Category Archives: family

by | April 1, 2012 · 9:11 pm

Home is where the heart is

Lucy had some more visitors today. Our friend Danette, my cousin Julie, and Julie’s husband Dave were also here. We haven’t seen them for a couple of years because of job commitments, and Lucy received a pansy bowl and some oriental lily bulbs for her gardens. Lucy’s cousin Annette and her husband Al were here and dropped off a stunning bouquet. Lucy’s sister Julie came by to see how Lucy was doing. Steve dropped off a small wheeled organizer which Lucy used to put her items in. Suzy came by to give Lucy a leg massage, which was greatly appreciated.

She has been attempting solid food yesterday and today. Steve and Liz brought some beef stew yesterday and Lucy had a little of it. Today she wanted a hamburger and fries from Culver’s and ate a little of them. While she isn’t eating much, it was nice that she seems to have an appetite. She is also using her spirometer today to help keep her lungs clear. At one point she wanted to sit up on the edge of her bed for a few minutes. She is sleeping better and her abdominal pain has been manageable without pain meds.

She does have periods of extreme fatigue. Her throat is still sore despite Popsicles and throat drops. The soreness was because of the oxygen she was on at the hospital. She hardly needs oxygen here at home. Her bouts of hiccups still occur and require Thorazine, which makes her really foggy for a couple of hours.

Lucy’s hospice case manager will be here tomorrow. We’re looking forward to that meeting. I’m hoping we can set a schedule for the week.

Thank you, everyone, for all your love and support!

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by | March 31, 2012 · 10:37 pm

Home sweet home

Lucy was nervous about coming home. In the hospital, you can press a button and have someone there to help. At home, she has me. The people in the hospital obviously have had many hundred hours more patient care training care than I have had. However, her hospice care case manager met with us on Friday before she got discharged and covered everything very thoroughly. One of the hospice nurses met us at the house with her medications, gave me some charting forms, and walked me though each of the drugs.

Diane and my parents were with us at the hospital on Friday. Once we had a firm time set up for the equipment delivery, my parents went to our house to let the delivery people in. Lucy’s siblings came over to visit after she got home.

Today was a very busy day for Lucy. A hospice nurse, Ann, came by to check on Lucy. Ann’s father is in hospice battling gastroblastoma so Ann is aware of the hiccup problem Lucy is having. She also had some suggestions for Lucy and had a couple more prescriptions sent via courier to our house.

Lucy is getting a bathing and massage service twice per week. After Lindsay came by today, Lucy wants to increase it to three times per week. It was so nice for Lucy to get pampered for 45 minutes and she was beaming afterwards.

Lucy’s siblings and her dad visited her this afternoon. We had a very nice dinner together. Lucy had some spaghetti and some chocolate cake. We celebrated Steve’s birthday a couple of days early. Diane stopped by earlier in the afternoon for a bit. It was nice to help Diane celebrate her birthday today.

Lucy has not needed oxygen today. She wanted it on a very low setting tonight. She is still having issues with hiccups, so her Thorazine dose got adjusted upwards slightly. That is working. She has not had much abdominal pain today except for the hiccups.

Lucy is still really tired. Her throat is a little sore from being on oxygen in the hospital. She has been using Halls Breezers to help with that. She also has some Popsicles and Jell-O to help soothe her throat.

Thank you so much for caring for us! I hope these blog posts have helped show everyone what an amazing woman I married. She is the true embodiment of a life worth living. Her strength, courage, and dignity are an inspiration. My hope is when it is my time to transcend this existence that I will follow Lucy’s example.

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by | March 29, 2012 · 12:17 am

Palliative care, the battle is ending

She has some guests here at the hospital. Her brother and sister-in-law (Steve and Liz), her sisters (Julie and Suzy), my parents, Lucy’s friend Diane, and a friend of Lucy’s family, Barb, are here. I’ll be here for the duration.

The morphine is making her a bit groggy, but she is able to talk to people. She is alert and fully cognizant. Lucy knows that there is nothing more they can do for her.

Lucy is suffering from septic shock. There are indications her bowel perforated. She is too weak for surgery and her chest X-ray showed significant damage to her organs. At this point, she will be receiving pain medication and the hospital staff will make her as comfortable as possible while she transitions from this existence. The infection is too far advanced for containment by antibiotics. She is weak enough that we may be unable to move her into a hospice or get her back home for her final days. Her vital signs did improve after receiving two units of blood, but she will be anemic again quickly.

None of us knows how much longer Lucy will be with us. However, the end will probably come rather quickly, perhaps within a couple of days. While we will not get a long slow goodbye, she is getting a chance to be with her family. I know I wanted her journey to end with a happily ever after, but I am thankful for every day I had with her.

Please pray for Lucy. She has been incredibly brave through this ordeal. Thank you so much for all the love and support you have given us. I know that has been a recurring theme in my posts, but it helped us more than you can imagine.

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by | March 26, 2012 · 8:11 pm

Small victories

If you were to talk to anyone enduring a chronic disease, or to their caregiver, you will hear how valuable the small victories are. There are no Pyrrhic victories because winning means they are still here to fight.

Saturday was the toughest day Lucy has had since her surgery almost two years ago. She started having really painful stomach issues before going to bed Friday night. Several rounds of nausea later she started feeling less miserable. It’s a tough victory, but a victory nonetheless.

Lucy’s had two nights in a row that she has not had to get up. The Ativan seems to have helped her stomach a bit. One thing that has also helped is staggering her Pradaxa and Hexalen in the morning and evenings. Both drugs use quick dissolving capsules. Quick dissolving capsules are acidic and can cause stomach irritation. We’ll take this victory, too.

Her menu has expanded a bit. That’s a victory because Ensure and Activia get boring after a couple of weeks. We’re being careful with introducing foods that are more solid. She is finally able to take her SlowFe, which should help her anemia problem. To help with her stomach gurgling, we found that simethicone gel caps that work better than the Zantac.

Lucy still has very little energy. Her transfusion didn’t seem to help much with her energy level. This might be a cumulative effect of the Hexalen. She is as wiped out today as she was a couple of days after her Taxol round.

Lucy’s coworker Cathy stopped by tonight and dropped off a fun gift basket. Her coworkers have been so supportive and generous. Julie called tonight and helped cheer Lucy up some more.

It’s been a long month with the setbacks and slow recovery. She hasn’t been able to get out much. During our warm spell, she managed to get into the sun porch a couple of times. Today was actually below normal for temperature, with some light rain this morning and several hours of strong wind this afternoon. The forecast for tomorrow is warm, sunny, and windy. That might help with her energy level.

Your love and support help Lucy immensely! Thank you so much!

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by | March 18, 2012 · 7:56 pm

“Summer in the City”

The old Lovin’ Spoonful song from the mid-1960’s is very appropriate for the weather we have experienced the past ten days. Temperatures have run 25°F – 35°F above our average of 42°F. Yesterday was the earliest 80°F reading the Twin Cities has had since official records started in 1871 (but only by six days) and we were flirting with 80°F again today.

Our forsythia bush has started to bloom even before the squills, snowdrops and crocuses have poked up. The maple trees are quite messy now that they are shedding their red fuzzy flowers because the leaf buds are opening. We have already had a bluebird in the birdbath, the grass is getting green, and the lilacs have leaves forming. Our gentle March breeze isn’t gentle because we were dealing with 20 – 30 mph wind gusts today.

Lucy is still having stomach issues. She is managing with Ensure, Activia yogurt, and an occasional Immodium. The stomach noises are quieting down gradually but the noise keeps her awake at night. She still has some stomach cramping, but they are lessening.

Her legs are back to normal size and she shows no sign of clot formation. She has tolerated the Pradaxa well. Once her stomach problems abate and she starts walking more, her ankle stiffness will subside. Lucy also started her Hexalen oral chemotherapy yesterday. We’re a bit worried about the Hexalen since stomach problems are a common side effect. It’s only the second day, so it is too early to tell how well she is tolerating it.

Diane called yesterday and helped Lucy’s mood improve. She heard from Steve and Julie this morning.

For my Northern California cousins, stay warm and enjoy your snow. For our Upper Midwest readers, enjoy summer in March, and for all of you, remember Lucy and I are blessed to have you supporting her!

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