Last Friday my world went sideways

Last Friday, my youngest son and his daughter left our house about 8 AM to go back to Indiana. They had been here for a week helping me because I had surgery on my arm on January 12. At 9 AM. My husband got up and got dressed. He came downstairs and ate breakfast. Then he sat in his recliner and said he wanted to rest. At 10:30 AM the aid arrived to give him his shower. He argued, but finally gave in and went upstairs with her. By the time they got upstairs, he was shaking from head to foot. He did get a shower, but afterwards he was still shaking and having difficulties. She called me to come upstairs to see if I could talk to him and find out what was wrong. He just laid there shaking and wouldn’t let us touch him. Then he appeared to fall asleep. About a half hour after the aid left I heard movement upstairs and went to investigate. I found him in the bathroom, sitting on the toilet, shaking uncontrollably. He was shaking so badly he could barely talk. He tried to get up and ended up falling. Then he started vomiting. I knew I needed help so I called 911. They were able to get him down the stairs and into the ambulance and took him to the ER. He was admitted later that night with pneumonia. He is still in the hospital, but is still very weak. He can’t even stand up on his own. He’s also very confused and until last night has been combative overnight. I think they have him so heavily sedated now that he’s just lying there. The doctor called me and said there was no way I would be able to bring him home. The care manager at the hospital is going to make phone calls and see if she can get him admitted to the memory care I have chosen. If not, he will have to go to another facility until they have an opening. I didn’t think my heart could break anymore, but it has. I didn’t know when we went to bed last Thursday night that we would never sleep in the same bed again. Our children have all been informed and are very supportive but the whole family feels broken. I’m about to cry writing this, and I didn’t think there were any more tears left. Because of the weather and the surgery on my arm, I’m still not driving. A friend is going to take me to the hospital later this morning and pick me up this evening. There’s so much to think about and so many phone calls I need to make that I feel overwhelmed. I’m losing my husband of 56 years. He’s my husband and my best friend and the love of my life. I don’t know when I’ve ever felt this devastated.

Brenda