It's with very mixed emotions that we share with you that Susan took her journey to heaven early this morning, leaving all her pain and suffering of our world behind. Susan had minimal suffering in her final days with Katy by her side, orchestrating all care giving with the utmost in love for her mama.
Susan, we love you and will carry your loving memories in our hearts forever.
Your loving husband and children.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Fighter
Mom is still going like a little energizer bunny on the last of its battery. She amazes me and my dad every day with her will to live. She is feistier at night time as that is when she is actually awake and has a little spunk. She didn’t have that great of a night last night as the pain medicine they have her on started to wear off and the nurse said we would have to up it because her body was using it up faster than normal. She said that it happens often though and not to worry that she needs more. The nurse also checked her lungs today and said that they sounded really good. Her breathing is about as half as normal but the nurse said that her breaths are nice and deep and she is getting enough oxygen.
We are blessed every day that mom is with us and know that she is going to go out on her own terms, and we wouldn’t expect anything different!
All for now….
We are blessed every day that mom is with us and know that she is going to go out on her own terms, and we wouldn’t expect anything different!
All for now….
Monday, August 2, 2010
Sad News
Well I’m going to jump right into this as time is short these days. Mom is not doing well and it started about right after I wrote the last blog. I didn’t want to write the “good news” blot last week, as I am superstitious, but my mom was feeling good at the time and wanted me to write about her feeling well…
Over the past week things have progressed at a fast rate. Mom started off sleeping a lot again and the disorientation/confusion has really set in now. My brother, Jay, and I think that she just gets her thoughts crossed together and they come out all jumbled when she talks. For example, she will start talking about something we all had been discussing in prior days, but most of the time just mumbles and talks about random things. We have been trying to reassure her and going along with what she talks about but it is hard to see her slip away like this. She has also been hallucinating a great deal; this morning she saw a bunch of Springer dogs playing out in the grass (when nothing was there). She cannot walk anymore as either dad or I have to lift her up from her bed / chair and put her in a transport wheelchair to get her to and from things.
I asked the nurse if she could tell me when she would go, and she just looked at me and said, “We’ll just say I would be surprised if she was here by the end of next week (which is this week)” So hearing that, Dad and I called the family to come up. Jay, Thuy, and the baby came on Friday and my Grandma and Aunt Robin came on Saturday. It has been a gamut of emotions over the last couple of days. However, we have been trying to keep some humor and mom has been doing well at keeping us laughing. Some of the things she says are a little too truthful and it is all you can do to keep from busting up when she says things. In the last couple of days she has been getting really feisty as well and just wants to get up and do things on her own. She doesn’t understand that she cannot do things on her own anymore but is determined to do things by herself. So if you all know anything about my mom she is not going to go without a fight!
Sorry it took so long again but my days are pretty full lately!
Over the past week things have progressed at a fast rate. Mom started off sleeping a lot again and the disorientation/confusion has really set in now. My brother, Jay, and I think that she just gets her thoughts crossed together and they come out all jumbled when she talks. For example, she will start talking about something we all had been discussing in prior days, but most of the time just mumbles and talks about random things. We have been trying to reassure her and going along with what she talks about but it is hard to see her slip away like this. She has also been hallucinating a great deal; this morning she saw a bunch of Springer dogs playing out in the grass (when nothing was there). She cannot walk anymore as either dad or I have to lift her up from her bed / chair and put her in a transport wheelchair to get her to and from things.
I asked the nurse if she could tell me when she would go, and she just looked at me and said, “We’ll just say I would be surprised if she was here by the end of next week (which is this week)” So hearing that, Dad and I called the family to come up. Jay, Thuy, and the baby came on Friday and my Grandma and Aunt Robin came on Saturday. It has been a gamut of emotions over the last couple of days. However, we have been trying to keep some humor and mom has been doing well at keeping us laughing. Some of the things she says are a little too truthful and it is all you can do to keep from busting up when she says things. In the last couple of days she has been getting really feisty as well and just wants to get up and do things on her own. She doesn’t understand that she cannot do things on her own anymore but is determined to do things by herself. So if you all know anything about my mom she is not going to go without a fight!
Sorry it took so long again but my days are pretty full lately!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Good News
Hi we have some good news! Mom is feeling much better (for her condition) and can now walk without a cane around the apartment. She still needs it sometimes but is thrilled that she has some freedom back. We still have to use the wheelchair when we go on our outings but it gives her the mobility to get out of the apartment. She said that she will take whatever she can get these days! Pain for her seems manageable at this point as I think she has adjusted to a new way of living. We definitely have our routine set nowadays but it will all turn upside down around the middle of August…
Yes we finally found a house, whoooooo! Mom and I cannot express in words how happy we are to get out of this two bedroom apartment. We stayed in the Lake St. Louis area and the house is about 3 minutes up the road from our apartment. What we are even more excited about is that we will have Lake Rights and are talking about getting a boat!!! This has always been mom and dad’s dream of living by the lake and having a boat. Of course they would love to have a house right on the lake but they said a street away will suffice. Mom is happy because she wanted to get my dad settled in a house that was small enough for him to manage should I decided to move out. The house is move-in-ready and just needs some fresh paint and a few tweaks to meet our personal needs.
Other quick news is mom got a new hair style. She was tired of having her hair flat all the time and wanted a wash and go do. She was nervous at first because she has had the same style for a long time but loves it now. Changing the subject, mom got a new hospice nurse, Lacey. Theresa, her old nurse, took another job working at a hospital. Although she will be missed mom has a great new nurse that is around my age and a is very laid back (which we love).
So that is all for now folks; sorry that it took so long for me to put another post up. I will try to get one up weekly but don’t hold me to that!
Yes we finally found a house, whoooooo! Mom and I cannot express in words how happy we are to get out of this two bedroom apartment. We stayed in the Lake St. Louis area and the house is about 3 minutes up the road from our apartment. What we are even more excited about is that we will have Lake Rights and are talking about getting a boat!!! This has always been mom and dad’s dream of living by the lake and having a boat. Of course they would love to have a house right on the lake but they said a street away will suffice. Mom is happy because she wanted to get my dad settled in a house that was small enough for him to manage should I decided to move out. The house is move-in-ready and just needs some fresh paint and a few tweaks to meet our personal needs.
Other quick news is mom got a new hair style. She was tired of having her hair flat all the time and wanted a wash and go do. She was nervous at first because she has had the same style for a long time but loves it now. Changing the subject, mom got a new hospice nurse, Lacey. Theresa, her old nurse, took another job working at a hospital. Although she will be missed mom has a great new nurse that is around my age and a is very laid back (which we love).
So that is all for now folks; sorry that it took so long for me to put another post up. I will try to get one up weekly but don’t hold me to that!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Weekly Update...
Well I thought I should drop a line since it has been awhile since my last post….
We have been enjoying, well absolutely nothing lately! After all the hubbub of learning about mom, and friends and family visiting (not that we didn’t love the time that they were here) we are finally relaxing and enjoying some downtime. Mom has been doing well as she still enjoys her 2 a week visits from her hospice nurse Theresa. Every time she comes, she drains about 1000 mL of fluid from mom’s stomach and it always makes her feel better. Imagine being as bloated as you have ever felt and having two broken ankles from the bloating as well. This is how mom describes feeling and it is hard for me to complain even if I feel a little bloated after having some salty food! So this last visit mom pushed Theresa to taken two full bottles (2000 mL) out of her stomach. If you all know mom she won this fight and got a lot of pressure relieved from her tummy. Now, since she feels so good after the 2 liter draining we have decided to go ahead and have Theresa come three times a week to drain her. Hopefully this will relive some of the pain that mom is feeling in her legs and stomach for the time being.
As of now, she stays indoors most of the time due to pain. Not to say that she is in dire pain (she is taking plenty of pain medication), however just moving around the house is a feet in itself for her. She occasionally will get out with me, in her wheelchair, to walk Chloe (our dog) and even made it out to Wal-Mart with me the other day. She does however enjoy getting on her laptop again and would welcome any e-mail.
Until next time…
We have been enjoying, well absolutely nothing lately! After all the hubbub of learning about mom, and friends and family visiting (not that we didn’t love the time that they were here) we are finally relaxing and enjoying some downtime. Mom has been doing well as she still enjoys her 2 a week visits from her hospice nurse Theresa. Every time she comes, she drains about 1000 mL of fluid from mom’s stomach and it always makes her feel better. Imagine being as bloated as you have ever felt and having two broken ankles from the bloating as well. This is how mom describes feeling and it is hard for me to complain even if I feel a little bloated after having some salty food! So this last visit mom pushed Theresa to taken two full bottles (2000 mL) out of her stomach. If you all know mom she won this fight and got a lot of pressure relieved from her tummy. Now, since she feels so good after the 2 liter draining we have decided to go ahead and have Theresa come three times a week to drain her. Hopefully this will relive some of the pain that mom is feeling in her legs and stomach for the time being.
As of now, she stays indoors most of the time due to pain. Not to say that she is in dire pain (she is taking plenty of pain medication), however just moving around the house is a feet in itself for her. She occasionally will get out with me, in her wheelchair, to walk Chloe (our dog) and even made it out to Wal-Mart with me the other day. She does however enjoy getting on her laptop again and would welcome any e-mail.
Until next time…
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Fourth of July Update
Hello to all. Well no more hospitals! Mom has officially started hospice and her new nurse (Theresa) comes out on Tuesdays and Fridays now. Since my last positing things have slowed down a bit and mom is a lot more comfortable. On Monday the medical supply company came to bring all moms new goodies. We got her hospital bed (so she can sit up better now), a walker, shower seat, oxygen supply (when needed), and bedside commode. All of it makes it a lot easier for her as well as for my dad and I We have used her catheter twice now to get out the excess fluid in her stomach. The first round didn’t go all that well as mom had severe muscle cramping in her stomach and they had to stop due to the pain. However, she also had it drained again Friday morning (with pre-medication this time) and all went well. Mornings are still rough on her but on her good days (nights I should say) she is up walking on her own and directing me on how she wants the house clean!
As I typed this now we have a full house with my grandma, aunt, brother and sister in law. We are playing with my mom’s pried and joy Sydney (Jay & Thuy’s daughter). Auntie Robin brought some bubbles and Sydney is trying to catch them but the hand eye coordination is just not there yet! Mom just lights up when she is here and is a great distraction for her.
We hope you all have a great 4th of July, until next time....
(New pic from a recent visit from her friend Dagmar…who by the way was a great help when she was here!)
As I typed this now we have a full house with my grandma, aunt, brother and sister in law. We are playing with my mom’s pried and joy Sydney (Jay & Thuy’s daughter). Auntie Robin brought some bubbles and Sydney is trying to catch them but the hand eye coordination is just not there yet! Mom just lights up when she is here and is a great distraction for her.
We hope you all have a great 4th of July, until next time....
(New pic from a recent visit from her friend Dagmar…who by the way was a great help when she was here!)
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Update 6-26-10
I know that you all may be curious as to what is going on and how Mom’s doctor’s visit went…
I don’t enjoy delivering bad news, but the doctor did not have good things to tell us on Wednesday. If mom were to have any more chemo at this point, it would do more harm than good and potentially be lethal. Her hemoglobin (blood supply in her body) over the week has plummeted from 9.0 to 5.9, and a normal person like us should be at minimum 12.0. So the doctor said with her blood supply so low, as well as her platelets (blood clotting in your body), any chemo treatment might lower her blood counts and may cause a stroke. We were saddened by the news, but were prepared going in, that this most likely would be the outcome.
We signed her up for Hospice, as we want to make her as comfortable as possible. The first step to allow her more comfort is draining more of the fluid in her stomach and legs. Rather than go to the hospital for draining each week, we decided to have a catheter placed in her abdomen. This will allow us to drain the fluid at home and more often, when she starts to get uncomfortable. The procedure was this past Thursday.
The procedure went well, however, we all know things don’t ever go according to plan. After the procedure was complete, the doctor came out to talk with me and let me know it went according to plan. When they were draining the fluid, there was blood draining as well. This is not what we wanted to hear and the doctor told me it was probably due to the cirrhosis in her liver. Her liver and spleen are not filtering the blood, due to the scarring of the liver, thus all the blood is diverting to her stomach. This really shook us up. The draining had some blood return as it was drained, and her hemoglobin was low, so dad and I decided to go ahead with a blood transfusion. We understood that giving her blood would not raise her blood levels, but at least it would give her a little bit of energy and color in her face.
So after the catheter procedure, they cross matched her blood type and then took her up to a private room for the blood transfusion. She received two bags, with each bag taking a minimum of 3 hours. By the time we were done and discharged, it was 2:30 in the morning. Quite a day and night, at the hospital, beginning at 11:00 AM! Her night was rough, but worth it, because the next morning she had more color in her face and seemed to have perked up in attitude.
Ending on good note, the past few days mom has been awake a lot more and holding good conversations. Mom still has her sleeping episodes during the day, but wants to get up and move around more. She still has her sense of humor. Long story short, she had a fall the other day and her and my dad always joke that she is pregnant due to her swollen stomach. Well after the fall she looked up at my dad and said, “Oh, I hope I didn’t hurt the babies!” Guess you had to be there but my dad and I just cracked up.
That is all for now. We greatly appreciate your prayers.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
New Blog
Hello to all, it is about that time for me to start a blog for my mom! You will have to forgive my writing skills as my brother is the English buff in the family.
As some of you know she has had some hard times lately after our move to St. Louis. We have officially been here 3 weeks and are quite cozy in our two bedroom apartment located in Lake St. Louis. Her first chemo was right after the move and didn't seem to fair well with her. The night of her treatment landed her in the hospital as she was running a fever of 104 deg. After a couple of days she was out of the hospital and glad to be home.
Skip forward to last Thursday when she had to go in to have her stomach drained, as it was so filled up with fluid it looked as if she were 9 months pregnant! The fluid had started in her feet then slowly started filling up into her legs and stomach. Her discomfort in her stomach was to the extent that she wanted to try and get it drained even if the fluid reoccured as we were told it most likely would. After getting her home on Thursday she was pretty drained (excuse the pun!). Since then she has had a hard time keeping her eyes open and sleeps a good majority of the day. She has done well the past few days, however, and has been up and around more. When she is up it is an effort for her to walk but she is determined to do things on her own!
Every Wednesday we go in to track the status of her liver enzymes and blood work. We see the doctor tomorrow to determine if she will be able to go another round on this chemo or if hospice is a more realistic route to go. So my next post will let you all know where we stand and how the survivor is doing.
As some of you know she has had some hard times lately after our move to St. Louis. We have officially been here 3 weeks and are quite cozy in our two bedroom apartment located in Lake St. Louis. Her first chemo was right after the move and didn't seem to fair well with her. The night of her treatment landed her in the hospital as she was running a fever of 104 deg. After a couple of days she was out of the hospital and glad to be home.
Skip forward to last Thursday when she had to go in to have her stomach drained, as it was so filled up with fluid it looked as if she were 9 months pregnant! The fluid had started in her feet then slowly started filling up into her legs and stomach. Her discomfort in her stomach was to the extent that she wanted to try and get it drained even if the fluid reoccured as we were told it most likely would. After getting her home on Thursday she was pretty drained (excuse the pun!). Since then she has had a hard time keeping her eyes open and sleeps a good majority of the day. She has done well the past few days, however, and has been up and around more. When she is up it is an effort for her to walk but she is determined to do things on her own!
Every Wednesday we go in to track the status of her liver enzymes and blood work. We see the doctor tomorrow to determine if she will be able to go another round on this chemo or if hospice is a more realistic route to go. So my next post will let you all know where we stand and how the survivor is doing.
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