Update 4

Yesterday was a super busy day. We did get our photo taken, as you can see in my previous post, and actually one of Jennie's band members took the photos for us before they played. There were four boys and Jennie, two guitars, a bunch of singers, and a conga drum. Mom's eyes were closed for the whole thing, but she clapped after every song and hugged every member of the band. After they left the leader, Rich, sent Jennie a text to tell her that was the most meaningful thing he has ever done and thanked her so much for letting him be part of it.

Last night my sisters, Johnny and I all camped out in the family room with Dad, grandma, and Aunt Lauri. Anne and I had a major scare when mom suddenly made a gasping sound and stopped breathing for a minute. Due to this grandma and Aunt Lauri stayed up all night watching over her as Dad slept. I actually slept on the floor, something I haven't been able to do in years. None of us slept well, though.

Mom looks a little worse every day. She hasn't eaten anything but ice chips for almost a full week now and all we can do is watch as she slowly starves to death. Today the hospice nurse came to bathe her and brought a bedside commode and bedpan since mom is now too weak to walk to the bathroom alone. My only consolation was when I took mom's hand last night and I felt the strength of her grip.

At one point Dad came to Mom's bedside and she immediately reach out her hand and he took it in both of his. It was such a loving gesture, it held all the evidence of a love deeper than many of us have ever known. All I can ever hope for is that Johnny and I, when we've been married for thirty years, love each other as much.