Family Bonds

Chapter 17, Episode 1

 "Bert, you have to let me call the doctor," Jane pleaded.

"Go ahead." The old man's white face was pinched as he clutched the couch pillows. He nodded. "Maybe he can give me something."

She called the office.

"Let me help you into bed. The doctor wants to examine you and he said it would be easier if you're lying down."

Bert pressed his lips together and held one hand against his swollen abdomen. "If I lean on you and we go slow."

Jane helped him walk to his room. When he was finally lying down, he let out his breath slowly. "Thank you, Janie. I don't like you seeing me like this."

"Nonsense. I want to help you." Still she turned away so that he wouldn't see her tears and how upset she was that he refused to go to the hospital. Maybe it's time.

When the doctor arrived, she opened the door. "I'm wondering if it's time for that hospice thing you mentioned. He can hardly walk and he's always holding his belly. It seems to be getting bigger, but he hardly eats a thing."

"I'll have a look."

Jane opened Bert's door for the doctor. She returned to the couch, the murmur of voices in the next room rising and falling for a long time.

The doctor came out. "I gave him a sedative and he's resting now. Let's talk." He took her hand in his.

"He needs hospice care. It will be like nursing care, right here in your apartment. And, if you need someone to stay with him more than the hospice nurses—they'll check on him two or three times a week—I'll order a private nurse, too. She can be here as much or as little as you need her, whenever you or the volunteer or the hospice nurses aren't. Each of them will monitor his condition, his level of pain, and keep him as comfortable as possible. That palliative care I mentioned before."

"How long is he going to ... " The lump in Jane's throat threatened to choke her. "... need it?"

"It could be weeks, maybe months. But I don't think it'll be long. Are you working?"

She nodded. "Next week I'm starting my first year at Bethany School. In the experimental reading program."

"That sounds like an exciting position." He gazed at her with what seemed like sympathy. "When a loved one is dying, it's often harder on the family members than it is on the person whose life is coming to an end. You need support, too. The hospice program will give you that. You deserve the love and care of other people, too. I'll have the hospice support team call to schedule a visit with you and Bert."

Images of Bert over the years spiraled through her mind. What had the doctor said? She blinked and tried to focus on his words. "Team? I thought you said a nurse would come over."

"The team includes a nurse, a social worker, and a volunteer. They'll coordinate the care you and Bert need." He paused. "That other young woman I saw with you and Bert. The nursing student. Can she be your support person, take you out to lunch or go shopping?"

"Marty's in midwifery school. She left for Minneapolis weeks ago."

"Oh. Well, what about that nice young man who helped you bring Bert home after his surgery?"

She shook her head, forcing herself not to dwell on what she and Chet had yet to face. "He's not available now."

"Can you call someone, another friend, to take you to a movie or to dinner, or even just a walk around the block when you need a break?"