The Pearl 2020

~~~
We tried to make our home not feel anything like a hospital, which
meant that Dad sat in his recliner instead of the hospital bed set up in the office.
Dad being in the living room meant more people could be with him at a
time. However, this choice meant that we needed to help Dad stand every
once in a while in order to change the sheets we had laid underneath him.
While he could barely recognize the world around him, for the first few days
two adults could help hold him in a standing position while a third person
switched out the sheets. This routine didn’t continue to work.
A few days into hospice care, my mother and aunt Joanie attempted to
help my father up while my grandparents switched out the sheets. My father,
as an automatic response, cursed at them. “Just leave me alone,” he muttered
repeatedly, and refused to put any of his energy into standing. Instead he sat
defiantly on the ground. My mom approached him, talking in a soothing
voice, but all he could respond with was annoyed curses. He did not want to
stand. I watched the man who taught me to be the strong perseverant woman
I am today crumble on the ground and begging his loved ones to leave him
alone. His voice, which we hadn’t heard speak this much in days, was small
and child-like. He sounded desperate.
We stood together, none of us strong enough to lift him back up. My
mom decided we needed to call the fire department. Soon a firetruck pulled
up outside of our house. Six men and women walked in and Mom showed
them my father, who was now laying on the floor. After a brief conversation,
we decided it would be best if we moved Dad to the hospital bed in the back
office, so that we wouldn’t have to repeat this scene. The firefighters put a
sheet under my dad and proceeded to lift him and move him into the small
back bedroom. We all watched helplessly. We thanked them profusely and
watched them leave. It sank in that while we were in our home, we had to accept
that Dad needed some of those hospital elements. From that point forward,
only two or three people could sit with him at a time due to the small
size of the room trying to accommodate a hospital bed.
~~~
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