Hi group:

The family had a meeting with Hospice this week.  Hospice is good.
They take care of an amazing amount of annoyances.  
They get hardware for patient care (like lifts and tray tables and
whatnot).  They arrange transport.  They FedEx meds to your door.
Hospice is a good thing.

It sucks that the steroids to counteract the cancer do their own
damage.  Our patient put off the radiotherapy so long that the
steroids have all but crippled her through muscle atrophy.  

When we asked her what she had for breakfast, she said:
"Toast, eggs, spiders, coffee..."
I think the pain medication is pretty darned good... I think some of
her mistaken word choice is a combination of tumor, high blood sugar
and dilaudid (sp?).

Anyway - I am familiar with a whole new hospital now, and we continue
to "hang in there".

Oh, and the wife's biopsy was ok.  Some kind of virus, it'll go away
on its own.  Yay.

Dog is still very ill and behaving oddly.  I'm surrounded by end of
life issues.  Oh well.  You take it one day at a time and enjoy what
you got while you got it.  I think providing aid and comfort to
someone stricken and their family may be the most important thing I've
ever done.

Tired.  Must sleep now.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz