January was hard on my dad, he wasn't doing well and he kept losing more and more of what he was able to do. He hardly ever left home, and he was having a harder time breathing. We all felt like it could be any day, because he was failing so fast. Every weekend we went up to visit and I would hug my frail dad that couldn't hug back. He would breathily try to say that he loved me and I loved seeing him! He didn't communicate much other than smile (or try to smile as he progressed further). Everyday I was excited to see my husband at lunch with no texts (the original plan was for Mom to text Scott, so he could be the one to tell me). I was in the waiting game. Waiting for my baby to decide to join us and waiting for my Dad to pass from this world to another.
February came and he was hurting. You would hope that losing muscle control wouldn't hurt, but it did. He was sore everywhere he touched the chair he was sitting in. He got cool cunny boots and elbow pads to help with the rubbing. He even had a cool leg separator foot prop. Anything to help him be more comfortable! He was watching a lot of tv and just spending time. I took a great picture of he and my mom in their separate chairs sleeping at the same time, with my Mom holding his hand! They always held hands! He woke up and smiled when he saw me taking the picture! That's my Dad! He knew I loved taking pictures!
I knew he was going soon, and we weren't sure if we'd be able to get the Dan and Danny shot in time, so I had my Mom and Dad take a picture and I made sure my belly was in the shot. Just in case. The next day labor started off and on and I had my little Danny the next day (Monday). We got out of the hospital on Wednesday and then on Thursday while the kids were at school we went up to look for a van to fit us, and I spent time with Mom and Dad while my husband and Uncle looked at a van. I got the Dan and Danny picture, although now my Dad had a droop to his face (we think he had a stroke). I was super worried about him and made plans to come back on Saturday. We couldn't go unless someone came down to help us get there, because we couldn't all fit in our van. I called my sister to see what was going on to find out that he was doing terrible and we all needed to get there. She risked missing it and came to help us get there. She's so amazing! The nurse spent a while helping him get comfortable, because of all of his pain and hard time breathing. They worked to get him on his side, because that was better for him. He finally calmed down and it wasn't too much later that his breathing slowed. My sister was holding his hand as his breathing continued to slow. I went in there and soon most of us were in there. We were still sobbing messes, even though we had hoped we were cried out. It was very peaceful though! The biggest problem was the length of time it took for the nurse to get there to pronounce him dead! It was almost an hour! Then the funeral plans went into motion.
A few days later we came up to help and distract. I was able to get the wheelchair accessible van appraised. The place that sold it to Mom was willing to buy it back for more money! Woohoo! So, Mom got that sold before she headed down for the graveside service. The funeral went well! Lots of crying, but lots of laughs too as people shared funny memories. My siblings got a lot done before heading down for the graveside service. That was hard, but it was great hearing stories about my Dad! Mom donated as much as she could when she got back, because Dad was all about service!
Now we're slowly going through things and getting the house back to the way it was before ALS hit Dad hard. We're doing all we can to help Mom out! She went out to Idaho with my brother for a few weeks, which was fantastic! Two of my sisters moved in. Lots going on!
January (I think)
A couple days before I had Danny.
The Dan holding Danny picture
