A Special Visit

Mike still seems to be "out of sorts", although I'm not quite sure what's wrong. His "gurgle" doesn't seem to be so bad, yet he does sometimes breath a little faster. The hospice nurse came by on Tuesday and she said that it could be from him being in pain from the 3 pressure sores he has (ankle, heel and shoulder). She recommended tylenol (for now) and oxygen if he needs it. I continue to watch and see what happens. In the mean time, I am ABSOLUTELY 100% convinced that Mike knew we were not there for 4 days. Since we have been home, he seems to be "better", according to his aide. She said she noticed that he was not the same when we were not there. FYI - to all those families and caregivers who believe that Alzheimer's patients aren't aware of what's going on around them.
Speaking of which, Mike will have a long awaited visitor on Saturday - his brother Bob. It's been 5 years since he has seen him. On Palm Sunday when I went to mass, the priest said a few things that REALLY hit home. I will not go into detail, but when I left church that day, I KNEW what I had to do. Because Bob had never tried to reach out to us by calling, sending birthday cards or stopping by, I believed in my heart that Bob was not a part of our lives because he couldn't handle seeing Mike this way. Bob expressed to me that he felt he was not welcome in our home. Apparently there have been some miscommunication over the years and I felt it was time to bring it to an end. I reached out to Bob and asked him to visit Mike. I KNOW Mike will be aware of Bob's presence and I KNOW he will be overjoyed. Bob is the only family Mike has left (beside his 2 Uncles and Aunt who all live out of State) and he was always very close with his brothers. He took alot from them growing up - since he was the baby of the family. I forewarned Bob that Mike will appear "expressionless", but I will know by reading his facial expressions, how he truly feels.
Mike deserves this visit and I know it will mean the world to him.