Been working on piecing a mid-sized Village Quilt in between calls from my sister’s hospice team, her friends, and the nursing home where she now resides. A whirlwind. Way too much to relate. Nobody knows how long she has, and a recent rally confuses things, but she can no longer be alone.

It’s been pretty day by day here. Someday I’ll write publicly about more of this. How to describe it all? Eleven February trips to Salem, now with meds and my mouth guard on board. Just in case.

Last week after the determination was made that she could not be alone, I spent a horrible night on her floor. Not a clean sheet or blanket in the place on account of her incontinence. The smell of urine distracting. Her insistence that the TV stay on all night, not to be argued with.

K was in Moscow and arrangements had to be cobbled together for the dog. More stress. (Finn seems to have survived his first night alone in the house by hiring the dog walker for an extra walk at 8 pm.)

Fifteen firefighters assisted my sister in three days — five on Sunday to help her up from a fall; five on Tuesday morning to get her into her new hospital bed; five on Wednesday to get her onto a gurney to take her to a nursing home.

I knew I could never spend another night like that one. By then it was clear that she needed more that 24/7 care because there would be many moments in a day requiring three or four people. In the end, that made the decision easy.

On that awful night, she demanded to get out of bed at two a.m. Really argued. Picture me standing at the bedside, worried that someone who weighs almost three times what I weigh would shove herself forward and take us both out.

Highest of praise for the hospice team! They had a bed for her at a facility within 12 hours.

The hospice team is amazing. They’re skilled caregivers who are trained to address the needs of the whole family. After nine years of being rendered invisible in the face of my sister’s need and pathology, it’s disorienting. “Wait, what? You’re asking how I’m doing?” One of many signs that shows how difficult it all has been.

My sister says she is not scared. Believes that there are way worse things here on earth than could ever be in hell. Any anyway, she believes everyone goes to heaven. Never mind the inconsistencies — she has some kind of faith and that’s a good thing.

Today, she talked about rehab and wanted to know if I’d given all her things away already?

A process.

Her cat is here. Poor thing hides under C’s bed or in the laundry closet. The dog wants to kill her and would, given half a chance. No joke. But, one thing at a time. And anyway, it doesn’t feel right to give the little tuxedo away while my sister still lives.

Meanwhile, the news is a tempest.

Tomorrow my standing writing date will be a TV viewing date instead. Michael Cohen. I’ve made cookies.