Back to Parkview

Marshall woke me up this morning by banging on the walls till I heard him (I sleep at the other end of the house. When I got to him, he was sitting on the end of the bed saying he really needed to pee but couldn't. He was a bit crabby and was not happy with anything I tried to do.

He wouldn't take his pills (said I was trying to poison him). He said that the tables could be turned on that whole poison thing and I shouldn't think he wouldn't do it. Also, he wouldn't leave his oxygen on.

So I called 911 and they brought him back to Parkview.

I then called the hospice people and started the arrangements to get him transferred over to hospice care since it is very clear that I can no longer care for him at home. I can't lift him when he falls and I can't force him to take pills he doesn't want to take.

Then I came on down to Parkview and was met by several nurses and a doctor wanting to discuss the hospice thing. It seems Marshall is not agreeable to hospice because he would have to give up any treatments for his cancer. So there was some conversation about this and the nurses and doctor wanted to be sure that Marshall and i talked together and agreed together, which we did. He said he understood my feelings totally. That was a relief. I was a ball of nerves when I got here and knew we had to have that conversation.

It was clear that hospice isn't the answer. But they suggested the McCandless Veterans Home in Florence, Colorado. And I thought what a great idea. There are many pluses to that:

* It is much closer to the house so visits would be easier;
* It is totally free for Marshall;
* He would share a room with another veteran and he enjoys his military buddies no matter where he finds them;
* They have a lot of activities, some in-house and some actual outings;
* the facility and grounds are very nice with spectacular views of the mountains;
* They take care of all medicines and all necessary medical equipment (like walkers, power chairs, CPAP machine, etc.)
* I (or anybody) could pick him up any time and take him out for lunch or a play or whatever;
* He is free to check himself out at any time if things improve to the extent that I could care for him again; and, most important of all,
* I could still take him to the cancer center to get treatments for as long s there are treatments to get.

So now I have to cancel the Sangre de Cristo hospice care that I got started and have them come back out and get the hospital bed, the port-a-potty and the oxygen stuff. And then hopefully on Monday we can make the transfer to the nursing home. Or Tuesday at the latest.


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