A Rough Day

Today I had to remove my friend Jim's waterbed from his upstairs condo. I have know Jim and his wife Wilma for twenty two years. They were our first friends and confidants when my wife and I returned to Florida. They are eighteen years older than us, but we have always been close. We have always been neighbors. I am still able to walk to Jim's house in about five minutes.

Jim has been in declining health over the last three years. He had a bout with cancer when he was forty and even after reconstructive surgery and jaw replacement he has had physical chewing and swallowing difficulties over the years. Recently, that has become much worse. In the past year he has had some stenting of coronary arteries but other wise he is affected most seriously by the aspiration of food bit and liquids into his lungs. That has set up serial pneumonia and various other lung related dysfunctions. His swallowing has become so affected that he is now carrying a permanent direct feeding tube into his stomach. He also has MRSA, a hospital related infection that is resistant to usual antibiotic treatment. All of this has left him in a very weakened and debilitated condition. He is now in his fourth hospital stay in as many months. He has been carried out of his condo and transported to the hospital on three occasions now by EMS. He will probably be in a rehab facility again before he returns home.

My project today was to clear his much loved California King waterbed from his bedroom. It will be replaced by a hospital bed that can be adjusted as needed and will be rigged with assists for him to get in and out of bed. Wilma is just about at the end of her strength and energy to deal with all this. There are so many things to take care of. the The hospital and rehab center are all business and have little time to let things sink in. If Jim is able to come home it will be under the care of Hospice and home health services. He could live, not as he would prefer, under home health care for several years.

Jim and Wilma have grown children. They are however reluctant to involve them in the day to day challenges of being the aged parents. The children live far away or are in stretched circumstances themselves. It has become my lot, not reluctantly, to run interference for Jim and Wilma and do what I can do to keep up with the details of their current circumstances. I told Wilma again today that I would do that. She is so concerned about "being-a-bother". I had to insist and so I started with the waterbed.

This is going to be a continuing story for some time. I will address the high points in future posts.