David moves to Hospice

Hi everyone,

This morning a bed became 'available' and so David moved to the local hospice. Obviously, this marks a further decline in how he is doing, but is also an opportunity for the medical staff to more closely monitor his medications and well being for a while and see how he responds, as well as a bit of respite for his amazing full-time carer/nurse/wife, Catherine. The plan is to see how he is in about a week, if he rallies again, he will hopefully go back home (that is David and Catherine's 'plan') or otherwise may stay there. We shall see, taking it day by day at this point...

The hospice is lovely, filled with very caring staff and volunteers. It is right on the lake, and David even has a view of the water from his (private) bedroom! Lots of lovely outdoor spaces, gardens, etc, they have it set up so nicely. They even have mattresses and a spare room so Mum can sleep there either in his room or a separate room overnight if she wants to at some point.

David has been increasingly tired and weak lately and more and more just requesting time to sleep or be on his own. He is craving peace and quiet. The hospice coordinator said today this is a natural stage of just turning more inward and needing more solo time. So we are trying to respect that while of course all wanting to spend as much time with our beloved David as possible!! It's a tricky balance at times.

For Visitors (apart from close family): 

We are so grateful for everyone who wants to show David their love by visiting! If you wish to visit, we ask that you do not just drop by unannounced as we are trying to space visits out a bit so David gets plenty of rest in between. Please text/contact me if you are keen to visit, just so we can schedule things so he gets some good down time in between visits. Also, we ask that you please keep visits to 30 minutes maximum (hospice visits are usually 10 minutes!). I know it's hard, but we would really appreciate if you would 'self-monitor' this time, so Catherine and the nursing staff don't have to do that on top of everything else. David really appreciates visits but does find them very tiring, so finishing up before he gets really exhausted helps it not take its toll too much. If he is begging you to stick around, of course, that's fine - he's the boss ;) Again, visits are most welcome and appreciated, we are just trying to space them out and keep them 'short and sweet' so that they don't take too much toll on our dear David. 

Getting some sleep. White noise/rain on the Ipod to help him sleep in peace - the staff chatter
and clatter  in the halls gets a bit much for him!

Not so easy to see on this grey and rainy day, but straight out there is the lake - and
his little patio! :)

It's a bit of an emotional kick in the guts for us all to have him in the hospice, but we are grateful for this beautiful place and the care it provides. Most of all we want David to be as comfortable as possible.

Will try to update very soon as to how he is settling in, as it has only been his first day. He loves being at home, so hoping he settles ok into this new place, as it's never quite the same. We are all 'learning on the job' with this, so forgive our clumsy attempts to manage visits and communications as best we can in the circumstances!! 

Your love, prayers and support are gratefully received. How blessed we are to have this family and community around us. God is good, and is our ongoing source of strength and comfort during these hard days.

xx Kate

PS For those visiting, feel free to bring something to cheer up/personalise his room :) Oh, and there is a brown leather 'visitors book' on the bench that we would love you to sign xx