Sabbath evening, its been a good one
Dear Family and Friends,
It is the end of a good day, not a perfect one but overall a good one. Nikki called this morning around 8:30 and said Keanna would like to go to Sabbath School so I walked through the shower, raced over and we drove a sedate 60 mph to Sabbath School. It is such a good program right now about David and lambs and lots of action for the kids to get involved with. Keanna plays shy for the first part but gets more involved when it comes to crafts and snacks. The strawberries looked so good today and Keanna wore hers home on her face. After I turned Keanna back over to her mom and day I headed back to see how Nan was doing. We woke this morning to her being sick at around 5:30 which was a rude awakening for her. Seemed to come from no where, she had just had a drink of water and wham, there it was. Nan thought it was fine for me to take Keanna so we quickly changed her bandage, now I need to make it clear how "we" change the bandage. I go and pick up a small cardboard box with all the supplies we need. Then I hand the saline solution spray bottle which she uses to clean the wound after she has removed the old dressing. Then I hand her 4 by 4 gauze packs which she uses to clean the area, then I had her hand sanitizer and then I hand her the wick material which she pokes down into the opening with the long wood handled toothpick I had her, then gauze material which she bunches and fills the hole with, then an ABD pad which she folds and places just right and then I hand her strips of cloth tape as she tapes it down, so who really does the dressing change, the patient!
She went back to sleep and slept until I returned after SS. I slept a bit and then got up to straighten things and fold some laundry I had left on the cough because we having the great honor of company, we treasure company here. Bob and Carrol, Volney and Dorthea arrived at about 2 pm for a very nice visit while the fire burned brightly in the stove. Just as they were preparing to leave the door bell range and it was Lloyd and Bernice White, our Tracy friends. All of us had been in the Adoration Singers at one time or another and so we enjoyed talking to Lloyd and Bernice, catching up on their exciting lives since they retired and finding out about Lloyd's treatment so far for his cancer issues.
Later Nan asked for clothes and we dressed her in warm clothes and we drove to Mervyns. Just as we stopped we saw and lady and a little girl walk in front of the car, It was Nikki and Keanna. So we all went in to get a few things for Nan since the extra fluids have changed her sizes completely. Then to Target for dog and cat food. By then Nan was tired, cold and not enjoying the rain at all. In fact she and Keanna played in the car while Nikki and I did the Target shopping. Then we drove home by way of Burger King for a coke icy. When we got home she nearly jumped out of the car and headed for her chair which she has been in every since. We made some popcorn, she had a few pieces and then the coke came up, bummer. Now she has had all her pills and is waiting for me to take her up, up to clean sheets and pillow cases which I changed after I did her TPN.
We think we need to do some explaining about the cruise we are trying to go on if Nan's health holds up. The decision to go on the cruise was made a very long time ago and paid for a very long time ago. Our only cost at this point is the cost of parking in SF for a week, $150 and softdrinks on the cruise which we really don't care for all that much. We are not doing any day trips at ports of call, they tend to be expense and not really right for Nan at this point so our intention is to carry out a wish nan has had for more than two years to go on another cruise. As a travel agent she used to go often with friends and family but she has lost two cruises last minute due to GIST tumors. We were set to go to Alaska but 14 new tumors were discovered and the trip had to be cancelled at the last minute due to extreme pain. Later we were set to go on a cruise with Sharon, Troy and his family but Nan was in the middle of the trial program of IPI 504 at Boston and they would not allow her to go. In fact she developed the severe blockage that led to the huge surgery at a time she would have been on the cruise. So in that context I will do anything and everything in my power to see that if she is up to it and can handle it medically she will get her cruise. I am aware that many many family members and friends think we are taking extreme risks by going. We are under no illusions about that, we are aware that medical care that we might need will not be available where we are going. However in many ways Nan is pretty stable right now. I wish she had new blood in her and that we had a better plan for hydration in case she gets dehydrated on the trip. But we do have TPN arranged for the entire trip, ice chests to hold it, all the medical supplies we need are packed thanks to Terry, our nurse. Can we afford this trip financially? Our accountant would say NO. Yet God has allowed us to pay all the big bills that I shared with you before I was facing. We have some funds left in the Nan's recovery fund in case we need something heroic while we are away. This is something Nan has wanted very badly for nearly 3 years, she has talked of little else. She is never demanding and has been through more than anyone I know. The very fact that she is here with us now is a miracle and the fact that she can even consider going on the cruise is yet another miracle and we intend to do everything we can to make this happen for this brave and gutsy woman. It is not our intention to offend anyone who has helped us over the past year nor to act like rich folks going on a cruise. This is a trip of a lifetime for Nan and we ask for your prayers that God will lead even now and bless according to His greater plans.
We thank you for being our friends, our family and we ask that you understand that sometimes people just need to do things they firmly believe in and this is one of those things.
We ask that you keep Nan in your prayers and we are so thankful today for the good people who make Sabbath School work for Keanna and the other children, for the precious friends who came to visit and encourage, for getting to meet up with Keanna and Nikki at the store and for the firewood from Art that warms our family room. Everywhere we turn we find reasons to be grateful.
With love
tim and nan
It is the end of a good day, not a perfect one but overall a good one. Nikki called this morning around 8:30 and said Keanna would like to go to Sabbath School so I walked through the shower, raced over and we drove a sedate 60 mph to Sabbath School. It is such a good program right now about David and lambs and lots of action for the kids to get involved with. Keanna plays shy for the first part but gets more involved when it comes to crafts and snacks. The strawberries looked so good today and Keanna wore hers home on her face. After I turned Keanna back over to her mom and day I headed back to see how Nan was doing. We woke this morning to her being sick at around 5:30 which was a rude awakening for her. Seemed to come from no where, she had just had a drink of water and wham, there it was. Nan thought it was fine for me to take Keanna so we quickly changed her bandage, now I need to make it clear how "we" change the bandage. I go and pick up a small cardboard box with all the supplies we need. Then I hand the saline solution spray bottle which she uses to clean the wound after she has removed the old dressing. Then I hand her 4 by 4 gauze packs which she uses to clean the area, then I had her hand sanitizer and then I hand her the wick material which she pokes down into the opening with the long wood handled toothpick I had her, then gauze material which she bunches and fills the hole with, then an ABD pad which she folds and places just right and then I hand her strips of cloth tape as she tapes it down, so who really does the dressing change, the patient!
She went back to sleep and slept until I returned after SS. I slept a bit and then got up to straighten things and fold some laundry I had left on the cough because we having the great honor of company, we treasure company here. Bob and Carrol, Volney and Dorthea arrived at about 2 pm for a very nice visit while the fire burned brightly in the stove. Just as they were preparing to leave the door bell range and it was Lloyd and Bernice White, our Tracy friends. All of us had been in the Adoration Singers at one time or another and so we enjoyed talking to Lloyd and Bernice, catching up on their exciting lives since they retired and finding out about Lloyd's treatment so far for his cancer issues.
Later Nan asked for clothes and we dressed her in warm clothes and we drove to Mervyns. Just as we stopped we saw and lady and a little girl walk in front of the car, It was Nikki and Keanna. So we all went in to get a few things for Nan since the extra fluids have changed her sizes completely. Then to Target for dog and cat food. By then Nan was tired, cold and not enjoying the rain at all. In fact she and Keanna played in the car while Nikki and I did the Target shopping. Then we drove home by way of Burger King for a coke icy. When we got home she nearly jumped out of the car and headed for her chair which she has been in every since. We made some popcorn, she had a few pieces and then the coke came up, bummer. Now she has had all her pills and is waiting for me to take her up, up to clean sheets and pillow cases which I changed after I did her TPN.
We think we need to do some explaining about the cruise we are trying to go on if Nan's health holds up. The decision to go on the cruise was made a very long time ago and paid for a very long time ago. Our only cost at this point is the cost of parking in SF for a week, $150 and softdrinks on the cruise which we really don't care for all that much. We are not doing any day trips at ports of call, they tend to be expense and not really right for Nan at this point so our intention is to carry out a wish nan has had for more than two years to go on another cruise. As a travel agent she used to go often with friends and family but she has lost two cruises last minute due to GIST tumors. We were set to go to Alaska but 14 new tumors were discovered and the trip had to be cancelled at the last minute due to extreme pain. Later we were set to go on a cruise with Sharon, Troy and his family but Nan was in the middle of the trial program of IPI 504 at Boston and they would not allow her to go. In fact she developed the severe blockage that led to the huge surgery at a time she would have been on the cruise. So in that context I will do anything and everything in my power to see that if she is up to it and can handle it medically she will get her cruise. I am aware that many many family members and friends think we are taking extreme risks by going. We are under no illusions about that, we are aware that medical care that we might need will not be available where we are going. However in many ways Nan is pretty stable right now. I wish she had new blood in her and that we had a better plan for hydration in case she gets dehydrated on the trip. But we do have TPN arranged for the entire trip, ice chests to hold it, all the medical supplies we need are packed thanks to Terry, our nurse. Can we afford this trip financially? Our accountant would say NO. Yet God has allowed us to pay all the big bills that I shared with you before I was facing. We have some funds left in the Nan's recovery fund in case we need something heroic while we are away. This is something Nan has wanted very badly for nearly 3 years, she has talked of little else. She is never demanding and has been through more than anyone I know. The very fact that she is here with us now is a miracle and the fact that she can even consider going on the cruise is yet another miracle and we intend to do everything we can to make this happen for this brave and gutsy woman. It is not our intention to offend anyone who has helped us over the past year nor to act like rich folks going on a cruise. This is a trip of a lifetime for Nan and we ask for your prayers that God will lead even now and bless according to His greater plans.
We thank you for being our friends, our family and we ask that you understand that sometimes people just need to do things they firmly believe in and this is one of those things.
We ask that you keep Nan in your prayers and we are so thankful today for the good people who make Sabbath School work for Keanna and the other children, for the precious friends who came to visit and encourage, for getting to meet up with Keanna and Nikki at the store and for the firewood from Art that warms our family room. Everywhere we turn we find reasons to be grateful.
With love
tim and nan
posted by Tim Mustard @ 11:12 PM
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