Day 057-058 – Melbourne, FL – Things get worse

I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night. It really sucks there isn’t a solution to keep the mask on my Uncle’s face when he is sleeping. I asked if we could MacGyver a chin strap or something and was told by the nurse that it would be a chocking hazard 🙁 I went back to the house once my Aunt Helen came back to the hospital. On the way back I stopped by a gourmet market to pick up some wine and cheese. My cousin Lynn was visiting and I wanted something for us as a group to enjoy since things felt sucky.

We had another meeting with the case manger and talked about all the options again ranging from home care to hospice. After consulting with the doctor my Aunt decided to keep focused on the rehabilitation plan. The doctor said all of the specialists agreed that Pino could try the rehabilitation program and my Uncle did say he would try again. So that was that. As he dozed off we watched him sleep cook a dish that contained peeled shrimp as we snacked on our goat brie and sharp cheddar. In a crappy situations it’s important to have some humor and to also eat good foods whenever possible.

That night I went back home to sleep with a bit on my mind. Tomorrow will be a week that I’ve been in Melbourne and thoughts of getting back on my bike to continue the journey are popping up. I’m happy to be here and realize that not having immediate family to care for or job responsibilities affords me the freedom. I also realize that my cousins and other family members have spent time helping and had to get back to their immediate responsibilities. I think it’s natural to have the trip on my mind, but also fine to stick around for a while longer without getting off track.

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I returned to the hospital on Monday morning to news that my Uncle Pino needed to be moved down a floor to intensive care so that his condition could be better managed. After helping to get his personal belongings moved we spent some time waiting for him to be transferred and settled in before being allowed back into the room. It’s not going well, but both my Aunt and Uncle are being strong and loving towards one another. It was very touching to hear them sing Amazing Grace together – my Aunt perched close to his ear and he singing through the CPAP mask, his muffled endearing accent melding with her sonorous voice.

We asked if they had a bed they could bring into the room for my Aunt to sleep on and nurse said they didn’t. I ended up getting her a small blow-up mattress from Walmart and helping her set it up before going home. I didn’t take any pictures these past two days so here is one from 2001 of my Uncle Pino cooking at my Aunt Irene and Uncle Bruce’s house out on Long Island.