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ORIGINAL: hizgeorgiapeach

I got dad moved this morning, and he's now settled in to his room resting.  I think he's kind of in a state of shock at the moment that he's not going back to the nursing home - he's asked me 6 times between when I got there and when I left him to rest in his room whether he's here to Stay, or just for the day for a visit.
 
The good news is, he's already happier, and his spirits are considerably better than the state of constant depression he's been in for most of the past two years.  He's pleased with the condition of the house, thrilled about the back deck that I built, excited about the therapy potential of the hot tub (they've been doing some hot tub/whirlpool therapy with him at the nursing home), and pleased that he finally has a room to HIMSELF again with no immediate roommate to contend with.  Apparantly he doesn't consider ME a roommate - we have different bedrooms LOL.  Then again, after 2 years of sharing a bedroom with another occupant who is Not a spouce or S.O., I guess I can see where his perspective on "room mate" is significantly different than my concept of "room mate" (being someone that I share the house with.)  The nursing home sent his meds for most of the rest of the month with him, so I don't have to hurry to get the scrips refilled.  He's overjoyed at the prospect of meals that are Not institutional - when he saw that I'd stocked the freezer with a shitload of the frozen dinners he likes, I thought he was gonna fall over in shock.  He's even already sleeping comfortably - which is something that he hasn't been able to do in a while.
 
The bad news is, it's pretty obvious that he's home to die.  While I was taking things out to the car, I had a talk with the social worker for the nursing home, as well as a couple of the nurses.  His appetite has been non-existant, so he's lost a bunch more weight.  (He weighs in at a whopping 98 lbs at this point, despite our best efforts to convince him to eat more.)  His breathing has gotten worse - no surprise there, since he's got both Asthma and Emphasymia and has refused to quit smoking - so breathing even with oxygen has become a chore for him.  And he's simply not Physically recovering from things that Should be Minor - and would be minor if not for the fact that he's severely underweight, has asthma and emphasymia, and has pretty much lost his will to live.  They've informed me that I should have the home health folks do an eval on him for Hospice - because they were getting ready to move him to a hospice situation even if he stayed there.  Basically - the medical staff has given up hope of him surviving for more than about another 6 to 9 months.  They don't recommend hospice if they think the person is going to survive longer than that.
 
Now all I have to do is to keep my own sanity, and find some time for myself.  Fortunately I managed to find an aquaintance that actually IS certified for home health by the state - since I'm offering her a better deal (pay wise) working for me directly than working for one of the agencies, she's agreed to do so.  Since she's certified, the state can't whine about it - and since she's a friend, I won't worry as much.