It had been almost two months since the treatments had stopped. It was the right thing to do as the treatments could not be given in a safe manner. It was deemed too dangerous to continue, thus they were finished. The blood test results were all highlighted in the abnormal hue of red. The organs had stopped working long ago, the treatment had been trying to replace the organ function. It had worked until other more important organs started to dysfunction. The family was informed of this change, his son knew exactly what this would mean. Time was going to be short, no one could say exactly how short, but he expected his father would die soon.

Almost two months later and Dad was still doing okay. He had continued to live his life the way he wanted to, as always on his own terms. He had worked almost twenty years longer than most people would have. A physical job that exhausted men decades younger than him, but one he had done until less than two years ago. He’d beaten the odds once again. How long could he go on like this? In the past few days, it seemed like life had caught up with Dad. It was subtle to start with, with more fatigue than usual, and a smaller appetite. At times Dad didn’t know where he was, but he could soon be reorientated. Then he almost fell over a few times. It was more of a slow-motion slide to the ground. Gravity had seemed to slow down around him, and he slid joint by joint to the floor. Although he had lost a lot of weight he was too heavy for his partner to lift off the floor. This had started happening more and more times. A call for help was made, and a team came to see him at home.

I was told that apart from the near falls, the nurse couldn’t find anything else needing attention. They thought he might only have weeks left to live. They recommended that he go into residential care as he would be harder to look after as he became more unwell. I had a different opinion. I had seen this play out too many times before. When people start falling it is a sign that the end is drawing closer. I thought further deteriorations were about to occur, that there would soon be a crisis. I arranged an admission into our inpatient unit.

On arrival, he was still pretty good. Able to walk in and converse with our staff. There was no discomfort, he was relaxed and happy. He and his partner settled in quickly. Over the weekend the family arrived and spent time with him. His son was glad that Dad had been admitted, and that the family’s distress had been relieved. The doctors said they’d see what happened over the next few days.

Two days later and Dad needed help to get out of bed. His arms and legs had lost their strength overnight. A further deterioration on top of those that had occurred already. Dad was starting to slip off the edge of the cliff. If he continued to descend at that rate, he might only have days left to live. The son came in again to have an important conversation with him. To find out what he knew about his condition.

“It’s pretty shit. I don’t have much time left.”

“Is there anything you still need to do, to sort out?”

“No. I’d like to see my siblings and our family.”

“Okay Dad, I’ll make some arrangements.”

A steady stream of visitors came over the course of the next week. Every day his son would check in with him. Every day Dad looked a tad smaller. His happy smile was still there but he became less able to follow conversations. Every day he slipped a bit more cognitively.

A steady stream of visitors came over the course of the next week. Every day his son would check in with him. Every day Dad looked a tad smaller. His happy smile was still there but he became less able to follow conversations. Every day he slipped a bit more cognitively.