my father

[Drunk Monk]

hospice care is expensive. mom seems secure with the outrageous prices - it is a really good facility however, and as i used to work as a med lab carrier (a job lb secured for me no less), i've seen the insides of a lot of those places and some are definitely better than others. this place is really good, so i suppose it's worth it. my mom is happy with it and my dad seems as comfortable as he can be, given the situation. one of the attendants said he actually said 'activities' which is astounding as he seldom gets off multiple syllable words. the last big word i heard him say was 'bunnies' referring to the bunnies that live in the center courtyard of the nursing home. other than that, it's only been 'yup' and 'mmm'. he's been pulling out his catheter again and i can't say i blame him. mom says he's been eating well, but when i last visited, they just gave him his antibiotics in a mouthful of boost (like ensure - a liquid nutrient drink) and he held it in his mouth for the whole half hour while i was there. he's getting so skinny, like holocaust survivor skinny. mom say she can cash her stockpiled wad of bonds - all post wwii stuff so they've earned just about as much as they will ever earn - and that will hold for the bills for some time. then there are a lot of stocks that can be liquidated. dad played the stocks religiously. i remember him handwriting this huge charts, all in the tiniest font as was his ilk, and having binders and binders of stock portfolios. mom says he did well by those so there's some cash. it trips me out to think that all of those long hours he spent toiling away at that will wind up only to give him comfort in his last days, instead of a trip somewhere exotic or a nice car or something more personally rewarding, but it also gives me and my mom solace, and i know he always worked hard for us and wished for that most of all. makes me wonder about the notion of savings tho.