Debbie has been in Edgewater for one year now. She has adapted well to living there and it continues to be the best life possible that I can provide for her. I still visit every day. Most days I must help her with hygiene issues as she is most comfortable taking help from me. Then before dinner we walk around the building or the campus if the weather is nice. If I have FAIR Plan work that needs to be done, I open my laptop while Debbie is content sitting next to me while I work.
The Edgewater staff members are amazing. I cannot adequately describe the depth of their professionalism, their caring, and their hard work. I don't know how they give so much of themselves to care about the residents as much as they do and then must see each of them die.
Since Debbie has been there, there have been six deaths in total, with two in the last few weeks. We lost Maggie, the life of the party. Maggie told me she was there because she had dementia and then laughed and laughed. She maintained her sense of humor, making her pleasant company. About a month before her passing her awful disease went into high gear and forced her into skilled care. Debbie and I would visit her there and by this time she seldom opened her eyes. But when I held her hand and talked to her, she would occasionally squeeze my hand to let me know that she was still there. Cindy passed last weekend. She always had a smile for me and occasionally a wink to let me know she was still there. Her courage to participate in activities while her body was frail and failing was inspiring. I miss them both.
I decided to move closer to Edgewater and made an offer on a house across the street from the campus. I will get the keys to my new home on June 16th. Over 95% of everything I own has been packed for six weeks which means I probably don't really need any of it. I do plan to be very careful when it is unpacked to only keep what is needed. The next few weeks will be busy with the move and preparing the house that Debbie and I built for sale.
I appreciate your continuing thoughts and prayers along with the calls, texts, emails, Facebook posts, and lunch dates that are my life support. Debbie and I are blessed to have such a large group of friends. While Debbie may not know any of this and has lost the ability to know people’s names she is still there inside and has a degree of awareness. A few days ago, she motioned for me to lean closer as if to whisper a secret and then she kissed my ear and said, “I love you.” She is still there!
Onward and Upward!