January 4, 2015 - Continued...

Steve was uncomfortable from the beginning of the day.  He sat in his recliner for a while, then he wanted to lie on the couch, and finally he wondered if I would help him get set up in our bedroom upstairs.  The reason that he started to sleep downstairs in the recliner is that initially -- similarly to many pancreatic cancer patients -- it was very painful for Steve to sleep in a fully reclined position in bed. 

He wanted to be up in the bedroom all day and didn't seem to want much company.  So I let him rest...checking in occasionally to see if he needed any medications, food or drink.  Once when I went up there, he mentioned that he was really sad because SportsCenter anchor, Stuart Scott, had passed away of cancer today at the age of 49.  So young...and it hit Steve kind of hard. 

I was relieved when he wanted to come down and join us for a bit tonight.  Poppy grinned at him a bunch and waved and waved.  She even tried to climb up the recliner to hold his hand. 

So the next thing we may have to figure out (preferably before Baby Laswell arrives) is house logistics.  Steve is interested in sleeping back upstairs now.  I am all for this if it improves his comfort level; however, I also want to make sure we are being safe as the chemotherapy treatments do make him very weak and some days the stairs are more challenging than others.  It also makes things a bit more difficult that everything we need to meet his needs would be on the first floor.  I already felt like the time I took to "answer his call light" was excessive today.  Once we have Poppy and an additional little guy, my time may get even worse, and he deserves better care than that.  And finally, when Steve can't get comfortable at night, he sometimes walks around a bit, gets a drink, takes a shower or watches TV.  I worry that this will wake up Poppy (ugh!)...and soon...new Baby Laswell.  But again...I want for him to have the greatest comfort level he can...and see if we can also meet the needs of other members of the household. 

I suggested that we could turn the dining room into a bedroom for us -- that way, he could have a bed for comfort...it would be on the first floor with all of his needs met...and we wouldn't wake up the bay-bays.  He wasn't quite sold on the idea...so we are going to mull it over.  I'm going to try to brainstorm some other ideas too.  It's tough to determine the best solution that will be an exact perfect fit for everyone.  I'm trying not to get too mired down with all of this.  Maybe we can just test-run something, see how it works and go from there.   

Have a great start to your week!