From my sister at 4:48 am her time:
I hope that you all have absorbed so much beauty in the wildlife and new experiences you have had in Africa. What adventures!
After multiple calls to hospice yesterday, the nurse finally came around 8:30 PM. Based on what we have seen with Mom since last Friday, with the quickening worsening of her condition, she believes Mom is making her transition home.
I will meet with the other hospice nurse around 9 AM. We will review everything. At this time, they will up the weekly nursing visits to 3X a week. If Mom continues to decline at the rate we have seen, they will review on Friday and could possibly move to daily visits.
When Mom gets to the point that she has stopped all eating and drinking, we could be looking at 3-4 days until she passes. She finally finished a small container of applesauce last night and drank some water. Her aide stayed with me until 7 PM last night and will be back this morning. To say the aide has been a blessing is an understatement of epic proportions.
The nurse believes we may be looking at 1-2 weeks before Mom passes. We also know this is completely out of our hands, and she will pass when her time is right. Our goal is to keep her comfortable in whatever ways we can.
I wanted you to have this information and will update more after the hospice visit this morning. I’ve been awake since 2:30 AM, and know my mind is racing a mile a minute. I am focusing on calmness and peace for Mom as she prepares to transition from her earthly body to her heavenly one, where she will be restored in whatever ways that angels are 💜
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My response:
Glad that we have been able to give her a home with good medical care. (As long as Mom is fading comfortably, we accept what is going on. It has been interesting from a distance to see so many people dying at the healthcare home in so short a time. The inquisitive side of me wonders about an “angel of death” in nursing staff.)
You have given a lot of your personal time toward her in the last two years. Mom’s eternal rest will give you rest on Earth, too!
Know that people in South Africa are praying for you as you help Mom close one circle of life and then pass your circle to your kids, linked circles that go back hundreds of thousands of years. As they say here, “the bush owns and sets the time at its own pace, we just own the watches.”
Tired and alone 