Saturday 17 November 2018

17 November 2018 - At HomeDeb

Deb in India shortly before the diagnosis of her brain tumour

Deb died at 20 minutes past midnight this morning.

As deaths go this was as good as we could ask for. Deb was at home, in no pain and surrounded by people who loved her and who she loved. In the days immediately before she died she was able to say goodbye to everyone and was grateful to be able to see all of her family. When Deb was diagnosed a decade ago we never imagined she would live this long and are grateful that she was with us as long as she was.

Around a week ago Deb began to deteriorate until she was bed ridden. During this period she became unable to feed herself, take tablets or anything orally. The carers began visiting four times a day to help take care of Deb and the district nurses began administering her medication via syringe drivers.

She was made comfortable and relaxed and it became obvious that the end was close. Last night her breathing became more laboured and eventually ceased. Sam, Kate and I were with her as she died and were able to say a final goodbye. District nurses came and verified Deb's death and the funeral directors arrived.

Throughout all of the posts I have written over the last 10 years you will see repeated mentions of various NHS staff. These staff have given us incredible support and guidance and we feel that Deb's treatment is a testament to the excellent service provided by the NHS. We were always treated with care and compassion and given the best support available.
I will update this blog with details of the funeral arrangements once we have organised them.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Deepest condolences to you and the kids. I remember her with fondness. She was the sort of person who would light up any room by just walking into it. I’m sure she will be sadly missed. Thanks for keeping everyone informed of her progress. All the best. Nigel, a Hull university friend x