What to expect

A little late to this forum. My Dad's COPD leads me here. My younger sister, myself and my wife are caring for him. We think he is in the final stage of this horrible disease. He is 85 years old. My younger sister lives there at home with him, she has been living there her whole life. My wife and I are abut 25 miles away and have been traveling to his house daily for 7.5 months to help as my younger sister was no longer strong enough to help him on her own. We are trying to honor his wishes to not have to leave the house and go to a care facility. I do have 3 older sisters, they are all very slight in size and probably would have a hard time helping but that point is moot as we have asked them to cover for us once or twice and been refused. I don't know any of his specific numbers but know that in that time he has dwindled down to skin and bones. The hospice nurse says she isn't able to hear any breath sounds when she comes each week. In the last 2 months he went from eating 3 small meals a day to 1, using the bathroom 3 times a day to just once most days. My wife doesn't work due to some health conditions of her own but she has now been helping with the care staying there 24/7 for about the last 6 weeks. In the last couple weeks he has lost the ability to stand and walk so he is using a commode. He refuses a hospital bed. It was a miracle he agreed to use the commode. When we started caring for him I was unemployed. It was really a blessing from God that I didn't have to work and could spend the time with him. I started a new job in October and now am working during the day and going to his house a couple evenings during the week to give my sister and wife a break, then I go there n the weekends to give them a longer break. We love doing this for him, we wouldn't have it any other way. It has been long and stressful though. I am wondering what to expect in the near future.

Thank You for any insight,

Glen

Glen