Monday, July 19, 2010
The end of the journey
Diana Macdougald passed away this morning. Please continue to pray for Ian, Fiona, Andrew and their families.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Update
Ian has decided to keep Diana at home for now. Andrew is on a flight today and will arrive in Midland late on Saturday.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
A new path for the journey
From Chris: Please keep all the Macdougalds in your prayers as Diana's condition steadily worsens. She has not spoken for a day and dozes often. She is not quite in a coma. She responds more to spiritual messages than to everyday care taking. Fortunately, she seems at peace and in no pain. The current plan is to take Diana to Brian's house in Bay City (less than 30 minutes from Midland) tomorrow Friday. Ian and Diana's friend, Judy, has been a constant nurse and companion for the last week but more than one person is needed for simple care giving. Diana cannot be left alone. Please pray that Andrew is able to find a flight to the states midst all the returning World Cup fans. The family covets your prayers at this time.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Prayers continue to be needed!
A quick up date. Di had 3 seizures last week and has gone down hill since then. She was able to walk a bit but has now lost her walking legs. Hospice have been great and have visited each day. She now has a hospital bed in the living room so that she can be around people during the day. She sleeps most of the time and has a catheter. She talks very little, very quietly, and often makes little sense. Judy, a friend from South Africa, has been visiting for the last 3 weeks and returns on Friday. She has been more than an angel and works non stop helping DI. I will miss her greatly and will then have to decide on further options for DI as I cannot manage on my own. A nurse comes daily to wash Di. She also needs to be fed.
I will try and post when further developments take place.
Shalom, Ian
I will try and post when further developments take place.
Shalom, Ian
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Urgent Prayer Request
An urgent prayer request! Di had 3 seizures this evening.
She had a quiet day at home and was happy and seemed to be fine. She went to the bathroom at about 6pm and then couldn't remember what to do. She became very agitated, said she was hungry. As supper wasn't ready, Ian sat her on the couch, gave her a muesli bar and tried to reassure her. She started trying to talk, then became completely incoherent, then silent, but agitated. At 6.45 she had a seizure, I medicated her, Ian called the Hospice and the nurse arrived at 7.15 by which time she was having another seizure. She medicated her again.Ian had to get more medication for her from the Hospice Pharmacy half an hour away. At 8pm she started twitching so was re-medicated before the seizure started again.
She is asleep on a mattress in the lounge and I am sleeping next to her tonight. Ian is exhausted so has gone to bed.
The nurse will be back tomorrow.
Please pray that Di stabilises as Ian desperately needs to get away as planned and booked from Thursday until Tuesday.
With love from us all,
Judy
She had a quiet day at home and was happy and seemed to be fine. She went to the bathroom at about 6pm and then couldn't remember what to do. She became very agitated, said she was hungry. As supper wasn't ready, Ian sat her on the couch, gave her a muesli bar and tried to reassure her. She started trying to talk, then became completely incoherent, then silent, but agitated. At 6.45 she had a seizure, I medicated her, Ian called the Hospice and the nurse arrived at 7.15 by which time she was having another seizure. She medicated her again.Ian had to get more medication for her from the Hospice Pharmacy half an hour away. At 8pm she started twitching so was re-medicated before the seizure started again.
She is asleep on a mattress in the lounge and I am sleeping next to her tonight. Ian is exhausted so has gone to bed.
The nurse will be back tomorrow.
Please pray that Di stabilises as Ian desperately needs to get away as planned and booked from Thursday until Tuesday.
With love from us all,
Judy
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Another viewpoint
[The Macdougald's family friend, Judy, is visiting from Johanasburg]
Dear family and friends,
Many thanks for the e-mails and sms's. They have been a great encouragement to Ian and Di.
It is 7.30 pm and feels like 4pm! It only gets dark here at about 10pm and gets light at about 6am. I am sitting outside in the manicured garden next to the waterfall listening to the soothing sound of water and the twittering birds! What a wonderful life!
We all had a wonderful 4 days in Holland,MI - I kept pinching myself as it really is beautiful. For those who enjoy sailing, boating, fishing or cycling -this is the place for you! We had a Barbecue with the people from the Timeshare the afternoon we left. It was obviously a typical American Barbecue with Hot dogs, hamburgers and Bratwurst with the usual salads and then Choc Chip Cookies for desert. I felt sad saying goodbye to these amazing people and this beautiful piece of "Paradise"!
We had an uneventful trip back, enjoying the beautiful scenery and had a pit stop at Starbucks - Wends, I had the Chai Latte you recommended - it was delicious Di coped well with the time away. Holland is one of her favourite places, so she was happy there. She had to work out when she was going up and down the stairs as this truly exhausts her and she could only manage this twice a day.
The Hospice nurse came on Friday morning and was pleased with where Di is at. Di is not sleeping as well as she should now, so she upped the sleeping tablet which is the lowest dose you can take, but it is too much and Di battled to wake up this morning and has felt tired today, so she will go back to the lower dose. She has never taken sleeping tablets before, so her system is not used to them. her feet have swollen, so she is trying to walk more and drink more. Di needed more tablets so we went through to Brian's House, which is the Hospice where Di spent 2 nights. What a beautiful place! It is half an hour from their home and was recommended to them by the Ann Arbor Hospital. It was built in memory of Brian Stroud - an actor from New York who died from Aids. It is beautiful inside- painted murals in bright colours. Each bedroom has a specific theme and only 1 patient is allocated per bedroom. The Hospice Doctor is a friendly man and the staff are also. As nice and patient friendly as this place is, I hope Di never has to go there!
We drove through Bay City ( birth place of Madonna). It is an older city with mixed housing. It was a Lumber Baron's Town and has some interesting history.
I drove for the first time today to the Food Store and managed fine. The only close shave I had was going a little too close to a parked car near Ian's house. Otherwise, I found the "wrong side" of the road for South Africans, fine. I will have to drive when Ian is away, so I have to familiarise myself now! The Food Store was enormous and has everything that you could possibly need in it. The selection is stupendous! Another amazing observation was that people leave their handbags (purses) in the trolley(cart) and nobody takes it and you can go through a self check out and scan your own goods and pay the machine with cash or a credit card - mind blowing!!!
Happy July 4th to all the Americans! Ian and Fiona will be celebrating their 1st American Independence Day as American Citizens!
Until next time, lots of love to all of you, Ian, Di and Judy.
Dear family and friends,
Many thanks for the e-mails and sms's. They have been a great encouragement to Ian and Di.
It is 7.30 pm and feels like 4pm! It only gets dark here at about 10pm and gets light at about 6am. I am sitting outside in the manicured garden next to the waterfall listening to the soothing sound of water and the twittering birds! What a wonderful life!
We all had a wonderful 4 days in Holland,MI - I kept pinching myself as it really is beautiful. For those who enjoy sailing, boating, fishing or cycling -this is the place for you! We had a Barbecue with the people from the Timeshare the afternoon we left. It was obviously a typical American Barbecue with Hot dogs, hamburgers and Bratwurst with the usual salads and then Choc Chip Cookies for desert. I felt sad saying goodbye to these amazing people and this beautiful piece of "Paradise"!
We had an uneventful trip back, enjoying the beautiful scenery and had a pit stop at Starbucks - Wends, I had the Chai Latte you recommended - it was delicious Di coped well with the time away. Holland is one of her favourite places, so she was happy there. She had to work out when she was going up and down the stairs as this truly exhausts her and she could only manage this twice a day.
The Hospice nurse came on Friday morning and was pleased with where Di is at. Di is not sleeping as well as she should now, so she upped the sleeping tablet which is the lowest dose you can take, but it is too much and Di battled to wake up this morning and has felt tired today, so she will go back to the lower dose. She has never taken sleeping tablets before, so her system is not used to them. her feet have swollen, so she is trying to walk more and drink more. Di needed more tablets so we went through to Brian's House, which is the Hospice where Di spent 2 nights. What a beautiful place! It is half an hour from their home and was recommended to them by the Ann Arbor Hospital. It was built in memory of Brian Stroud - an actor from New York who died from Aids. It is beautiful inside- painted murals in bright colours. Each bedroom has a specific theme and only 1 patient is allocated per bedroom. The Hospice Doctor is a friendly man and the staff are also. As nice and patient friendly as this place is, I hope Di never has to go there!
We drove through Bay City ( birth place of Madonna). It is an older city with mixed housing. It was a Lumber Baron's Town and has some interesting history.
I drove for the first time today to the Food Store and managed fine. The only close shave I had was going a little too close to a parked car near Ian's house. Otherwise, I found the "wrong side" of the road for South Africans, fine. I will have to drive when Ian is away, so I have to familiarise myself now! The Food Store was enormous and has everything that you could possibly need in it. The selection is stupendous! Another amazing observation was that people leave their handbags (purses) in the trolley(cart) and nobody takes it and you can go through a self check out and scan your own goods and pay the machine with cash or a credit card - mind blowing!!!
Happy July 4th to all the Americans! Ian and Fiona will be celebrating their 1st American Independence Day as American Citizens!
Until next time, lots of love to all of you, Ian, Di and Judy.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Travels on the Journey
Greetings from beautiful Mackinac Island.
Well we are in Mackinac Island, which is in north Michigan where Lakes Michigan and Huron join. The island has a fort which has seen French, British and American occupations. The fort is now a museum and the governor of Michigan has a summer residence on the island. No motorised vehicles are allowed so it is either foot, bicycle or horse transportation. We are staying 1 mile out of the main town and have a great view from our room of the lake. Presently the windows are open and fresh air is blowing in. Seagulls are making their cry and the sound of the waves. Since coming to Michigan we have always wanted to visit here so thought it best now before Di is unable to make the trip. It is a 3 hour drive north from home then a 15 minute boat ride across. Our first 2 days we had nice sunny weather and yesterday managed to get into town to purchase some fudge and have a coffee at Starbucks!! In the afternoon I left Di in the sun to knit whilst I went for a 4 mile walk. It was great to walk along the coast road. I discovered that 4000 years ago the water level was 50ft higher than present day. Lots of fish to eat and we have eaten well, including Lady Di who seems to be famished all the time (due to the steroids she is on). We return to Midland tomorrow.
Di is not doing well and I find each day a challenge. The docs have upped her steroids, however she still struggles with knitting and often has to pull everything off and start again. Confusion over words. This morning she was hunting for a hat, which I knew we had not brought, but finally found she wanted a jacket!!! She gets exhausted quickly and is quite happy to sit all the time. I do get her up and go for very short walks. The last 2 days she has struggled to get out of chairs and I have had to help her. I was told yesterday that her eyesight is getting worse. All in all the tumour seems to be growing and applying pressure on the brain which controls all the functions.
We continue to live day to day.
As for me. Well!! Last night I wanted to run away and scream loudly. She is very demanding and wants things done now now. Complains a lot about the temperature etc. The restaurant was too cold, she was freezing, the temp was okay for me. Anyhow after showering and putting her to bed I went for a long walk. It breaks my heart to remain so positive for her when inside I want to scream and cry. It is difficult to have long conversations with her as she becomes confused. I have reconciled myself to what the future will probably be.
From Mackinac Island, Shalom!!
Well we are in Mackinac Island, which is in north Michigan where Lakes Michigan and Huron join. The island has a fort which has seen French, British and American occupations. The fort is now a museum and the governor of Michigan has a summer residence on the island. No motorised vehicles are allowed so it is either foot, bicycle or horse transportation. We are staying 1 mile out of the main town and have a great view from our room of the lake. Presently the windows are open and fresh air is blowing in. Seagulls are making their cry and the sound of the waves. Since coming to Michigan we have always wanted to visit here so thought it best now before Di is unable to make the trip. It is a 3 hour drive north from home then a 15 minute boat ride across. Our first 2 days we had nice sunny weather and yesterday managed to get into town to purchase some fudge and have a coffee at Starbucks!! In the afternoon I left Di in the sun to knit whilst I went for a 4 mile walk. It was great to walk along the coast road. I discovered that 4000 years ago the water level was 50ft higher than present day. Lots of fish to eat and we have eaten well, including Lady Di who seems to be famished all the time (due to the steroids she is on). We return to Midland tomorrow.
Di is not doing well and I find each day a challenge. The docs have upped her steroids, however she still struggles with knitting and often has to pull everything off and start again. Confusion over words. This morning she was hunting for a hat, which I knew we had not brought, but finally found she wanted a jacket!!! She gets exhausted quickly and is quite happy to sit all the time. I do get her up and go for very short walks. The last 2 days she has struggled to get out of chairs and I have had to help her. I was told yesterday that her eyesight is getting worse. All in all the tumour seems to be growing and applying pressure on the brain which controls all the functions.
We continue to live day to day.
As for me. Well!! Last night I wanted to run away and scream loudly. She is very demanding and wants things done now now. Complains a lot about the temperature etc. The restaurant was too cold, she was freezing, the temp was okay for me. Anyhow after showering and putting her to bed I went for a long walk. It breaks my heart to remain so positive for her when inside I want to scream and cry. It is difficult to have long conversations with her as she becomes confused. I have reconciled myself to what the future will probably be.
From Mackinac Island, Shalom!!
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