost it and never found it again. I bought it for him when he got prostate cancer and he wore it always. Michael left and went to buy one and that was much easier than finding a priest to bless it. Thank you Father Bob for being available.

While Michael was gone he was visiting with his sister, Anna, and decided that he wanted a gin and tonic. We found the gin but had to call Michael and tell him to also pick up the lime and tonic.

Later, my sister, Mary and her husband, John, came over with cup cakes to celebrate John and Michael's birthdays. John's birthday is today and Michael's is tomorrow. About 8:30, the guys toasted with their gin and tonic, which I have to tell you Michael and John do not like. Then with the candles lit Michelle, Rhys, Muriel, Mary and I sang Happy Birthday to Michael and John.

We laughed and Phil drank some of his gin and tonic. He said it tasted great but did throw it up a couple hours later, which he knew would happen. We then all watched Barbara Walter's interview with Patrick Swayze who is also dying of Pancreatic Cancer. While watching it we could see how much we were like them at that stage of the illness. We had a good day. Thank God for good days.

This morning I got up and druged my husband, crated my dogs and spent 20 min. soaking in a hot bath.