Sunday into Valentine's Day - February 13-14, 2011

One of the first things I did Sunday morning was to place a call to Meridian At-Home Hospice and Pete's local oncologists' service. I spoke with one of the on-call hospice nurses and she, in turn touched base with the oncologist who was on-call to get the hospice service in place. The visiting nurse from Bayota came around 9 AM; while she was tending to some of Pete's needs the hospice nurse arrived to begin the intake interview. All the people I spoke with were extremely helpful, and all were working without benefit of having secured approval from Pete's insurance.

Around noon, the physical therapist from Bayota came to assess Pete's physical condition, provide him with upper body exercises and to instruct Bruce and I in passive exercises so that we can maximize circulation and maintain joint flexibility in his lower extremities.
Gina's flight arrived about 4:30 PM and her very dear friend, Elise, picked her up from Newark, arriving here around 6. Pete's Aunt Georgette flew up from Florida. Her daughter, Adrienne, and grandson, Adam, picked her up from Atlantic City airport. They all arrived here around 9. Each took a few brief minutes to say hello to Pete, but he was quite tired from an earlier visit from his father, step-mother and two half siblings and we did not want to cause him any additional stress.

Pete had a very mild seizure as we were preparing him for the night. After he was settled in, we sat at the dining table and chatted for a while and then turned in ourselves. Around 1:30 AM I heard Pete moving his arms and when I went to his bedside he said he was uncomfortable and wanted to be turned. I woke Bruce who assisted me in rolling him to his back. No sooner had we turned him, he began to seize. Again, it was very mild and brief. In minutes he was again asleep.

I don't know if I have become more attuned to pre-seizure signs but I've noted that one or more of the following have preceded the seizures: his breathing becomes irregular, his face and head become flushed and very warm to the touch, he moves his arms, turns his head from side to side. I've immediately applied a cold compress to his head, spoken softly to him and gently rubbed his back and shoulders. Maybe this has helped decrease the severity, or maybe, these were simply very mild.

It was impossible for me to sleep at that point. I sat in the chair for a while and then moved to his bed and lay down next to him. Next I changed to sitting again. Around 3 he awoke and asked to be moved to his side. I was able to do this easily and he fell back to sleep so I lay down on my floor bed. By 4:30 it just seemed pointless for me to lie there staring at the ceiling so I got up to get myself a cup of coffee.