At Day 18 of the 30 Days of Tingles, we had a bit of bad news and stopped publishing videos for about a week. The reason for the break was that my husband passed away and although it wasn’t sudden, it was still a bit of a shock as you can imagine.
My husband suffered with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) for some years. This is a debilitating illness that meant he was unable to walk, then unable to talk or focus. Although his brain functioned normally he was only able to communicate doing thumbs up or down in answer to specific questions. It has been heartbreaking to watch this vital, outdoors man succumb to such an illness. Just imagine having an active mind trapped inside what is virtually a tomb.
About 5 weeks ago I received a call from the nursing home saying that he had aspirated pneumonia, a condition common with the progression of this illness. He had a bad bout in January and we thought we were going to lose him then, but he rallied around much to everyone’s surprise including the medical staff.
But this time his health had deteriorated too far and he was in a lot of pain. And although he couldn’t say much he managed to tell me he loved me and then he said that “I need to go”. It was at this point he was started on a course of medication including morphine.
He struggled on for a further week after this regime was started. The nursing home and the staff were amazing and I was able to stay with him 24/7. I was holding his hand when I noticed his last breath exhale gently as a sigh. And I knew he had passed on.
My husband lived life to the full, he was a kind, gentle person who was full of fun and had an irreverent sense of human. His family adored him and he will be sadly missed.
I am going to take his ashes to New Zealand to sprinkle around the areas that he loved to go hunting and fishing. A fitting tribute to my man.
Paula flew up to be with me at the funeral, which I very much appreciated. The chapel was full of people who had known Val both in better days and in his last days in the nursing home. In keeping with his personality the last piece of music played at the funeral was Monty Python’s “Always look on the Bright Side of Life”. It would have pleased him enormously and was in keeping with his personality.
I want to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of you who sent prayers and condolences, your thoughts were much appreciated. And thank you for bearing with us during this trying time.
We are now back on track and are continuing the 30 Days of ASMR and will have more podcasts up shortly.
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