Celebration of life

We will be holding a service to celebrate the life of Ian, beloved husband of Jill and a very dear father and grandfather.

Thursday November 26th
Pinelands Methodist Church
2.30pm

My mom has asked that donations be made to St Lukes in lieu of flowers as this organisation did such a sterling job in helping and supporting both mom and dad in their time of need.

It will be lovely if you able to join us in Pinelands on Thursday.

At Peace

Our wonderful father passed away peacefully just before 5am this morning.
Sue-Ann & Janet xx

Dad has had a very restless day. He has been experiencing alot of new pain, possibly spasms. As our aim remains to make him as comfortable as possible, we have now set up a 'driver' that will deliver increased doses of morphine on an ongoing basis. As we now need someone to be at his side all of the time, we have enlisted the help of a night nurse who will be arriving shortly. We are admintering a sedative via the 'driver' and this should also help in keeping dad comfortable and peaceful.

The hospice nurse has just seen dad again today. She has given us some great tips on turning him and using pillows around his body to prevent bed sores. We are now using a syringe to give dad water and this is working nicely. It is very hard for him to swallow, so we turn him on his side beforehand and this helps. The nurse hopes to visit each day now and is talking with the GP to ensure we are providing dad with everything possible to continue to keep him comfortable and free of pain.
Many thanks again for all the love and support from everyone!

Sunday update

Dad has slept most of the day and appears more comfortable than he was yesterday. That said, he is not eating very much and taking just a minimum of water, leaving him weaker. Many thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

Dad was discharged from hospital today. He was happy to be at home again, although he has been agitated and is feeling uncomfortable. Due to having been in bed for the last 2 weeks he does have some bed sores, although both at hospital and at home he has been having back rubs. Janet arrived from the UK today and this will be a great help to Mom.

Dad hasn't slept well for the past few nights and we are hoping with the aid of some relaxation music he will get a good nights rest. For those who want to visit, it is important to note that Dad cannot have lengthy conversations and any visit should be quick. His mind is still alert, but he tires very easily and has trouble speaking.

Any messages sent via this blog, email or telephonically are passed onto both Mom and Dad and we appreciate the good wishes and prayers from all family and friends. He is very terminal and we just want to make him as comfortable and pain free as possible.

Dad was admitted to the Kingsbury hospital this afternoon. He is likely to be there for just a few days whilst they investigate some bleeding. He has been made very comfortable and was able to make known that he was feeling hungry, so I believe there is some soup on it's way to him.