What a day today!!!! My poor Mark!

Hello all,


So this morning started out really rough. Mark was screaming in pain at 4 am. He took his morphine but still felt like he was "on fire". I called hospice and they said to give him another dose of 1 ml which I did, that settled him down a bit. He asked me to rub hard on his back/spine between his shoulder blades where (unfortunately) I felt a lump on his spine. The on call hospice nurse came over to assest him. He was not letting me test his blood sugar but when he finally did it was high (that was the first reading) and the second reading was 528. Being that he is on a sliding scale anything over 400 and I have to call the doctor. The hospice nurse got a hold of her and told us to give him 15 units, done. During the course of his muscle jerks he did happen to whack himself in the mouth producing a bloody lip. Cleaned his mouth and resting until....

Around noon, I was in the living room and I noticed Mark getting up? Why is he getting up? He already peed this morning (wasn't too bad, not too dark)! Well in the process of me getting into the bedroom he fell and I couldn't catch him. I also noticed that he wet the bed and still had to go. I grabbed the urinal that he got yesterday and tried to help him. You all know how stubborn he is and said he could do it on his own. Well on his own wasn't working since he dropped it (thank goodness it was full) so I preceeded to help him whether he liked it or not. So now he had wet underwear, a wet side of the bed and wet slippers (when he kept peeing). So I got him finished and got him over to my side of the bed. Now being a waterbed I was going to need help. So I called hospice again. I told Mark he may have to go to the hospice house or get a cathader or a hospital bed. Of course being stubborn he said no to all options. Hospice nurse came over to assest Mark since he fell. Nothing broken, just wall burns, kindof like rug burns. But before the nurse came over I came up with a solution that he could handle. I have a blow up full size mattress that the kids us when they stay over. So Mark liked the idea of that and it being in the living room so he can watch tv. I told him that I would rather have him fall from 6 inches instead of from 6 foot.

So now Mark is laying on the blow up mattress in the living room watching golf. I feel a whole lot better. I was a wreck and (thanks mom) my Mom let me vent and think and give suggestions. Just tested Mark's sugar level again and it is still high, doctor said another 15 units. Due to Mark not being able to hold on to things (he kind of throws/drops them and doesn't realize it) I am now doing the testing and the distribution of the insulin. He is no longer allowed to do it. He can still do his morphine to a point but ends up dropping the syringe before and after he takes it. He is not allowed to get up at all!!! We (the little nurse and I) got him to slide back to his side of the bed so I could put him in the office chair and we wheeled him to the blow up mattress and carefully set him in it. He is comfy he says. I did have the head of the mattress facing the couch with the loveseat being a barrier but I ended up moving while he was on it so that the head was on the loveseat and the barrier is the couch. They say that you can move your own body weight so since Mark has lost so much weight he is now weighing less than I am.

Yesterday my daugher brought me over some of her good cooking. She made dinner and saved me some. It was really good and alot. I saved some for today. First real good meal I have had in a long time. I have no use to cook for one since Mark is no longer eating. I have been living off of frozen french fries with melted shredded cheese, bologna sandwiches, popcorn and a piece of fruit every now and then. Her dinner was a very nice change and very delicious!!!


Okay all, that is all I have for now. Thanks for listening!
~Kelly