Family Arrives!

John and the kids arrived yesterday...I missed them even more than I realized!! Aeron and my mom went with me to the airport to pick them up. Jake seems to have grown 6 inches in the last two weeks! They haven't been here for two years so Aeron saw the biggest changes!

We hung out at my mom's house - Cindy and Kim's gang came to keep us company. The girls (including Aeron) are sleeping at Kim's with strict instructions to behave...Kim actually suggested they stay with her! Three teenage girls in a house that needs some tranquility - I hope Kim needs a little insanity too!

Recovery Mode

As usual, family is strong around here when tragedy strikes. I spent the day with Kim, Cindy, Mom, Matt, Aeron, Nick and Natasha. Kim left to arrange things at the funeral home with David's parents but otherwise we were moving in tight circles around each other, interacting with love, tears and laughter. So the healing begins.

John is racing the clock, arranging to come here with the kids. He even took on something for me - rescheduling my return flight to come home with them. I asked him to do it so I didn't have to bawl on the phone to some stranger! Embarrassing! :-)

Passing

David passed away tonight at 9:45 PM. He was peaceful, had been comfortable all day. Most importantly, he had been surrounded by those who love him...all day too. Our hearts are broken for Kim - they were each other's very best friend. He made her laugh like no one else has. Please lift them up in your thoughts and prayers and hold your loved ones tight in David's memory.

Ups and Downs

The "ups" was actually an "up" - my mom and I had a delicious dinner at a local Italian eatery! Mmm Mmm Good!

Poor David had another rough day. We have had a problem with managing his pain. I get very frustrated with this because it's not necessarily the answer just to throw a bunch of painkillers into him. When he's unconscious, he can't drink...when he can't drink, he gets a fever. If we hydrate him some other way, we chance overloading his kidneys/lungs with fluids. Such a hard problem with no long term solutions so we do the best we can.

I just thought of another "up and down" for today! John and the kids flew back to Buenos Aires from their Bariloche ski (actually snowboard) vacation! Safe and sound! Jake was still not feeling well this morning but the girls got to do a little more snowboarding before heading to the airport. John had promised more pictures to me tonight but I haven't seen them yet - I'll post one or two when I get them!

Talk to you soon!

Reality Bites

David had a rough day today. More pain, more trouble breathing. Just when you settle into a little groove, the reality hits that he's not going to improve...that's not the forecast. He scared the daylights out of me this evening. His temperature had gone up a little, he wasn't drinking, he wasn't peeing and his chest tube wasn't draining much at all. Then his night nurse showed up. He woke up a bit, drank a whole lot of water and peed a whole lot (sorry David!) - I was so relieved but it was too late, I'd been bitten by reality. This totally sucks.

The bright and sunny spot of my day was having dinner with my nephew and his wife. I hadn't met her until tonight! She's sweet and beautiful - just what I'd want for my "first" child...my oldest nephew, "my boy" until Jake came along. :-)

Down in Argentina John had to cancel snowboarding - Jake's not feeling well. They're hoping to get back to the slopes tomorrow, John may have to sit and drink hot chocolate with Jake at the lodge while the girls have all the fun though! However, John + chocolate = happy man!

Good News Update

We have in-home nursing care from 9 PM to 9 AM tonight! Sleep!!! David had a great day so that helps the relaxation thing too!

Kimmy was less stressed today as I may be still in the running for "nurse of the year" - seems like only a couple members of the family are unhappy with me. The rest have been super sweet and brought way too much food! :-) Whew!

Sweet dreams!!

David's Home!!

He arrived yesterday afternoon. Although he's still mainly unconscious, he knows he's home and even had the opportunity to cuddle with his favourite pup, Baker. I've always called David "Dr. Doolittle" because he absolutely loves animals and they feel the same way about him. Our dog Carina adored him to such a degree we almost sent her home with him! So now David sleeps with Baker curled up beside him in bed, she gave his hand a lick when it came her way...too sweet. It was a thrill when David glanced my way last evening and said "Oh, hi Shell" - you appreciate the little things!

Unfortunately I've added to Kim's stress by pissing off David's family. I won't go into details but I'm pretty much guaranteed not to get "nurse of the year" award from them. Kim says I'm being overprotective of her but nobody's messing with Saint Kimmy on my watch!! Perhaps I could blame it on my Irish temper but I won't! :-) Interestingly enough, I have never, in all my years of nursing, had a family or patient who didn't like me...there's a first for everything I guess! Again, my only regret is the additional stress it brought Kim. She's being amazing too!

John and the kids took the day off of snowboarding yesterday. They took a ski lift up to the top of the mountain and froze their derrieres off! John said the view was utterly beautiful though! Man, do I wish I was there - for all sorts of reasons! :-)