Focht Family Blog

We left Statesboro Friday morning, dropped Punch off at the vet’s office to board and drove to Ocala, FL. Once in Ocala we dropped mom’s trailer off at a dealer that R-Vision recommended for repairs. Unfortunately, they said they are about a month behind. They didn’t tell us this when we called to see if they could do the repairs. So… not sure when mom will have her own space again. Until then, she is stuck on our sofa.

After dropping the trailer we called to find out where hospice was and found out that my grandpa has not been moved yet because the bed they thought he was going to get was given to a more urgent patient. We visited with grandpa, Jo (his wife), and Chris (Jo’s daughter) for a while. Grandpa was not having a good night. He didn’t seem to know we were there and he is also battling a lung infection. My dad showed up and we talked for a little bit and we decided to both come back in the morning and see if grandpa was better. We drove to Walmart and stayed the night.

The next morning we arrived at about 8:30. Grandpa was awake. He was watching us and seemed to know we were there so I just talked to him about my family and showed him pictures of his great grandchildren. He tried to talk back but I couldn’t understand most of what he said and I am sure that frustrated him. His mind is perfectly fine, it is just his body that has failed. He used to travel the world speaking and Parkinson’s has robbed him of the ability to speak. Chris came in a little after 9:00 and she has an easier time understanding him because she has spent so much time with him. We sang some hymns with him and he sang along, even keeping tune. Then we got up to leave and I patted him on the shoulder and told him we were leaving. He opened his eyes, looked a bit startled and said clearly, “Hi Bonnie, How are you?”. He recognized me and knew who I was. He then said hello to my mom and my dad, shaking my dad’s hand. He seemed very happy to see us all although his moment of clarity did not last long. I am still glad that grandpa knows we were there.

As soon as a bed becomes available at hospice he will be moved there and they will remove his feeding tube. The doctors have told them that he will probably fall into a deep sleep after 2-3 days and never wake up. He is battling a lung infection and sores and his kidneys are already starting to shut down so I hope that he will live long enough to be moved to hospice and give him and his wife the peaceful ending they desire. Since I do not have most of my pictures with me, I copied a picture of my grandfather off of a website that sells some of his books. He was a pioneer in the field of Christian Psychology and Counseling.