Summer Solstace

Short update today. Ha, I sound like a broken record!  I say that every day.  

Nate spent the night with Summer while Angela and I went home to Tremont Tuesday Night.   When I got home, I closed the bedroom blinds before I went to sleep. That pesky sunrise on the solstice was the last thing I want to see!

I was asleep by 11 and utterly sucked into our bed until 7:30. That was delightful.  But, I had to get up and start moving quicker than I wanted…. Nate was at the hospice by himself and I wanted to make sure he didn’t feel abandoned.

Per his request, we picked up a fresh slice of breakfast pizza at the Casey’s before getting to the Richard Owens Hospice.  

Nate was sitting in the recliner and Summer was sitting in a beautifully remade bed covered in white linens and comforter. She was very still.  Even though she was sitting upright, she was very much asleep.

Nate said that last night after we left he moved some chairs over beside the bed and watched some Anime with Summer. Half on her bed beside her. He said she seemed responsive.

But since then, she has been pretty wiped out. What I was seeing was how it had been all night and morning.

Doctor Deter came in (I’ve been spelling it wrong!) and asked if we could talk. Here we go again?!? What did my family do now?

Unfortunately, she wanted to have a bread talk about Summer. A lot of the oral meds and sleep aid meds from St Jude are becoming unnecessary or even impossible to administer. Impossible because she is not in the mood to swallow anymore.  Sometimes, a Smoothie King shake will do it.  But a mouthful of crunched-up pills is a harder sell.  Doc recommended we keep it simple at this point.

Like us, she has seen the change in Summer over the last week. Things are slowing down. We can all see it.

I held her hand for a bit today…. Her fingers were always kinda “wirey” but they seem smaller now.  Going through the pictures over the last week and then looking at her as she lays in bed, its easier to see the devastation on her body.  As we worked through vacation and then hospice…  You become numb to the changes as they are gradual.  If you step back is a much harsher reality check.  

Tonight…. Something crazy.

A few years ago we bought tickets to see a band the whole family loves…. Eels. I had bought 4 tickets so that we could see them as a family or that Summer, Nate, Aiden, and whoever could go without the parental units.

These tickets have been lording over us as we try to navigate Summers hospice. We were not concerned if she was sick enough that we should stay home. But, we know, and by now you should know that she would be eternally pissed if we skipped this show.  She was a live music nut.  

Nate, Aiden, and I left with Aiden’s friend Cole for Chicago around 4 PM.  We got home a short time ago…  Come to find out that Fall Out Boy was playing down the street.  That was a pain the parking bill!  And made us 90 minutes later getting out of Wrigleyville.  

We had a great time at show and an entertaining car ride with myself and the 3 “boys” talking smack and daring each other to eat a 5th slider from White Castle.  (Cole Failed!!!)   

Nate saw his first concert at the Metro with Summer 2 years ago.  They saw their favorite band Aries.  I was last at the Metro with Summer when we saw Pup and Ratboys here.  Lots of great memories in these walls 200 miles from home.  

Back at it on Thursday.  

Oh… The Chamblis family cleaned our house today…  They begged and nearly forced Angela to let them do it.  It’s amazingly de-cluttered.  THANK YOU!!!!  It’s like our house I remember 18 months ago.  

Video below of Eels playing one of their tunes that Summer used to love.  I remember playing this album over and over right after we bought this house in Tremont.

Eels have rockers and songs that touch your heart.  It’s a lethal combination for solo car drives.  

Photo of Summer and I at the Pup concert in 2019