Well here I am again, what an afternoon!
DN came as I posted last at 1.47pm. I left her in annexe to fill syringe driver, she came over when she'd finished to get our phone number for Hospice at Home. I wrote it on a post it note and said "I'll come back over with you" We went in and took one look at MIL, looked at each other and said together "she's gone". This was 2.15pm.
I came over to the house to tell Dave who was upstairs and Millie was at the top of the stairs whinging and panting
. I just knew this was going to happen, it's as if a switch had been flicked MIL had gone and Millie had started in labour
DN was lovely, called the surgery, took out catheter and syringe driver and helped me to change the sheet and put her pj bottoms on. Community nurse came out to certify death quite quickly and the undertakers were lovely when they came too.
Dave and I did a "high five over her bed. We are so pleased that we achieved what we set out to when his Dad died which was to look after her at home until the end of her life. She has had the best possible care for six and a half years, our lives have been put on hold and it has been really challenging at times but I wouldn't have change it. The satisfaction that I feel for "a job well done" is immeasurable.
So, The Natural Death Handbook was put away and The Book of The Bitc* , a complete guide to understanding and caring for bitche* has come out and I am now in midwife role
. Lots of panting going on, Millie is in the whelping box which she hasn't been near since we set it up a week ago and I am now camped out in the kitchen on a comfy chair. No puppies yet, I don't really expect there to be any this side of midnight.
I will start a new thread in the tea room, with pics when the puppies are here. For now The beginning of the end? has come to the end.
Rest in peace MIL and thank you for all the personal lessons I learnt from you on this journey. It has been a priveledge. A teacher to the end.