A Fork in the Road

This weekend we joined much of our extended family at the Getaway Up North.  This is an annual gathering and Jeff really wanted to go and see everyone.  Bob and Patti's great friends, Ken and Laurel let them borrow their large trailer to stay in so that Jeff could be more comfortable and private when needed.  This truly was a blessing so a huge shout out to them!  The weekend started great.  He was very happy to see everyone and spend time with the family.  His Aunt Kelli had brought him an old Lazy Boy to sit in by the fire.  He looked like he was on his thrown!  The first night was pretty rough for them.  Jeff was confused about his surroundings and would gasp for breath.  He calmed down after a few hours and Dad had prayed with him.  He then went to sleep and so did everyone else for a few hours.  The next day went very well.  He got up late morning, had something to eat and relaxed in the Lazy Boy under the tree.  He took a good nap and woke up suddenly to use the restroom.  Once he had eaten we asked him if he would like to go for a golf cart ride.  He perked right up and agreed.  We snapped this photo just before our venture….

 

 

He really enjoyed our ride, even with crazy driver Aunt Kelli!  He then went back to his thrown around the fire pit.  He was so awesome talking to Dad and us.  He kept asking if we were ok, if we were fine.  He was and always has been more concerned about the ones around them than himself.  He then was telling Aunt Kelli that he was going to close his eyes.  He said “but its ok, I want to so don’t freak out,” still the joker he always had been.  He then went to bed for another rough night.  He was up most of the night again.  Whether he wanted something to eat or had to use the restroom or just talk, they didn’t get much sleep that night either.  They finally got some rest in the early morning so they didn’t get up and out until late morning.  When they had gotten something to eat they decided to get Jeff up because they wanted to keep him up more on Saturday to get his days and nights back on the right track.  When we went in to get him out of bed he was very confused and hardly responsive.  His cousin Jimmy was able to carry him into Grandpa and Grandma’s trailer to eat and take his pills.  This is when we found out that his hearing and eyesight were completely gone.  He was quite confused when we were trying to feed him, give him his pills and something to drink.  He couldn’t hear us when we would tell him what we were doing, he spit everything out.  He then fell asleep on the inside Lazy Boy and throughout the day he would wake up and vomit. 

We decided to call his doctor to see if/what we could do.  She instructed us to take him straight to the ER.  We loaded him up and were on our way, his doctor called the ER docs ahead of time so that they were prepared for his situation.  They were able to get an IV in him and administer some pain medication to make him more comfortable.  He rested very well when they kicked in.  At this time we are keeping him as comfortable as we can until he is moved into the Hospice facility.  Our goal was to have him comfortable to get him home; this is what he really wanted.  Bringing him to the facility is the best choice for him right now because he can wake up very confused and he is REALLY strong!  We are asking for prayers for his continued comfort.  He is being very well taken care of and we just want him to be at peace and not worry.  He is such an amazing and strong man!  Thank you for your continued prayers for comfort and your support!

He is at Mercy Health in Muskegon.  At this time we are asking that visiting times be limited to 1 hour.  We have noticed that too many people and commotion seems to agitate him quite a bit more.  There are times when we really think he can see/hear us and we just don’t want anything to upset him.  Again, thank you all so very much, he needs the prayers for peace now more than ever.