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Finally, Gramp slipped into a coma.

Ben Kline, M.D., the family doctor, came to the house and examined Gramp when he slipped into a coma after refusing to eat or drink.

The weaker Gramp became, the easier it was to care for him. Since he was no longer able to wreak havoc in his room, Nink was able (for the first time in over a year) to put sheets on his bed. Diapers and rubber pants solved the 'accident' problem. …

Gramp trying to get out of bed.

Dr. Kline told us there was no way to force nourishment on Gramp short of hospitalization and intravenous feeding. But to see this wiry, independent, sometimes exasperating but thoroughly decent man strapped to a hospital bed with tubes protruding…

Gramp refused all nourishment, including the eggnog and high-protein astronaut breakfast that the family tried to feed him. He told Nink, 'I'm just gong to lay here until it happens.' Nink attempted to feed Gramp in his room, but rather than…

Gramps continued his refusal to eat or drink, and he was becoming weaker by the day.

Shortly after losing control of his bowels, Gramp took out his false teeth and told Dan 'he wouldn't be needing them anymore.' And he refused to eat a thing. When Dan told me what had happened, I said, 'He'll eat when he gets good and hungry.' I…

The time we all dreaded, but knew was inevitable, came without warning, Gramp lost complete control of his bowels. In one incredible day, the Tugend house became a military-like operation of diapers, rolls of toilet paper, and a platoon system of…

Over a period of months, however, Gramp's comebacks became less and less successful and he began spending more time in the isolation of his room.