DEATHWATCH:A Day in the Life of My Ailing/Dying Mother-in-Law

A day in the life of caring for my ailing/dying? 74-year-old mother-in-law; just so you know:  Part I:

Not sure what you know about Amy's Mom Geri at this point Ellen but she has been very unwell for some years now.  It's been difficult and sad to watch her slowly but surely get worse and worse, and to really not do very much to try to get better.  But she is tough.  She's like a cat in that she's had about 29 lives so far.  We've been surprised a number of times that she's still alive.  She's reached a very tough place now.  She cannot walk.  We've bought a hospital bed for her and put it and her in the living room on the first floor.  She came home yesterday from her most recent hospital and then hospice facility.  She needed yet another surgical procedure about 2 weeks ago and then she went to rehab briefly.  Most of the "rehab" facilities she's been to have frankly been a joke.  They excel at taking Medicare money and NOT rehabbing her at all.  In fact she's gotten much worse in each of the last 3 rehab facilities she's stayed at.!!  When her Medicare
allotment is used up they've all released her to us at home.  It's not been a matter of where she is health-wise but that Medicare won't pay for her to stay beyond a certain period of time.  They should be ashamed, but they're not.
Anyway last night she fell out of bed after taking her diaper off and shat all over the floor.  She was due to go to dialysis this morning at 5 AM via ambulance.  We heard her and cleaned her and the rug in the living room up, and then the ambulance guys showed up shortly thereafter and because there had been a fall they are required by law to take her to the local ER to make sure she's OK.  So she missed dialysis today and she'll go tomorrow.  She goes via ambulance there and back 3 times per week.

To Be Continued

I think of Pete Rose at 74, Mick Jagger at 72, Keith Richards at 71, the Rolling Stones, etc. etc. etc.; all going strong seemingly somehow.  And then my sickly dying ungrateful whining moaning, constantly and repeatedly and loudly calling "help" and our names for help.  I'm sure she's scared.  It's tough, and sad.