He agreed to her instructions.
In thedays that followed,itastonished meto see the
difference thehospice’s two simple instructions made.
My father couldn’t resist still tinkering with his
medications,buthediditmuchlessthanhehadandhe
keptalogofhissymptomsandwhatmedshetookwhen.
Thenursewhovisitedeachdaywouldgo overitwith
him and identify adjustments to make. He’d been
oscillatingwildly,werealized,betweenseverepainand
becoming so drugged he seemed drunk, with slurred,
confusedspeechanddifficultycontrollinghislimbs.The
changes gradually smoothed the pattern. The drunken
episodes all but disappeared. And his pain control
improved,althoughitwasnevercomplete,to hisgreat
frustration and sometimes anger.
Healsocompliedwiththeinstructionsnottoattemptto
getaroundwithouthelp.Thehospicehelpedmyparents
hireapersonalcareaidetostayovernightandassistmy
fathertothebathroomwhenheneededit.Afterthat,he
hadnomorefalls,andwegraduallyrealizedhowmuch
eachonehadsethimback.Everypassingdaywithouta
fallallowedhisbackandneckspasmstoreduce,hispain
to become better controlled, and his strength to increase.
Wewitnessed forourselves theconsequencesofliving
forthebestpossibledaytodayinsteadofsacrificingtime
now for time later. He’d become all but wheelchair
bound.But hisslideintocomplete quadriplegiahalted.
Hebecamemoreabletomanageshortdistanceswitha
walker.His control ofhis hands and his armstrength
improved. He had less trouble calling people on the
phoneandusinghislaptop.Thegreaterpredictabilityof