We went to a nursing home in Baltimore today to see our 86 year old friend Beverlee. Prior to that we hadn't seen her in 3 weeks, when I picked her up from the VA Hospital and brought her home. At that time, she was hospitalized for breathing difficulties (she's had them for years) which have become increasingly worse over the last 3 months. She's been on oxygen 24/7.
I met Beverlee 4 years ago at our friend Terry's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Terry met Bev at her Vet's office, and Bev was distraught having to put her cat down that day. Terry, being as she is, invited Bev to Thanksgiving dinner that week. Since then, I've always taken Dolly and Franklin to see her in her apartment in Baltimore City. She's funny, energetic, and very comfortable around everyone.
Today was a different story. She was sleeping when we arrived, and looked incredibly frail, now at around 75 pounds and drawn. She was hooked up to oxygen. The nurse woke her, and she recognized Tom and I, and the Dunkin' Donuts coffee and donuts we brought her. She seemed to go in and out of consciousness -getting fuzzy in between, and we couldn't understand her about 70% of the time. I wound up feeding her the donut, a little piece at a time, and she sipped the coffee through a straw. In her 15 minutes of lucidity, she wished Tom "happy birthday" (it was Nov. 23 and she remembered), and Dolly, too (hers was Nov. 29th). After about 45 minutes she was exhausted, and drifted back to sleep.
We just have the feeling that she's not going to be able to go home. She can't walk anymore, and can't even feed herself. She seems too weak to do anything but wake for less than an hour and sleep. It's heartbreaking to see her this way. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Bev has been a great friend over the last 4 years, and we love her very much.
No comments:
Post a Comment