Barb, I couldn't agree with Backhoe more. I'd just like to add one thing... Give your beloved permission to leave. Tell him. Tell him how much you love him and how much you'll miss him, but tell him it's ok for him to be relieved of his pain and to go home with the Lord.
And please accept my heartfelt prayers for strength and courage for you, dear one. Take it one step at a time.
Thanks, friend.
When my Mother was at the final stages of a very long ( and largely good, but sometimes very, very hard ) life, she went to sleep, and would not wake up. Which, of course, meant she no longer took the medicine that was keeping her alive.
As she lay dying, I told her... well, a lot of things, but what started her slipping away was telling her that it was all right to let go, and go on when the Good Lord came to take her away.
And the final thing? My wife told her, "It's OK, Alice, you can go on- I'll take care of John."
That's went she let go.
God love you, Barb.