memorial service

David has gone to God.

David passed away peacefully at 2.55pm this afternoon, Saturday 27th of June. 

He was constantly surrounded by loving family and friends before, during and after he took those last precious breaths. Some might say that he ‘lost’ his swift battle with pancreatic cancer, but I know *he* would say he won an an even greater battle. He fought the good fight, he kept the faith, he finished the race. 

Now he has gone on to victory and perfect peace, and for that we are so very thankful. 

But oh, Dov, we miss you already. You were among the very best of men xx

Love Kate on behalf of Catherine and all the family 

Still here

Hi everyone, 

Somehow David is still with us, having made it through another night. He is no longer really conscious, and the nurses are trying to keep his meds topped up so he doesn't have too much pain or nausea. Up to yesterday he was still vomiting. 

We are still staying at the hospice w him, Iain Catherine and I stay here overnight with other wonderful family also coming in shifts. He is surrounded in love and we are all ready for him to find peace when he is ready too. 

Xx

Update

Hi everyone, 

David has declined quite a bit. He probably has hours to days left. Only God knows. Family is here, he is surrounded by love and family.

 We never ever want to let him go but also want him to be out of pain and discomfort. He is going to a better place, an eternal home of joy and Peace and for that we are so grateful. 

Will update later xx

Still in hospice

With mammoth effort on his part, David made it to church briefly on Sunday. It's so important to him
to be there, even at huge physical cost. David is such a dignified gentleman, to come to church in his pyjamas is NOT easy for him to do, even at a time like this. But he knew the energy to get 'dressed' would use up the little energy he had to actually make it to church, to worship his God and be with his church family. Just love that he knew what the true priority was - faith and people over appearances and pride. Even now, he teaches us so much xx

Hi all, 

David is still in hospice for the time being. He was too exhausted after the busy weekend of visitors and making it out to church to think about going home today. He seems to be settling into things a bit better there too, so thankful for that. So we will take it day by day as to whether he will transition back home or not, and how Catherine and his medical team think we can support him best in that.

Visitors: David asked today that any visitors just sit with him and be with him and not ask too many questions (he is finding it hard to chat/participate). Please take your lead from him on this and also keep visits to about 15 minutes. We are still trying to space out visits to suit his needs, but he does enjoy the warm presence of loved ones when he is up to it.

Grateful as always for your prayers, love and support. Will update later in the week.

Kate and all David's family xx

Settling into Hospice

Hi all,

Just a very quick update to say David is settling into hospice ok.

There is no place like home, but he is adjusting to things there. The noise, the constant coming and going of staff, and the food are all taking a bit to get used to. He is not feeling like eating a lot of things at the moment (food aversions coming and going), so we are bringing in extra supplies from home so he always has a few options available. Whatever he feels like, he gets, even if that is ice cream for lunch :) Today he had a beautiful cold tomato and basil soup made by our church sister Lucrecia, and he loved that, it was so refreshing, he ate a whole bunch :) (He really struggles with overheating at the moment).

He has been mostly sleeping and resting but enjoying a few lovely visitors too. Sometimes he sleeps through the visits, but that's ok too. The first couple of days he struggled with nausea and vomiting but today seemed a lot better, feeling less queasy and more alert - thankful for that!

No plans yet about going home, we will leave it till Monday or so then see what Catherine/David/the medical staff think they want to do from there.

Ongoing prayers and support much appreciated xx

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