USA
Hi everyone. I haven't been around the past couple of months, and I wanted to let you know what's been going on - I've had a rough time of things
lately. I see a bunch of new people here, so please let me introduce myself: my name is Mary, I live in California, and I have CFS. Welcome to all of you!
Well, as a bunch of you know, my dad had been really sick since last summer. He had Alzheimer's Disease and things were just getting worse and worse for him - he was placed on hospice care in February. I spent a lot of time this spring in the midwest with my parents.
I helped get my dad admitted to a nursing home, helped my mom with a lot of government paperwork...My mom just wasn't able to do any administrative work anymore, she was so upset and disorganized, so I ended up having to do most of it. I would stay with my mom for 9 days, then come home for a couple of weeks to rest and recover, then return to my parents' house.
In mid-May my dad had been doing pretty well, but in late May his condition declined really quickly, and he died. In the end, he was very comfortable and peaceful - his hospice team was great, and he had wonderful care. I was at home when he died, so within a few hours I hopped on a plane back to the midwest to be with my mom, and I ended up staying there for another 2 weeks.
My mom doesn't have internet service, so I was pretty much cut off from all but a few friends who were able to phone me - it was a very isolating experience. I organized the memorial service at a local community center entirely by myself. Luckily, my partner came out a couple of days before the service and was an invaluable assistant - doing all the energetic stuff like shopping for food and utensils for the reception, driving me around to various errands, setting up a slideshow of old pictures of my dad, etc. I couldn't have gotten through it all without him.
So, I've been home for a couple of weeks now and I finally feel like I'm getting my feet back on the ground. It was really hard to deal with my dad's death, including all the old memories of our very complicated relationship, but it was even more difficult because I was suffering severe fatigue, supporting my mom (I'm her only child), and trying to handle all sorts of administrative details.
My body's rebelling this week - I'm having problems with low blood pressure again, so I've been spending a lot of time laying down to try and get enough oxygenated blood to my brain. Other than that, I'm hanging in there, and it's good to be back in California. Now that I'm back home, I've been spending the past couple of weeks trying to pull together all the bits and pieces of my life that I've neglected the past couple of months.
When I stopped back by Friends this week to check and see what's going on, I realized how much I missed everybody here. I intend to be back more frequently now, but I'm still struggling to stay on top of everything at home, so I can't always promise that I'll be absolutely consistent. I look forward to reading more in Smalltalk and Coping and getting caught-up on what's going on with all of you.
Well, as a bunch of you know, my dad had been really sick since last summer. He had Alzheimer's Disease and things were just getting worse and worse for him - he was placed on hospice care in February. I spent a lot of time this spring in the midwest with my parents.
I helped get my dad admitted to a nursing home, helped my mom with a lot of government paperwork...My mom just wasn't able to do any administrative work anymore, she was so upset and disorganized, so I ended up having to do most of it. I would stay with my mom for 9 days, then come home for a couple of weeks to rest and recover, then return to my parents' house.
In mid-May my dad had been doing pretty well, but in late May his condition declined really quickly, and he died. In the end, he was very comfortable and peaceful - his hospice team was great, and he had wonderful care. I was at home when he died, so within a few hours I hopped on a plane back to the midwest to be with my mom, and I ended up staying there for another 2 weeks.
My mom doesn't have internet service, so I was pretty much cut off from all but a few friends who were able to phone me - it was a very isolating experience. I organized the memorial service at a local community center entirely by myself. Luckily, my partner came out a couple of days before the service and was an invaluable assistant - doing all the energetic stuff like shopping for food and utensils for the reception, driving me around to various errands, setting up a slideshow of old pictures of my dad, etc. I couldn't have gotten through it all without him.
So, I've been home for a couple of weeks now and I finally feel like I'm getting my feet back on the ground. It was really hard to deal with my dad's death, including all the old memories of our very complicated relationship, but it was even more difficult because I was suffering severe fatigue, supporting my mom (I'm her only child), and trying to handle all sorts of administrative details.
My body's rebelling this week - I'm having problems with low blood pressure again, so I've been spending a lot of time laying down to try and get enough oxygenated blood to my brain. Other than that, I'm hanging in there, and it's good to be back in California. Now that I'm back home, I've been spending the past couple of weeks trying to pull together all the bits and pieces of my life that I've neglected the past couple of months.
When I stopped back by Friends this week to check and see what's going on, I realized how much I missed everybody here. I intend to be back more frequently now, but I'm still struggling to stay on top of everything at home, so I can't always promise that I'll be absolutely consistent. I look forward to reading more in Smalltalk and Coping and getting caught-up on what's going on with all of you.
Norway
Now you rest 
and soft hugs 
Mosken
but I am so glad the hospice made his final days comfortable and peaceful for him .... I
hope it is a comfort to you to know that because of all your efforts he spent his final days in the very best place possible for him with staff that could give
him the best possible support.
Kathleen, I am definitely taking advantage of the big couches in our living room this week! I am practically living on the two of them - the coffee
table holds my laptop and my book, and it's situated nicely in front of the TV.
Am I living in the past? Yep. I actually bought some of that juice this evening
for that drink.
