There is not much new news to report, I am afraid. Mom continues to hang in there, although I believe I have noticed a very slight deterioration over the past several weeks.

Hospice continues to look after her. The aids come five times per week and the nurse comes once per week or whenever dad or I feel like she needs to come. This happened at the end of last week when Mom had a bit of a symptom change involving how she was holding her head as she rested in bed. My dad was concerned, so we got the nurse over there and checked everything out. According to the nurse, and this makes perfect sense, Mom was just trying to get comfortable. No harm, no foul. But it did demonstrate how well and responsive the hospice agency is to any concerns that my dad has.

It's more and more difficult to communicate with Mom and most of the time she won't talk back to me or respond other than to sometimes smile. I know she hears what is said and probably likes hearing it, but there is no feedback anymore. So, I tell her anyway. :-)

If you're still reading this and keeping up with Mom, then thanks. I know she appreciates the thoughts and comments directed her way.

It's been a while since I updated everyone on Mom's situation. Nothing much has changed over the past couple of weeks. She is enrolled in hospice care and they are taking good care of her.

This past week, she was taken to the hospice's in-patient facility downtown. She was taken there because my Dad had to go to the hospital himself. His situation turned out to be a kidney stone. He is out of the hospital now.

All this is happening while I am in Tokyo (where I am now, coming home Saturday). Beth has been managing all of it and doing a fantastic job.

The hospice company is doing a good job and I believe that Mom is getting a good level of care from them.

Mom's cognitive abilities have gone downhill a bit over the past couple of weeks. It's very difficult for her to communicate, but she still laughs at the TV and will appear to recognize friends and family.

We appreciate everyone's thoughts and all the help that has been provided.

Hospice

This afternoon we registered Mom with a hospice agency called Vitas.

Mom, Dad, and I (well, mostly Dad and I) had a good meeting with their RN and went over all of their services and ways of support. They are very thorough and comprehensive in their direction of care.

Mom will be cared for in the home and will not be leaving unless it becomes necessary to do so.

Even though this was a difficult step, it was a necessary step and will provide Mom with the care she needs as she takes those final steps.

I hope that this also provides some comfort to my Dad as he deals with the inevitability of what is coming. I know it is giving me some small peace of mind knowing that Mom will be cared for in the best way possible, given the circumstances.