One year ago this week, I brought my beloved husband back to my very favorite Caribbean island, Puerto Rico, to enjoy a 25th anniversary return to la isla del encanto. I had retired at the end of 2019, and Spouse and I planned lots of travel during 2020 with the new free time I was going to have.
Back in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, I traveled a LOT to this island for…
Continue reading
Holding his hand
But as usual, my testadura — the ever stubborn — defied prognostications. He lived through the night, and died the next morning when I had to let go when the nurses needed to adjust him in his bed.
Today, one month on, how am I doing?
Continue reading
One month ago, Thursday, December 31, which is usually during non-pandemic times a festive party time, instead, I arrived at the hospital at 7am to be with my husband. He had been hospitalized since the Sunday before with a nasty internal bacterial infection. I finally broke through the “Covid no visitor” policy since my husband was close to death.
I found him in really bad shape, even worse than when I left him the night before. He was having a lot of trouble breathing and he had a nasogastric (NG) tube in his nose, down his throat.
Where did that come from? Why was that there? Thus began a terribly difficult and fateful day of decision-making.
Continue reading
I have had several regular readers of this blog reach out to extend their condolences on the recent death of my beloved husband. I appreciate that.
Some people also offered information on how they handled similar situations when their husband or long-time partner died.
Concerns described to me about “trigger points” for grief made me realize just how I am benefiting, oddly, by…
Continue reading
I have to admit, these last couple weeks since my sweet husband let go, I have been grieving. Some readers of this blog have sent me email of condolences and suggestions on self-care.
Here is more of the story of what happened, and how I am being cared for in the worst time of personal grief…
Continue reading
As I mentioned on my January 1 blog entry, Spouse was terminally ill. And not with Covid — his kidneys were irreparably damaged by medical treatment, and then he contracted an infection that was too overwhelming and he could not survive.
I brought him to …
Continue reading
I have not been blogging here for a long time because…
Continue reading