TangoWhiskey
Touchdown! Greaser!
My wife, Teresa (we've called her "Red" for years--her hair color) has been in Seattle for 9 days now, and was supposed to fly home today, but we had to cancel her flight. She had a tough Thanksgiving Day.
10 days ago, her step-mom was put in the hospital yet again for a perforated liver--a problem that first came to light about 4 weeks ago. Her dad called and said he'd buy her a ticket if she could come up... he wasn't understanding everything the doctors were trying to tell him, and felt confused, alone, and scared.
So Monday of last week, we booked her a ticket, and she flew out the next day. Step-mom (Riann) went home on Thursday or Friday, with home health care. Red has lots of experience with things medical--her mother, who lives with us, has been sick for a long time, and Teresa's been her primary caregiver. She spent the weekend at Dad's house, helping with cleaning, changing IV's, etc. The home healthcare nurse said Riann didn't look good, and couldn't understand why she'd been sent home (we found out later that Riann didn't get discharged, she simply called Dad and said "it's time for me to go home" and checked herself out, against doctor's advice).
Monday morning, this week: Dad wakes up to find Riann non-responsive, calls 911. She goes to the ER by ambulance, doc comes out to say there's nothing they can do except put her on the 4th floor, give her morphine, and keep her comfortable til she passes away... infection is everywhere.
This is too much for Dad to face, so he saw Riann a few more times over the past few days, my wife spending most of the time at the hospital. She, ever-loving girl that she is, didn't want Riann to die alone.
Sadly, she did pass, about 1:30 Seattle time today. My wife was with her when she took her last breath. It was a hard thing for her to watch. I just wish I could be there to give her a hug, hold her hand, and comfort her the way she always comforts and cares for those around her.
Like I said, we cancelled her return flight; Riann passed away just one hour after Red was supposed to have departed for DFW. We don't know when she's coming home, yet... there are now, sadly, arrangements to be made.
Here's a weird fact... when Red called me from the room to tell me "it's over", I stepped outside into the cold Fort Worth air, and at that moment, it started snowing... big, huge, silver-dollar size flakes. It was almost like it was for Riann and Red.
It seems wrong to lose a loved one on Thanksgiving Day... make sure you hug all of yours...
10 days ago, her step-mom was put in the hospital yet again for a perforated liver--a problem that first came to light about 4 weeks ago. Her dad called and said he'd buy her a ticket if she could come up... he wasn't understanding everything the doctors were trying to tell him, and felt confused, alone, and scared.
So Monday of last week, we booked her a ticket, and she flew out the next day. Step-mom (Riann) went home on Thursday or Friday, with home health care. Red has lots of experience with things medical--her mother, who lives with us, has been sick for a long time, and Teresa's been her primary caregiver. She spent the weekend at Dad's house, helping with cleaning, changing IV's, etc. The home healthcare nurse said Riann didn't look good, and couldn't understand why she'd been sent home (we found out later that Riann didn't get discharged, she simply called Dad and said "it's time for me to go home" and checked herself out, against doctor's advice).
Monday morning, this week: Dad wakes up to find Riann non-responsive, calls 911. She goes to the ER by ambulance, doc comes out to say there's nothing they can do except put her on the 4th floor, give her morphine, and keep her comfortable til she passes away... infection is everywhere.
This is too much for Dad to face, so he saw Riann a few more times over the past few days, my wife spending most of the time at the hospital. She, ever-loving girl that she is, didn't want Riann to die alone.
Sadly, she did pass, about 1:30 Seattle time today. My wife was with her when she took her last breath. It was a hard thing for her to watch. I just wish I could be there to give her a hug, hold her hand, and comfort her the way she always comforts and cares for those around her.
Like I said, we cancelled her return flight; Riann passed away just one hour after Red was supposed to have departed for DFW. We don't know when she's coming home, yet... there are now, sadly, arrangements to be made.
Here's a weird fact... when Red called me from the room to tell me "it's over", I stepped outside into the cold Fort Worth air, and at that moment, it started snowing... big, huge, silver-dollar size flakes. It was almost like it was for Riann and Red.
It seems wrong to lose a loved one on Thanksgiving Day... make sure you hug all of yours...