Aphy if the expression was from shock or from a sense of defeat.

Margurita and Helen followed the ambulance to the Community Hospital. Dr. Verma examined Alphy and confirmed that he had a broken hip. Dr. Verma made a referral for Alphy to be seen by a bone surgeon at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown. No doubt Alphy’s hip would require surgery. Dr. Verma told the family that he was not sure how long Alphy would need to stay at the Q.E.H., but he advised that it might take some time for the hip to heal. The only thing to do now was to take Alphy to the Q.E. H. by ambulance.

Margurita and Helen arrived at the Q.E.H. a short time after the ambulance. By this time Alphy had been seen by a doctor, who explained to Alphy that he would require surgery; however Alphy had not given consent to have the surgery. When Margurita saw Alphy, he was emotionally wound up. The doctor had prescribed medicine to ease the pain, but instead of having a calming effect on Alphy, it made him hyper. Alphy told Margurita that he refused to stay in the hospital. He expressed that he didn’t want to go through the surgery, and that he just wanted to go home to die. Obviously, Alphy wasn’t going to make this hospital stay easy for anyone, but it was especially difficult for Margurita. Margurita told Alphy that she couldn’t take him home now, but she promised that he would not be left alone during his hospital stay. Margurita kept her word - for the next two weeks she stayed with Alphy during the daytime, and their daughters took turns staying the night.

Alphy’s wish to return home did not happen. He had the hip surgery and recovered from it, but by then he had lost interest in living. Alphy’s appetite diminished to the point where he became receptive to drinking fluids only. Following surgery, Alphy was put on IV (intravenous). Without nourishment, Alphy’s body was slowly deteriorating.

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