He reached out his hand
Dad reached out and took Bob's hand last night. It unleashed not a few tears. Dad is, in the words of the hospice nurse, actively dying. It's been hard to watch the decline over the past few months: the huge weight loss, the increase in his pain, his increased tiredness. It was clearly evident to us, even without a doctor's diagnosis, that cancer was ravaging his body. But the decline has increased greatly since his release from the hospital to the skilled nursing facility. We've spent as much time as possible with him, Bob's mom and I usually in the afternoons and Bob in the evening. I've sometimes skipped taking Bob's mom over in the afternoon (letting her get a ride) and joined Bob in the evening. These last few days there has been very little response from Dad. When asked he might blink a response, but has been frequently sleeping with very little response. Sunday night when a newly born great grandson visited, he leaned over and...