the quietus

[part five]

The following morning {Friday} we went back to the hospital to put in place the next course of action.
Consuelo had already expressed her wished to the doctor and he was in the process of preparing for her release when we got there.
All treatments were stopped and the IV was removed.
We were pleased to learn that she could return to Compass… this time, hospice would also be put into place.
She was back there before 2:30 that afternoon. She was peaceful and comfortable. It was good.
We knew she was in good hands, so we returned to her apartment to continue moving her things.
This time, we knew she would not be returning.

Saturday morning was spent clearing out the few things we moved to her new apartments and turning in the keys.
As Evan, Taylor and I were finishing up lunch, something nudged us back to Compass. We needed to go there.
Without hesitation, we did.

As we pulled into the parking lot, Evan received a call from the Hospice care giver.
Consuelo was not well. The nurses at the station confirmed. They also prepared  the tree of us for what we would see and hear.
Calls were made to Neale and Denise.
Neale would come as soon and he could.
Denise was in an airport in Arizona and would stop by after she landed in Salt Lake.
We made our way down to her room.

The death rattle was the most obvious symptom of what was to come.
She was not conscious , but we spoke to her, expressed our love, stroked her head.
She could hear us. She responded with her eyebrows or even a slight turn of the lips.
Evan called Denise again, this time alerting her of the urgency of her visit.
She and Alan were trying to catch an earlier flight.
Evan also called Kylee’s Mission President.
President Cooke would be seeing her later that evening and assured us he would speak to her.

Neale arrived a few hours later.
Then Denise called… they had just landed and were on their way.
Evan and Neale each took a hand. They told her that Denise would be here soon and asked her to hold on a little longer.
Sensing that she would not last, we prayed by her bedside.
Evan offered a beautiful prayer. He released her from this world and invited her to go home and to be reunited with her husband.
She could not hold on. Within minutes, she was gone.

After Denise arrived, we all sat in Consuelo's room for what seemed like hours.
Reminiscing.
Paying tribute her life.
She was an honorable woman.
She left us with dignity and grace.

the decision

[part four]

Phenomena was confirmed. Her body was also septic.
Bed sores were developing.
Antibiotics flowed though her veins.
During one of Neale’s visits, he left her with Dennis’ wedding band.
Neale wore it around his neck.
Connie now wore it on her hand.
If we learned anything, we learned the impact that an infection can have on the mind of the elderly.
Dementia being a very common side effect. Perhaps even a mercy, as she will not remember most of what is happening to her.
The next day, after being admitted into the hospital, she pulled her IV out.
She kept telling us that she is falling… falling out of bed. We tried our best to assure her that she was not.
She told us she was afraid. Of what, we could not determine.
Sunday marked 24 hours of no sleep for Consuelo.
The nurses report that she is in kidney failure.
Confusion was prevalent, with brief moments of lucidity throughout this next week.
Conversations seemed to take place with members of the family that have previously passed on:
Mama, Papa, Lily, Fermina, Sophia.
Reminiscing also took place.
We listened to Consuelo as she spoke of the days when she and Dennis met and started their courtship.
She was troubled with anxiety and had many restless nights.
So much so, that she was moved to a room closer to the nurses… the fishbowl as we called it. No walls. Only windows and a door .
During one of her good moments, She expressed to him, her desire to fight her way back. She needed to get her life in order.
She desired to work on family history and take names to the temple.

Nights continued to be troublesome for her.
There was no significant improvement, so we asked to nurses to administer morphine to help her rest and relax.
Evan would go sit with her until late at night, so that the nurses could get something done.
During those moments when her mind was here, he would continue to have important conversations with her.
Thursday night, she made a significant decision. She was exhausted and she was ready to go home.
She was at peace with her life here. We could see it on her face.

the rehab

[part three]

Visits at the hospital were frequent. Christmas was a little different this year. More time spent at the hospital, less time spent in the chaos that the holiday often brings. Friday finally arrived and Consuelo was transferred to Compass Rehab. Her room was beautiful! Homey. Warm. Inviting. Comfortable. We could not be any happier with this decision. We went back to her apartment to pack a bag with clothes and other personal effects. This would be home for the next several weeks and we wanted her surrounded with familiar things. She was anxious to read a book, so we selected a few from the library in the Center.

We continued to visit several times a day. It was GO time and she had a lot of work to do. Many of our pep talks seemed to be in vain. She was not giving rehab her best effort. She was tired. She slept more than she needed to. We encouraged her every time we saw her. Another week passed and we did not see much progress.

Two days into the New Year, we received an early morning phone call from Compass. There was concern about her behavior. She was slurring her speech and not very responsive. The biggest worry was a stroke. It was agreed that she needed to return to the hospital. We found ourselves, once again, in a familiar room in the ER. Several tests later, it was determined that the Urinary Track Infection she developed earlier had progressed. The worse news... Pneumonia was developing. She was admitted back into the hospital for treatment.

the recovery

[part two]

As expected, the surgery lasted an hour. We received the news at 1:15 AM that it was a success. A rod and two pins were holding her delicate hip in place. I went home to catch a couple of hours of sleep before heading into work. Evan stayed by his mothers side. He wanted to be there when she came out of the anesthesia. He paced a lot. He worried constantly. He napped as mush as he could. When she awakened, he was relieved... she was a survivor. She was taken to her temporary home, Room 408. Her pain level was relatively low, she was groggy but aware. Evan was able to break away long enough to go home, shower and pack his briefcase so he could work from the hospital.

I went straight to the hospital after work. Recovery was going along as best as we could hope for. A physical therapist was already working with her, helping her sit up and even stand. We were asked to select a rehabilitation center as they anticipated transitioning her there on Christmas eve. We chose one close to home for the sake of convenience. They had a bed and reserved it for her. Denise and Alan came down from Wyoming  and he daughter spent the second night at her side.  Connie was still in a fog and tired very easily. She slept a lot and ate very little.  There were concerns about her progress with the physical therapist. It was decided to keep her in the hospital through Christmas in hopes that she would become more alert and gain more strength.

Something kept gnawing at me about our rehab center choice, so I did some research online. I was prompted for a reason. Our first choice did not have very desirable reviews and very low health grades. I did some more research and found two other centers nearby that met our high criteria. I called Evan and shared with him my concerns and had him check for rooms at the other centers. Our first choice had a room and would be ready for her on Friday.

the call

[part one]

December 21, 2014 was like any other Sunday. We attended church, ate dinner as a family, and spent the evening relaxing. We were winding down for the night when the phone rang. The caller ID indicated that it was the Sister Missionaries. Evan answered the phone, not realizing that this phone call would change our lives.

The Sister on the phone confirmed that it was Evan, the son of Consuelo Rowley. She then informed him that his mother had taken a fall and that the EMT's were on their way. We quickly changed back into clothes and went over to her apartment. She was still on the ground in the lobby when we arrived. Several strong arms easily lifted her into a chair, where questions were asked and answered. It was estimated that she laid there for 15-20 minutes, calling for help, before she was found. She was alert and not in pain. Her vitals were good. The EMT's asked her if she could stand and she tried, with their assistance. Then, there was pain. They quickly sat her down and asked if she would like to go to the hospital. With our encouragement, she agreed it was best. She was skillfully placed on a gurney and Evan and I ran to her apartment to grab her wallet and lock the door.

We arrived at the hospital just as she was being wheeled in, so we followed her in. Room 8. The same room she was taken to when she broke her shoulder. Evan called our friend, Doug Martin, who rushed over to assist in giving her a blessing. Calls to Denise and Neale were held off briefly while we gathered information from the doctor. He wanted to X-ray her hip so we made those calls while she was in radiology. The results were not good. She fractured her hip. Immediate surgery was required. Because of her age, failure to do so would lead to phenomena and most likely, death. An Orthopedic Surgeon was called in. Neale arrived just in time to see her before she went to the operating room. He left shortly after and Evan and I escorted her to pre-op where we spoke with the anesthesiologist. It would be an easy, routine surgery, requiring only an hour if all went well. Shortly after midnight we found ourselves in the waiting room.