Kelly Hills:  

UPDATE 12/9/2009 My Mom passed away on Friday, Dec. 4th at 4 a.m., 16 days shy of her 81st birthday. After being seriously ill for the last 2 years she went peacefully in her sleep. UPDATE 9/30/09 When I was a little girl, Dad was resting on the couch, eyes shut. I went over to him, pried open an eyelid and said "Daddy, are you in there?" That has become my thing with him now. Sometimes when I go to visit him in the nursing home he's resting. I always pry open an eyelid and repeat that simple phrase. I ALWAYS get a big smile and a chuckle out of him when I do that. Makes me laugh and smile just thinking about it. UPDATE 9/2/2009 Dad was hospitalized in August with pneumonia, an enemy to someone living with Alzheimer's. Thankfully he's recovered now, but because of the problems victims have swallowing, he is now on pureed food and thickened liquids. This is to prevent him from choking/suffocating. What a cruel and insidious disease it is. But, I continue to treat him as I always did, but now with more love and acceptance than before. I can't tell you how my heart leaps when I walk into the nursing home and see his huge smile when he sees me! Every day I am flooded with memories of things we've don...Expand for more