This marks my 100th update on my dads condition. I have been visiting Oregon since Wednesday. My dad has been the most talkative he ever has been. He has been telling tales of his youth, talking about the death of his father and his own future. My parents are really getting excited about moving to Chicago. It's interesting to see them actually think about the logistics of moving to Chicago.
We also spent sometime talking about what to do with all of their stuff (sell/donate/trash), their house (sell for mortgage payoff quickly, hold out for an acceptable profit or keep it and rent it out).
My dad explained to me what the doctor said about his long term possibilities. My dad is to be on a liquid diet from now until the end. He hasn't really been following the liquid diet fully -- he's been eating a small amount of solid food each day, much less than normal though. The tumors are going to continue to grow until the choke my dad's gastrointestinal track so the liquid diet won't be able to pass. At this point he will starve to death. He doesn't seem to be too distraught with this -- evidently the doctors told him that he'll be on a ton of pain meds and won't feel any pain. He will linger for a few days then just slip away. Ok, that might sound good for him, but it sounds like torture for the rest of us.
One thing that my dad said he wants when he moves to Chicago and he's under the care of hospice is to have his hospital bed set up in the living room -- so he could be in the middle of everything, not stuck in a back room. This is a bit disturbing to me. I know where he is coming from, but come on -- this is a bit extreme. I'm sure we will honor his wishes...
My dad and I also did a lot of things that we hadn't done before -- we fixed plumbing problems, we worked on the car, he wanted to tag along with me while I ran other standard errands. He's been much more interested in going out for "treats" too. We were price checking his liquid diet options (Ensure, mostly) and he decided he wanted to go to Dairy Queen to get a Dipped Cone.
He really does seem to be much more at peace with his lot in life than before.
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I was happy to see you and I hope you had a good afternoon of walking about McMinnville, drinking. I hope to see you in December and will keep reading these to stay up to date.
-*--**-Bry*-*-*-*-*
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