The Last Post

Sadly Mum died early this morning soon after 5am, Christmas Day 2011. There are a lot of very upset people around because she touched the hearts of so many. She was a great woman who will be sadly missed. The hospital staff have continued to be absolutely brilliant and arrangements are in hand to thank them properly. Mum was very clear about her funeral arrangements and the plan is to cremate her and then have a private scattering of the ashes at a specific place on the Brecon Beacons, Wales. People will say that Christmas is the worst time to lose someone so very dear but we will think about her all through the year and mourn this terrible loss. God bless you Mum xx

Early morning call

Got a phone call from the hospital early this morning and went down to Wales, very near the end now. X

Still nothing to report...

Mum is still hanging in there with very little change. She remains a formidable lady and is clearly not ready to leave us just yet! This is the first year ever that we will not be able to taste her delicious Christmas Cake with beautiful marzipan and icing. So many memories of Christmas...

Wednesday evening

Some family have been to see Mum today and she drank quite a bit of offered water which is a good thing. She drank some yesterday whilst I was there but it wasn't much. Oh - and she drank some Cola as well!

I have just telephoned the hospital and there is no change. Sleep tight Mum xx

A visit from the Chaplain.

The Chaplain came to visit Mum this afternoon: all part of the palliative care I suppose...

Anyway, his opening line was, "Hello Sylvia, you are lucky to catch me today..."

An odd thing for a Vicar to say to a hospital patient with only days to live??@!

And who the hell is Sylvia?

An Epiphany.

Mum was wide awake this morning and after a teeth clean we chatted about a few things and showed her some black and white pictures from the old days. She smiled. Mum listened to a new Cd of her favourite songs and declared that 'Little things mean a lot' by Cliff Richard is her all time favourite!

Mum's Consultant came in for a chat and then we went outside for an update. There is no real change except a small tweak in the Syringe Driver to ease Mum's agitation.

Then came the epiphany. Mum has done well to out last all expectations and the Consultant asked if we had said goodbye and given Mum permission to go. Wow. This might well be the reason Mum is still with us.

How on earth does one decide what to do? Keep Mum in our lives as long as possible but prolong her suffering or say goodbye and let her go?

No change

There isn't anything to report today really. No change in Mum's condition but she is sleeping a lot. I guess this will be the way of it now.

Headed down to Wales early tomorrow morning so please god Mum, hang on. xxx

Mum's favourite songs

We have been playing CDs of Mum's favourite songs to her. It is lovely to see her tapping her feet and singing along. I thought I would share some with you. The videos will play through 5 songs automatically for you but you can click the little next button if you wish to move through:

How to brush your teeth...

We brushed Mum's teeth and after a few failed attempts to swill her mouth, Mum spat into the bowl but over shot half way across the bed. It was hysterical!

Saturday lunchtime

Come down to see Mum and I wouldn't have thought she could have lost anymore weight but she has! She is drinking though even though she hasn't eaten anything for ages.

She is in good spirit though and is laughing and telling us stories about the old days x

No change

Just telephoned the hospital and there is no change today. I am seeing that as a good thing! Off down to see Mum in the morning and can't wait to see here :-)

If any of you are visiting Mum please try and get her to drink lots of water or even Tesco Cola - she loves that!

Tesco Cola mind you!

A bit of a drip

Last night it was agreed that Mum should have a drip installed. She hasn't been eating or drinking so it was decided this was the best way to keep her fluids up. However, she had a cup of tea this morning! She always loves a morning cup of tea. :-) xx

Nothing to eat

Mum has declined any food today but she is drinking. I can't wait to get back down there again so hopefully she will hang on for a few days.

Night, night.

Just called the ward and Mum is sleeping soundly.
Sleep tight Mum, we all love you and are thinking about you all the time xx

Perky?

I am not at the hospital now for a few days but Mum is apparently quite bright today. She is currently on an End of Life Care Pathway. This policy deals with the care of a patient in the last days of their life. There are definitely pros and cons to this.

Mum has been reviewed by her Palliative Care Consultant today and will again on Thursday. There is no change in her care and no intervention in her condition. She is being made comfortable and I am told she is smiling. :-)

Happy Christmas

A kind of Christmas day

We have bought a small Christmas Tree and decorated it for Mum's hospital room. We bought her a television to watch for Christmas and she is very comfortable and festive.

These times are sad but beautiful and I will remember them forever.

Happy Christmas Mum x x x

Monday morning

We stayed with Mum until about 1.30 this morning; she was wide awake and we were dead on our knees. This morning, she is wide awake again and has slept well over night. She looks definitely better and I can't see anything bad happening anytime soon.

A joyful evening

Mum has been asleep a lot today but woke up around tea time when some more family came to visit. It was a joy to see Mum singing along to her CD of my piano playing.
She ate some porridge for breakfast and some ice cream for tea and she has been drinking plenty. Something tells us that she is not ready to go anywhere yet!

Sunday morning breakfast

Whilst Mum has been drinking plenty, she hasn't really eaten anything for over a week.

But this morning I fed her some porridge! And a cup of tea!! :)

1am Sunday morning

It is now in the early hours of Sunday morning and Mum has been wide awake on and off since lunch time. We are having lots of hugs and kisses.

Mum is starting to doze off again now and she seems to be dreaming a little. I hope her dreams are sweet and pleasant.

She asked us to stay until she falls asleep and then, she said, we must go and sleep ourselves.

Night, night Mum. I love you so much x x x 

The most precious days

The last week or so has seen a general decline in Mum's health. The cancer markers are still zero but the recovery from the bowel operation has been hard. She also managed to contract MRSA when she was in Prince Charles Hospital. This angers me but I am pleased she moved to Aberdare Hospital about a month ago.

Mum became a little confused on Monday and it got progressively worse over the week. Although it would be right to say that seems to have passed and she is just very weak now. We have been told that she only has a matter of days left with us. We are finding it very hard.

The current situation is that she has:
low potassium level  2.3
Creatonin 25
Urea 7.8
Gram Positive bacteria Cocci
Renal difficulties

So we are sharing our final times with her. Yesterday when I left she said, 'Ta Ra darling' like she would always have said. That will stay with me forever. And today when I kissed her, she held me in her arms and said, 'I love you.' That will never leave me. These are very precious moments.

Nikki painted Mum's toe nails like she always has them and Mum's face was a joy when she saw them; she looked so pleased.

Right now, we are sat in Mum's room listening to the Mothers' Day CD I recorded for her. Mum is dozing and tapping her feet along to the music.

The staff on Cynon Ward, Aberdare Hospital are just the very best. They are taking brilliant care of Mum. And us too!