He's moving around more!

With his new van and the wheelchair ramp, Dad's able to go from the main floor to the bottom floor.  His server has been having problems, and he wants to fix it.  Yesterday he used his wheelchair to go down to work on it (by having my sister do what he asked).  It's still super hard to understand him when he talks, but we're working on it!  I love how much he smiles at my kids watching intently!  My baby will just stare at him when he's getting fed.  My three-year-old watched him go to the bathroom. Super fun!

Slouching a little more

He may have terrible posture, but his nurse has been working hard with him and he can wiggle his feet and his hands!  They don't look a terrible purple like they have in the past too!  I love his nurses!  They are amazing!  It was scary putting him on Hospice care, but the work they do is fantastic!  I know mom loves the break that she gets!  It's hard work being a caretaker!  We love every day we get with him!

Ramp in!

It was mostly done when we left, so I'm hoping it got finished!  I love that all of my Dad's service is coming full circle!  I know he loves (loved) doing service, and he never took payment!  Now he's having to learn to accept service, which I feel like he's doing okay with now.  He has at least one person come over everyday to help with some of the basics, and a couple men from church come to help get him upstairs.  It's a long-term commitment, and we appreciate it so much!  I always try and help as much as I can when I'm there, because I know mom has to do so much for him!  Last night I helped with getting him upstairs, then getting ready for bed (although really mom was more training me).  I helped hold him up while mom brushed his teeth.  He kept telling me "Higher!"  It was hard work, because my dad is folding in on himself and he's heavy-even with all of the weight he's lost!
I was excited, because he was able to talk well enough that we could understand him for my son's book!  That way we have his voice, no matter what happens!
I'm super excited for them getting their awesome van on Tuesday (fingers crossed)!

ER visit and scare

So, my dad got his feeding tube and was doing well, so we were enjoying our vacation and then on our last leg of the trip I got a text that I had to have my husband read (I was driving) and I got to speeding.  He was bleeding like crazy and they had to call an ambulance to get him.  My parents love firefighters even more now!  They were there and getting my dad out before the EMTs got there!  It was awesome!  He was at the hospital for several hours before they were able to get it to clot (he's on blood thinners).  About when we got home, he was going home.  Phew!  Talk about scary!
My Dad's sisters (twins) came to see him, since he was told to start saying goodbyes, because he is dying.  I'm super excited that they were able to come!  We got some great pictures of them together!  They kissed his cheek and he started crying.  Poor Dad!  He's already emotional!  One of his sisters was just told she's cancer free, but had chemo, so she has very little soft hair.  It was great to see them!  Yesterday was Independence Day, so we were all over (everyone that could come, was there)!  It's always so much fun when we get together!  I give Dad water, Kim feeds Dad, Mom and Jeff (her brother) adjust him in his seat...  We all have our jobs!
A nurse from the Hospice came to check on him, and changed out his gauze around his feeding tube.  Because he was reacting to the tape and hardly moves, she said that the paper tape was only necessary when he was going somewhere.  So, he got to be without tape for the rest of the day!
He also has problems with the stairs, so now they put him in his wheelchair, wheel him up to the stairwell and then two or three guys muscle him in.  I wish they had a ramp, but apparently the government works slower than slow and he might get stuff in November.  Blech.  Here's a video of the uphill climb.