Dennis died at 10:46 this am. The aide from hospice and I had just finished giving him a bath he took one breath and was gone. He did not appear to be in any pain.
We had read all of the caring bridge comments to him and I know he loved hearing them.

Dennis has declined significantly since Friday. He is sleeping most of the day and is no longer eating. He is getting regular pain medication and hospice has been wonderful providing daily cares. Family is still welcome to come anytime for visits.

Dennis is weaker this week but is still alert and enjoying visits from friends and family. He is enjoying all the good food and treats that family has provided. 

Dennis had abnormal blood work since 2018. It did not become a problem until September of 2019 when he was diagnosed with pancytopenia which is a low white count, red blood cell count, hemoglobin and platelets. This condition is usually caused by a disease process like lymphoma,leukemia,multiple myeloma. Dennis had a bone marrow biopsy in September which did not show any disease process. He saw the hematologist every few weeks and had multiple labs and 2 iron infusions. Because of an abnormal CT scan, he was also sent to pulmonology, GI and cardiology. He was diagnosed with liver disease {non alcoholic cirrhosis}, mild valvular disease and a bronchial condition. None of these were thought to be severe.
His condition took a turn for the worse November 26 when he became confused while driving and had an accident. He was taken to Regions and had an extensive work-up. He seemed to recover and came home after 5 days. 3 days later at a doctor appt, he again became confused and was brought back to Regions. For the next 5 weeks he had numerous scans, labs, spinal tap and numerous other tests to try and come up with a diagnosis. His blood counts kept dropping despite 5 blood transfusions and 14 platelet transfusions. His records were sent to Mayo and U of M for their input but no one could offer any testing ideas that hadn't already been done. Something was destroying his blood cells and even replacing them daily was not effective. Since his condition was worsening he was released home on hospice care. He is comfortable, not in pain but is very weak. He likes having visitors and hearing from friends.