Dear Family and Friends
The funeral for our beautiful Ray will take place:
Friday 30th March
11am
Mount Alexander Funerals
12 Campbell Street
Castlemaine
In lieu of flowers, we invite you to make a donation to the "One Thousand Cranes for Cancer" fundraising project that Marli has been working on for the past 12 months. Envelopes will be available at the entrance of the Chapel or log onto: http://vic.cancercouncilfundraising.org.au/onethousandcranes
Love
Marg
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
A lot has happened since we posted Ray's last message.
Yesterday, Ray asked the doctor to put him on the medication that induces a restful sleep - and for most of the time - that is what he is doing now. There are still times that he comes out of the sleep and is relatively lucid, but generally they don't last long.
I was able to get the girls from school before they added the drug to his syringe driver and we had a lovely hour before he drifted off into sleep.
Sheila, the girls and I are keeping a peaceful vigil and are supported by our friend Sue and the wonderful palliative care and district nurses from Castlemaine Health to keep Ray comfortable.
Be assured I read Ray your email and blog messages. I was reading Ray a prayer from a friend today, and just when I thought he had gone back to sleep, he surprised me by joining in with me at the end to say 'Amen'.
Another lovely moment today was when the girls were giving him a shave - Marli was soaping Ray's face and Tahnee was doing the shaving. He obviously thought they were taking too long and said "give it here" and commenced to finish the job. We all had a good laugh.
Love to you all
Marg
Yesterday, Ray asked the doctor to put him on the medication that induces a restful sleep - and for most of the time - that is what he is doing now. There are still times that he comes out of the sleep and is relatively lucid, but generally they don't last long.
I was able to get the girls from school before they added the drug to his syringe driver and we had a lovely hour before he drifted off into sleep.
Sheila, the girls and I are keeping a peaceful vigil and are supported by our friend Sue and the wonderful palliative care and district nurses from Castlemaine Health to keep Ray comfortable.
Be assured I read Ray your email and blog messages. I was reading Ray a prayer from a friend today, and just when I thought he had gone back to sleep, he surprised me by joining in with me at the end to say 'Amen'.
Another lovely moment today was when the girls were giving him a shave - Marli was soaping Ray's face and Tahnee was doing the shaving. He obviously thought they were taking too long and said "give it here" and commenced to finish the job. We all had a good laugh.
Love to you all
Marg
Saturday, March 17, 2012
My core body strength has deteriorated now to the point that I cannot walk without another person (or even 2) assisting me. KISS. The morphine makes me drowsy and at times hallucinatory and I have been caught out saying some things that make no sense at all - at which we all laugh about. I can still manage a good jibe and joke.
Apart from that, the sun is shining today after some torrential (but welcome) rain the last couple of days and all is well in my world.
Love Ray
Apart from that, the sun is shining today after some torrential (but welcome) rain the last couple of days and all is well in my world.
Love Ray
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Have just spent 2 nights in hospital as the pain had become unmanageable again using just the oral morphine. I am now on a morphine pump, which has helped tremendously, but at times, I still need extra morphine - especially during the day. Marg has been shown how to administer the extra morphine when I need it - which means she (or someone else) has to be with me 24 hours a day. To help her in this role, and give her some time to be able to do other things, our good friend Sue (who is a nurse) has volunteered to be the other person who stays with me.
In many ways, this is an acceptance of the journey that we chose many months ago - as my body deteriorates, I am now putting in place my support team. The palliative care team has been wonderful and has organised a special recliner chair and hospital bed for me at home. I still want to use my own bed at night - but the hospital bed is great as a day bed as it allows me to elevate my legs at the proper angle and, as a result, the fluid retention I had in my feet and legs has now deccreased.
Having the constant stream of morphine going into my body makes me even drowsier than I was before so if I am unable to take your calls when you ring, please understand that it's not because I don't want to talk to you.
Blessings to you all
Ray - also Marg, Tahnee, Marli & Andrew
In many ways, this is an acceptance of the journey that we chose many months ago - as my body deteriorates, I am now putting in place my support team. The palliative care team has been wonderful and has organised a special recliner chair and hospital bed for me at home. I still want to use my own bed at night - but the hospital bed is great as a day bed as it allows me to elevate my legs at the proper angle and, as a result, the fluid retention I had in my feet and legs has now deccreased.
Having the constant stream of morphine going into my body makes me even drowsier than I was before so if I am unable to take your calls when you ring, please understand that it's not because I don't want to talk to you.
Blessings to you all
Ray - also Marg, Tahnee, Marli & Andrew
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
