Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.
Those of you who know our father well know that he has been dealing with the symptoms of COPD, specifically Bronchiectasis (
https://www.lung.org/lung-health-and-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/bronchiectasis/learn-about-bronchiectasis.html) for many years. . During his last trip to the hospital in February, Dad decided that, as his condition is ultimately not treatable, he wanted to end the cycle of hospital-rehab-home and go into home hospice care in his independent living apartment at Newcastle in Mequon. Here, with the help of a wonderful hospice team and his round-the-clock caregivers, the focus of his care has shifted from treatment to providing safety and comfort for his symptoms. Dad deserves the best quality of life we can make available to him.
Dad has his good days and his not-so-good days. He obviously has difficulty breathing and is getting supplemental oxygen. He has also lost a good deal of weight (not that he had any to lose), and is weak as a result. But he still likes to get around and his always sharp wit and good humor constantly shine through.
None of us, including Dad, knows what the future has in store, he could be in hospice care for weeks or months.
His children, Andy and Ellen, have set up this site as a way to keep all of Dad's many friends aware of his situation as it continues to evolve. He is such a terrific man, we know that what all his family and friends want for him is to remain as comfortable and active as he can for as much time as he is given on this Earth before he leaves us to be with Mom.
