Managing Some Changes

In the last 2-3 days, Mark was losing strength and needed a lot of assistance. Fortunately this happened when my brother Mike and Mary Lou were here. Mary Lou did the kitchen work and helped in numerous ways and Mike was able to handle Mark's weaknesss when we needed to help him move about. They've had experience with Mary Lou's mother, so showed me how to assist Mark with his mobility. When I called our Palliative Care group to discuss Mark's new needs, Susan Smith, R.N. came within a couple of hours and also sent a Social Worker. So today was a very busy day, meeting with them and deciding what course to pursue. We decided to engage Community Home Services who will send an Aide twice daily, for 2 hours each morning and 2 hours in the early evenings. Susan also felt that a hospital bed would be easier for Mark to get in and out of, and no sooner had she ordered it than it arrived. It is now set up in our guest bedroom, with my bed beside it. Mark is sleeping for the night and I shall do the same soon, as I am tired too. I am so impressed with the speed of making these connections and changes, to say nothing about the sensitive and caring nature of our new medical friends.