N has finally passed away.

During the following week we continued to visit daily. N’s husband found it extremely painful to watch her and when she would ask things like “are you worried about me?” and “when am I coming home?” he’d crack up and so visiting was kept to a respectable minimum. Anyway, since she was so sleepy (drug induced, no doubt) there was precious little we could do. N continued to sink slowly but we’d find that one day she’d sink and the next she’d rally….no-one could tell just when she would have to let go of life.

12.4.08
I feel so ashamed about my efforts to produce a month-by-month ‘diary’ – I’m blushing mentally to think of all my best intents. So to those of you who have been reading these lines, thank you for waiting – I hope I can bring matters up to date and see the saga through to the end.

I suppose that the reason for my lack of updates has simply been that N’s decline has been so gradual and so uninspiring (if that’s the right word) that there hasn’t been anything significant to write about.

As expected, this has been a month of "getting used to N’s gradual decline" with very little to show for it.
The decline is slower than we expected and she seems to have shown amazing resilience to death.

9.10.07
This is going to be a month of waiting.
Towards the end of last month N was taken by ambulance to Bristol for two doses of radiology.
Isn't it sad that we don't have a radiology unit down here yet? I know one is being built but this has brought home to me the inadequacy of our local hospital facilities. I hope that time will bring suitable improvements - if only to say patients that horrible trip to Bristol.

20.9.07
My mother-in-Law has cancer - almost certainly brought about from years of smoking up to 60 or so cigarettes a day. She is only 68 and isn't likely to make it to 69.
This is going to be a diary of the events in my life in connection with her demise. It'll be sad - tinged only with the thought that her life hasn't been one of excitement and fulfillment - and that her end is going to rather typical of her general approach to life. I'll probably expand on that comment later.

Written up on 21.9.07
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