He's coming home again

The long-term care facility that Christena looked at last week with Douglas and Jennifer is 50 kms. from our home. As I mentioned, Christena does not drive and would have had to take two different types of transit to travel one way. This coupled with the fact that she was convinced that others would look at her and assume she put Henry into care because she didn't want the responsibility anymore and she has decided to have him come home.

I know she never wanted him to go into care in the first place. I have tried to help her understand that no one would EVER judge her for putting him into long-term care because it is extremely emotionally and physically difficult to look after someone who is as mentally and physically incapacitated as Henry has become in the last couple of months. She didn't hear me though. She didn't hear Doug or Jennifer when they said the same thing. She is worried about how it looks and I am sure that is as much a product of the age she grew up in as anything.

If she wants him to be at home for now, until a bed becomes available at the local facility, then Doug and I are certainly happy to help her achieve that goal. She wants him home. She believes he wants to be at home. She may very well be right. The hardest part is that he doesn't know anywhere to be home anymore. She told him that she was going to bring him home and he was confused. He told her he "was home." The next day he told her he wanted to get out of there and go home.

She misses him and I don't blame her. They have been married for 43 years (April 25) and that is a long time to live with someone. I am sure I would miss Doug too and would do whatever I could to keep him home.

Henry will come home with a variety of new medications and machines to help look after him and people to come in and help out but at least he will be here. That will be easier for all of us, I am sure of that.

Hug your family!!!