Thank you all for the kind words, thoughts, and prayers. After spending nearly two weeks in a hospital and a nursing home, we plan to take Jack home on Wednesday. I have been with him all the time except for a couple of trips to get something to eat. My sister Nancy has been a big help–she facilitated getting Jack into a nursing home on short notice and arranged for me to have a bed in his room as well as bringing food to both of us. Jack isn’t eating much except a few sips of milkshakes, but Nancy has made valiant efforts to induce him to eat a little more.
Although we are in a lovely new facility and people are taking good care of us, Jack and I are both ready to get home!
My helper, Betsy, has overseen the installation of a handicap ramp, and tomorrow she will take delivery of a hospital bed and meet the cable technician to extend the cable so we can move the TV into the bedroom. Betsy has come up with a caregiver schedule that will leave me alone with Jack for only two hours every day. The rest of the time there will be two people so we can turn and lift him. He will be evaluated by hospice after we get home, and if he is accepted (which we have every reason to believe will happen), the hospice agency will provide additional nursing care and personal hygiene assistance.
I am moderating and responding to comments rather sporadically. Thank you for your patience–I will start posting again after Jack gets acclimated to his new environment and the caregivers and I establish a routine.