Hi again everyone,
Here are the arrangements that have been made for Mom.
Monday, July 6, visitation from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Tuesday, July 7, funeral at 11:00 AM
Toon Funeral Home
109 N Cass Ave
Westmont, IL 60559
In leiu of flowers, the family would prefer donations to:
Edward Hospital Cancer Center in Naperville
or
REGAP of Illinois (greyhound rescue organization that they got their dogs from)
4107 E 3rd Rd
Mendota, IL 61342
Thursday, July 2, 2009
The last update...
Hi everyone,
Sally asked that I make another post letting you all know that Mom passed away peacefully this morning around 8:20 a.m. She was at my aunt's house surrounded by family. We were able to get her out of the hospital and bring her here (my aunt's house) for hospice care, which she had expressed as her wish.
At this point, we are planning to have visitation on Monday July 6th and funeral services on Tuesday July 7th at Toon Funeral Home in Westmont. Sally, Chad and I will be heading there this afternoon to make arrangements and will notify people if those plans change.
On behalf of myself, Chad, Sally and Mom -- thank you all for your unending support, thoughts, prayers and kind words. It truly has been a rock for all of us in continuing on. We know she is no longer suffering and that she is with those who have passed before her.
We love you all,
Abby
Sally asked that I make another post letting you all know that Mom passed away peacefully this morning around 8:20 a.m. She was at my aunt's house surrounded by family. We were able to get her out of the hospital and bring her here (my aunt's house) for hospice care, which she had expressed as her wish.
At this point, we are planning to have visitation on Monday July 6th and funeral services on Tuesday July 7th at Toon Funeral Home in Westmont. Sally, Chad and I will be heading there this afternoon to make arrangements and will notify people if those plans change.
On behalf of myself, Chad, Sally and Mom -- thank you all for your unending support, thoughts, prayers and kind words. It truly has been a rock for all of us in continuing on. We know she is no longer suffering and that she is with those who have passed before her.
We love you all,
Abby
Monday, June 29, 2009
Another Update...
Hi everyone,
Well, we made it back from Vegas safely. Mom was in the hospital there until Saturday afternoon then we flew out of Vegas at 6 am yesterday. By the time we got off the plane, she had very minimal energy left and Chad had to lift her into the wheelchair and then into the car. While she was in the hospital from Wednesday to Saturday in Vegas, none of us really feel like they did a whole lot for her.
This morning she had an appointment scheduled to see her oncologist in Plainfield at 11:45 but had to come to the Cancer Center in Naperville to have some blood drawn. Once the nurse took her in to take the blood, she went to see if Dr. Baweja had left yet for her Plainfield office. She hadn't, so they took the blood and then had us see both Dr. Baweja and her nurse, Kim. Dr. Baweja said she has thrush in her mouth and in addition to all the other symptoms - weakness, low sodium, confusion - she decided to have Mom admitted right away.
So, now she is back in the hospital and has been getting some IV fluids with dextrose - her glucose was also low this morning - and the nurse just started another IV to help regulate the amount of calcium in her blood - her calcium was increased as well. Earlier she got an IV antibiotic for the thrush. A nephrologist - or kidney doctor for those of us not in the medical field - came by earlier saying that her kidney functioning is actually pretty good. Her regular doctor, Dr. Long, also came by to see her and will be back tomorrow morning. I have to tell you all how comforting it is to be back home with Mom's own doctors -- it was such a relief to get her home yesterday if only for the night.
At this point, time is of the essence. I'm not sure how much longer we'll have with her - so keep her in your prayers, keep her in your thoughts, visit her if you can. I will do my best to keep the blog updated more...I know what you're thinking...I said that before and didn't do it. I will try to keep it updated as new information comes in. If you want to call and you're able to text message, please do that first. Phone calls have been very difficult lately for Sally, Chad and I -- so please bear with us.
I think that's it for now -- not sure how long Mom will be in the hospital yet. We are also still waiting on an MRI of her brain -- see? I actually remembered something before signing off...
As usual, if I remember anything else, I'll do my best to add it.
Abby
Well, we made it back from Vegas safely. Mom was in the hospital there until Saturday afternoon then we flew out of Vegas at 6 am yesterday. By the time we got off the plane, she had very minimal energy left and Chad had to lift her into the wheelchair and then into the car. While she was in the hospital from Wednesday to Saturday in Vegas, none of us really feel like they did a whole lot for her.
This morning she had an appointment scheduled to see her oncologist in Plainfield at 11:45 but had to come to the Cancer Center in Naperville to have some blood drawn. Once the nurse took her in to take the blood, she went to see if Dr. Baweja had left yet for her Plainfield office. She hadn't, so they took the blood and then had us see both Dr. Baweja and her nurse, Kim. Dr. Baweja said she has thrush in her mouth and in addition to all the other symptoms - weakness, low sodium, confusion - she decided to have Mom admitted right away.
So, now she is back in the hospital and has been getting some IV fluids with dextrose - her glucose was also low this morning - and the nurse just started another IV to help regulate the amount of calcium in her blood - her calcium was increased as well. Earlier she got an IV antibiotic for the thrush. A nephrologist - or kidney doctor for those of us not in the medical field - came by earlier saying that her kidney functioning is actually pretty good. Her regular doctor, Dr. Long, also came by to see her and will be back tomorrow morning. I have to tell you all how comforting it is to be back home with Mom's own doctors -- it was such a relief to get her home yesterday if only for the night.
At this point, time is of the essence. I'm not sure how much longer we'll have with her - so keep her in your prayers, keep her in your thoughts, visit her if you can. I will do my best to keep the blog updated more...I know what you're thinking...I said that before and didn't do it. I will try to keep it updated as new information comes in. If you want to call and you're able to text message, please do that first. Phone calls have been very difficult lately for Sally, Chad and I -- so please bear with us.
I think that's it for now -- not sure how long Mom will be in the hospital yet. We are also still waiting on an MRI of her brain -- see? I actually remembered something before signing off...
As usual, if I remember anything else, I'll do my best to add it.
Abby
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Another update...
Hi everyone,
Sorry it's been awhile since I was last on -- been a bit hectic and my internet still isn't working right.
I'm sorry to say that I have some not so great news. Many of you may already know that Mom and Sally are out in Las Vegas right now and that Chad, Nikki, JT and I are heading out there tomorrow for the weekend. Today Mom was admitted to a hospital there due to increased weakness and some confusion that Sally was concerned about. She called Dr. Baweja who told Sally to take Mom to the hospital to get checked out. Turns out she is slightly dehydrated and her hemoglobin count had decreased - for those of you who know what it means, it went from 9.2 on June 11 to 8.7 today. Her appetite has also decreased lately which could also be contributing to the problem.
They are giving her 2 units of blood - she had a transfusion back in April that seemed to help quite a bit. They are also giving her IV fluids, taking a chest x-ray to see if she has pneumonia, starting antibiotics in case she does have pneumonia, and starting on a medication to stimulate her appetite. As of right now, that's all I know. As I said, the four of us are flying out there tomorrow and will be going from the airport to the hospital unless she has been released. Sally said she is expecting they will keep her at least overnight. I will do my best to keep the blog more updated in the future -- especially this weekend as we find out more about what's going on right now.
Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers -- they are much appreciated and mean so much to us.
Abby
Sorry it's been awhile since I was last on -- been a bit hectic and my internet still isn't working right.
I'm sorry to say that I have some not so great news. Many of you may already know that Mom and Sally are out in Las Vegas right now and that Chad, Nikki, JT and I are heading out there tomorrow for the weekend. Today Mom was admitted to a hospital there due to increased weakness and some confusion that Sally was concerned about. She called Dr. Baweja who told Sally to take Mom to the hospital to get checked out. Turns out she is slightly dehydrated and her hemoglobin count had decreased - for those of you who know what it means, it went from 9.2 on June 11 to 8.7 today. Her appetite has also decreased lately which could also be contributing to the problem.
They are giving her 2 units of blood - she had a transfusion back in April that seemed to help quite a bit. They are also giving her IV fluids, taking a chest x-ray to see if she has pneumonia, starting antibiotics in case she does have pneumonia, and starting on a medication to stimulate her appetite. As of right now, that's all I know. As I said, the four of us are flying out there tomorrow and will be going from the airport to the hospital unless she has been released. Sally said she is expecting they will keep her at least overnight. I will do my best to keep the blog more updated in the future -- especially this weekend as we find out more about what's going on right now.
Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers -- they are much appreciated and mean so much to us.
Abby
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Another Update...
Hi everyone,
First off, sorry about the delay since my last posting. My internet at home has not been working and I haven't had much opportunity to get online elsewhere. Hopefully we'll be getting new internet service soon so we won't have to worry about that.
Mom is starting her 3rd week of the 2nd cycle of Sutent and she's doing pretty well. The lowered dosage has decreased some of the side effects she had last time but she says she feels more tired this time around. She will be going back to Dr. Baweja this Thursday for another round of blood tests and check up.
We have planned a trip to Las Vegas coming up at the end of the month. Mom wanted to go there for "one last trip" so she and Sally will be going out there on June 21st and staying until the 28th. Chad, Nikki (his wife), JT and I will be joining them on the 25th. We've gone out there before as a family and had a great time, so we're hoping we'll be able to enjoy it again...and winning some money wouldn't be bad either.
We're also planning a big bash for 4th of July at Mom and Sally's -- I know many of you will be joining us so it should be a lot of fun. Sally was talking yesterday about getting some good fireworks to shoot off. Since their house is in the middle of nowhere I think we should be pretty safe and not having to worry about getting in trouble.
Well, I think that's about it for now...as usual, if I forgot anything I'll add it later.
Abby
First off, sorry about the delay since my last posting. My internet at home has not been working and I haven't had much opportunity to get online elsewhere. Hopefully we'll be getting new internet service soon so we won't have to worry about that.
Mom is starting her 3rd week of the 2nd cycle of Sutent and she's doing pretty well. The lowered dosage has decreased some of the side effects she had last time but she says she feels more tired this time around. She will be going back to Dr. Baweja this Thursday for another round of blood tests and check up.
We have planned a trip to Las Vegas coming up at the end of the month. Mom wanted to go there for "one last trip" so she and Sally will be going out there on June 21st and staying until the 28th. Chad, Nikki (his wife), JT and I will be joining them on the 25th. We've gone out there before as a family and had a great time, so we're hoping we'll be able to enjoy it again...and winning some money wouldn't be bad either.
We're also planning a big bash for 4th of July at Mom and Sally's -- I know many of you will be joining us so it should be a lot of fun. Sally was talking yesterday about getting some good fireworks to shoot off. Since their house is in the middle of nowhere I think we should be pretty safe and not having to worry about getting in trouble.
Well, I think that's about it for now...as usual, if I forgot anything I'll add it later.
Abby
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Another update...
Hi everyone,
Mom started her second cycle of Sutent yesterday. As I said before, she is now taking 37.5 mg daily instead of 50 mg. Her weight has gone down almost 8 pounds since last Thursday which is great -- this means the diuretic is working and her legs have reduced in size. Now she will probably decrease the dosage on that as well -- I believe that she is now in the weight range Dr. Baweja wanted her to get to before reducing the dosage.
I also got a chance to read the reports from her most recent CT scan which was a few weeks ago. Several of the larger tumors/nodules in her lungs have decreased in size. Also, the tumor on her kidney has not grown (I think it may have also decreased in size, but I can't remember exactly right now). In addition to that, the lesions on her liver have also decreased in size. This is great news as it means that the Sutent is doing its job.
The weekend was pretty good considering she wasn't feeling as well as she would have liked for a weekend of camping. She ended up spending a lot of time in the camper because it was too chilly for her outside but she was still able to enjoy the party and the great food. (For those of you who may not know, we had a camping weekend for JT's 30th birthday.)
I don't think there's anything else new right now...but as usual, if I forgot anything I will add it later.
One more thing....on behalf of my mom, Sally and Chad -- thank you all for your ongoing support, thoughts and prayers. Knowing you're all out there supporting us is amazing...gives me goosebumps in fact. Thank you so much.
Abby
Mom started her second cycle of Sutent yesterday. As I said before, she is now taking 37.5 mg daily instead of 50 mg. Her weight has gone down almost 8 pounds since last Thursday which is great -- this means the diuretic is working and her legs have reduced in size. Now she will probably decrease the dosage on that as well -- I believe that she is now in the weight range Dr. Baweja wanted her to get to before reducing the dosage.
I also got a chance to read the reports from her most recent CT scan which was a few weeks ago. Several of the larger tumors/nodules in her lungs have decreased in size. Also, the tumor on her kidney has not grown (I think it may have also decreased in size, but I can't remember exactly right now). In addition to that, the lesions on her liver have also decreased in size. This is great news as it means that the Sutent is doing its job.
The weekend was pretty good considering she wasn't feeling as well as she would have liked for a weekend of camping. She ended up spending a lot of time in the camper because it was too chilly for her outside but she was still able to enjoy the party and the great food. (For those of you who may not know, we had a camping weekend for JT's 30th birthday.)
I don't think there's anything else new right now...but as usual, if I forgot anything I will add it later.
One more thing....on behalf of my mom, Sally and Chad -- thank you all for your ongoing support, thoughts and prayers. Knowing you're all out there supporting us is amazing...gives me goosebumps in fact. Thank you so much.
Abby
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Update...
Hi everyone,
Mom went to see Dr. Baweja today and here are the changes. Overall, things are going well other than the excessive swelling related to water retention. So, the Dr. changed the diuretic she is on from Lasix to Bumex. She was also given an IV of Lasix before she left the doctor's office to speed up the reduction in water retention. Apparently the swelling had gotten so bad that her thighs and butt were swollen and she wasn't able to bend her knees very well -- so that's the biggest concern right now. The Dr. also gave her a Procrit injection which is supposed to help her body produce more red blood cells (hemoglobin) which will help her feel better as well.
She will be starting the next cycle of Sutent on Tuesday 5/19 and the Dr. lowered that dosage from 50 mg daily to 37.5 mg daily. Hopefully this will also decrease the side effects while still giving her the benefits. I think that's it for now -- after I talked to her earlier she was going to be getting some lunch then heading home to take a nap.
As usual...if I've forgotten something, I'll add it later...
Abby
Mom went to see Dr. Baweja today and here are the changes. Overall, things are going well other than the excessive swelling related to water retention. So, the Dr. changed the diuretic she is on from Lasix to Bumex. She was also given an IV of Lasix before she left the doctor's office to speed up the reduction in water retention. Apparently the swelling had gotten so bad that her thighs and butt were swollen and she wasn't able to bend her knees very well -- so that's the biggest concern right now. The Dr. also gave her a Procrit injection which is supposed to help her body produce more red blood cells (hemoglobin) which will help her feel better as well.
She will be starting the next cycle of Sutent on Tuesday 5/19 and the Dr. lowered that dosage from 50 mg daily to 37.5 mg daily. Hopefully this will also decrease the side effects while still giving her the benefits. I think that's it for now -- after I talked to her earlier she was going to be getting some lunch then heading home to take a nap.
As usual...if I've forgotten something, I'll add it later...
Abby
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