ButterPecan of Bloom

I got a call from the Duchess this afternoon. She had been to visit Mother and found her not in good shape. She has not been doing very well for the past few days. The symptoms she is having are consistent with congestive heart failure. The Duchess insisted the staff call the hospice nurse, who recommended a minimum dose of morphine to ease her breathing and anxiety. She had them call Mr. Science to approve the prescription, which he did. This must have been a tough call for him. They also turned up her oxygen to help her breathe. The beginning of the end, I suppose? Maybe? Still no one really knows. Perhaps she'll have a good night's sleep and feel much better tomorrow, although that wouldn't be the way to bet. The Duchess is making preparations to cancel her vacation, again. I wonder if this is really necessary. I would not be surprised if Mother lives at least another week. She is also wondering if we should go through with the planned move, on Thursday. If Mother is dying, there is no reason to move her. But if she lives awhile longer, then it will be a long time before another permanent room is available, so maybe we should take advantage of it now. It all depends on how she is doing tomorrow. That will be the day of decision, so we're just waiting. At the moment, Mr. Science plans to arrive on Thursday and stay till Sunday, followed by the Sparrowhawk and me for Monday through next Thursday. By then the Duchess would have been back. It's all up in the air now. Mother always was a person who liked to keep her options open.