New Years

Happy New year folks... Mom hasn't eaten anything since Sunday afternoon. She has been pretty quiet and unresponsive, except to comment something to me while trying to give her the morning meds. I've heard in some cases that they can go a week without eating, and still live on. An hour and a half and her "goals" will be completed. I sound like a broken record, but Come Lord Jesus, Come!

Merry Christmas... a little late

This is a little late, but Merry Christmas to our friends and family.

Our family Christmas tradition is to have grandma (mom's mom) and mom's sister over on Christmas Eve. Usually there is a dinner of some sort with a theme and then the ever so famous family pictures around the tree and sometimes a "hunt" for baby Jesus to see who goes first opening gifts and/OR a reading of the Christmas story in Luke.
This year we decided to go with "easy" for the food theme and kept it to app's and desserts. The gifting was all about the kids this year, and it was fun to watch all of their eyes light up with joy and excitement.
I really don't know what to update, all she does now pretty much is sleep. She wakes occasionally to eat, to ask for a warm washcloth over her eyes, and occasional change of shirt, etc. She is still in minimal physical pain... so we wait.
Although we made sweet memories for the kids this Christmas, it was the hardest Christmas of our lives. I know mom wanted to be here for it, and although she was "here"... she wasn't. I'm just going to be honest and say I'm angry, I wish she could've been "home" with Jesus for Christmas. I just don't get it and there's nothing anyone can say to justify it, we'll never know until we're in heaven with her as well. Come Lord Jesus... Come and take her home...

Changing meds

Okay... another update, a little less worn this time . Thank you all for your grace in my frantic post the other day. Things have definitely calmed since my post on Thursday. On Friday the hospice nurse came and we decided to change some meds around. Decreasing one and upping doses of another to keep her comfortable as the process continues. She continues to be fairly pain free, atleast when we're not moving her around and changing the bed, etc. That is very exhausting for her these days, when she is not sleeping. The pain she does have is emotional, she just wants to go home to Jesus and doesn't know why she's still here. There is a sense of peacefulness, yet a very strong desire to "get this show on the road."
If you have still have a desire to come and see her or say your last "goodbyes".. you are still welcome, just give the home phone a call before you come. Just know that she may not be as aware or communicative, and we still run it past her if she wants visitors so we'll let you know if it's not a "good" day.
Last night I was reading her "Christmas/Happy New Year(as it was last year)" letter. I will end this update with her words that closed her letter, as they were very poignant. (you might want to grab a tissue)
"I'm not sure what 2013 will bring, but one thing we do know, the God who knows us better than we know ourselves, keeps His promises. He is faithful...He is worthy of our trust and adoration. ...even in the darkest of times. He will meet you where ever you are in the journey.. "

When we are weak, He is strong

Mom hasn't moved from her bed (besides to do "business") since Sunday. Her ability to lift herself has continued to worsen yet she is stubborn about certain things and we are getting to the point where we can't move her ourselves anymore.
My cold has only just gotten worse and Karen has been there for two overnights now. We are wearing thin, I don't want to be selfish and complain here, but prayers for colds to go away and moms stubbornness to break are really needed.
Lord, in our weaknesses, please make us strong, because we are getting to our end!

better overnight...

Last night was another rough night as my sister was up with her a majority of the night. She couldn't seem to get comfortable and though my sister was feeding her every 10-15-30mins, she would tell her "you're starving me" Prayers for my sister to have a well rested night of sleep at home would be greatly appreciated!

Earlier this evening mom was talking to my dad about Heaven... that she was in heaven. I forget the details of what she said to him and she even talked some to me about it(although i barely understood what she was trying to say), but basically it was kind of a helpful thing for her it seemed. My dad thought maybe God gave her a vision so she could come to a place of peace about it. Later about the time I was able to leave, she was still asking why it was taking so long, and describing to her friend (who is taking on a night shift tonight) that there's a long line.
When her friend, Char, asked who was in line or if she knew anyone, she said "There are movie stars in line" that made me chuckle, that's for sure.

rough sleep at night

The last couple of nights have been rough, dad was with her sunday-monday, Karen was with her last night and I have a shift tonight. She was waking up every half hour or so with delusions/requests statements last night. Yesterday and today have been much different than the days before, less and less alertness while "awake"... we've started feeding her soft foods, as she still is hungry. As I write this my grandma is feeding her pudding, encouraging her and vice versa even. It is sweet in a bittersweet kind of way... not something you ever imagine seeing.

Sleeping more

For the last couple days now mom has been sleeping a large portion of the day. She keeps wanting to hold out for the next month, but we have been trying to tell her that it's okay, that she can let go. I haven't done the night shift since I posted the other day, so I'm not sure how the nights have been. (forgot to ask because there's always a million things to think about, ya know?) This is another short post... but I do believe the her days are growing shorter.

Saying goodbye to Rose

This morning our dear friend Rose goes back to her home in North Carolina. We will miss her presence and are so grateful to her for serving our family so well.

Mom has often been quite fearful at night before going to sleep. She doesn't want to fall asleep because she worries she will be alone when she dies. Myself, dad and Karen have all told her that when she is ready, she can go. Pray at night that she will be more at peace.

Thanksgiving

Hello again. I apologize for not updating since Saturday... Since mom has been on the new medicine, she has been holding fairly steady, although she still can have her moments of agitation an impatience. There haven't been any disoriented moments like we had on Friday night.

Tomorrow we will celebrate Thanksgiving at the house with mine and Karens family and my grandma and aunt. Prayers for a peaceful ad low agitation day are much welcomed!

Thank you for being on this journey with us... We are forever grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Lundquist, Tyson, and Dusek families!

"Is this a dream... this is weird"

The last 5 hours have changed dramatically. Mom has had a few very disoriented times. We have some drugs for her that help her to have less aggitation/confusion and give her clear moments. But, it has been really hard... she doesn't understand why this is happening and continually asks what is going on and "this is weird" "this is a dream" ....

---

Added note.. we started giving her a new drug to help those disoriented times not happen.

Cell phone debaucle

We had to take mom's phone privileges away the other day, she was not making good choices with when to call people and how often. The tumor is really starting to cause more havoc in her memory and understanding. I believe we've come to another turning point.. a harder one.

Mobility decrease

A week ago or so mom's mobility decreased quite a bit. She used to do pretty well with assistance getting around the house, but this is not so much the case anymore. I believe the time may be coming fairly soon where she won't really get out of the house so much anymore. Hopefully she'll be able to attend church a couple or so more times.

She has some pain and weakness in her knees and back(or correct me if I'm wrong sis/dad), but we haven't had to use pain medication or anything extreme.

If you were to ask her how she's doing, she'll still say she's doing well and "having the time of her life." I'm glad she has the will to live.

I guess I'd just like to impress upon you that if you are wanting to see her, do it sooner than later. We have seen a gradual change in her patience, etc. and I just don't know how the last days will look like. Of course this is not a demand, it's just so you all know. The Patti we all know and love has been and is becoming less of herself.

Praying for her to have grace and peace in the coming days/weeks/etc.

Care 24/7

Hello Friends and Family,
We've reached the point now where mom needs care 24/7, or atleast someone with her at all times to make sure she is safe. Between me, Karen, dad and occasional visitors we've been able to maintain this need. But, we have now seen the need to have more scheduled times of help from others as well.
We accessed an onilne care calendar that we will be posting here tomorrow that will give a detailed description of the needs we are hoping to fill. One of those needs is for an overnight caregiver. This will have some specific requirements such as staying awake (for the most part) during the night. This is so that Karen and I can have some further rotation and not have to do it every other night.
It's hard to ask for help in these areas, knowing that it is a big commitment. We are realizing/acknowledging that we want to enjoy time with mom as much as possible and that it is also really hard when we are the sole care providers.
Thank you all for your support and continued prayers.

Ikea

Karen and I went to Ikea with mom today... it was a fun time had by all and Greta ate her first Swedish meatballs to which she enjoyed!

One thing that my sister and I have agreed on is that mom needs to sleep better at night. We also talked with her about it, but she can be quite stubborn when it comes to some things. So, if you are a prayer person, that is one thing to be praying because she is only getting a few hours a night lately. She says she feels rested, yet all day she falls asleep randomly... I teased today that she is narcoleptic.

If you'd like to visit and see her, please don't hesitate to call her cell or home...private message if you need digits..

This is rather short, but now i need to go to bed!
good night!

Purging

For the last couple weeks Patti has been purging, purging, purging the house of many different things. She often has a list of five different projects going. Thank you to those of you who have come to help her do these things.

I was just with her tonight and she has said (like she has three other nights :)) that she is going to update her status, so we'll see if that holds true, ha! She told me tonight that she is feeling good and the only thing that really is giving her trouble is a pain that goes down her back left leg, starts at her glutes(sp'?) and goes down. She did have a massage therapist come today though, which is part of hospice, and worked on that spot and her upper back. Apparently it was so relaxing that she fell asleep! The steroids are really what gives her the energy for all the purging etc. Sometimes I think she needs to slow down and rest, but that's just my opinion. She says she sleeps... buuuut... well her definition and mine might be different

I don't have a whole lot else to report, but if you ever have any specific questions about things, please feel free to let me know

I'll leave you with the song she has been telling everyone is her "theme" right now... or describes what she is feeling. My sister gave her the soundtrack yesterday and she was apparently singing and dancing to it early this morning! haha

http://youtu.be/l9BbUqHrWFI

Champlin/Dayton Press newspaper article

Mom and Dad's local paper wrote about her story and involvement with Cancer Treatment Centers of America.

http://pressnews.com/2013/10/02/4-weeks-live/

I'm going to Disney World!

Hi everyone... I've meant to update this for awhile, but we went to Florida in a whirlwind, this update is why it we picked up and went.

About 3wks ago, Sept 8th, dad brought mom in to Maple Grove Hospital after consulting with CTCA about some significant weakness she had been having. They did a scan and the results showed that the original tumor had grown back to the size it was in March and there was also another new tumor. The new tumor was causing a large amount of swelling, which in turn was causing the weakness. Maple Grove hospital transported her to North Memorial in Robbinsdale and during the drive the medics told her if they had waited any longer they would be calling the coroner instead of the transport. Thank God for giving them wisdom to call when they did!

The next day the neurologist came in and told my dad that mom has weeks to a couple months, based on the rate at which the original tumor grew and this new tumor. They put her on steroids to keep the swelling at bay.

After this news, we decided it was time to go and make our memories, so we rented an RV packed up and drove to Florida. We went to Disney for a few days, Sea World, and the ocean multiple times. It was an awesome time and mom is holding steady.

Also, we do still believe God can heal her on this side of heaven if that's His will... and we are also aware of the realities... Mom is ready no matter the outcome and is in good spirits!

Results of Scans after chemo

Thank you all for your prayers. Here are the results... The tumor has shrunk by half the size it was after the surgery in March! Great and positive news!! Thank the Lord for that!!

The course of action next is that once a month for 5days she will take the oral chemo. She will do this for the next 6mos, and after that I guess get a new set of instructions. In four months from now she will also have another scan to evaluate how it's going.
I think the biggest prayer right now is for her continued energy and strength. She had been on a steroid since the surgery and tapered off of them after the chemo and radiation treatments. Those helped with the swelling, but also aided her in having energy while getting the treatments. Since being off of those and recovering from the treatment, her energy was low. She saw the naturopath(sp?) and nutritionist and has been given some vitamin B complex to aid in the lower energy and also a few ideas as far as exercise and diet in the morning.
My family, my sister's, and my mom and dad are all hoping to go on a vacation together in the next few months(ish)... Prayers for the planning and timing of this would be appreciated.

Overall, it's positive and I am very grateful for the outcome. We all are, so as I first said, Thank you for the prayers and support, nobody was meant to do life on their own. We're glad you all and others are on this journey with us!!