Thank you

As most of you know, Mama went home yesterday at 3:20 pm. She had been in pain, but she was asleep all day yesterday and wasn't in any pain. She went quickly and peacefully.

Mama was very specific about what she wanted. She wanted to be cremated; she wanted her funeral to be on a Saturday, no matter what day she passed; and she wanted a birthday party after her funeral, to celebrate her new life.

Mama's funeral will be held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Conway, SC) on Saturday, October 10th at 11:00 am. Her birthday party will be held following the service in the church parish hall.

Her obituary will be in The Sun News tomorrow, and will also be printed in the Horry Independent.

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

Pancake Breakfast

The pancake breakfast was a huge hit! Thanks go to the Thomas' and the Benson's for planning everything. Thanks to everyone who helped, and to all who came. It was wonderful to hear of how many people were there.

As you may know, Mama does not have much time left here. We're spending all of our time with her, as you can imagine.

Keep praying!

Back home

Mama came back home from the hospital today at around 11. Dr. Sasser informed her that she was not feeling weak and tired due to lack of blood-just from the cancer. She actually didn't even need any blood yesterday, but Dr. Sasser decided to give her 1 pint since she was already at the hospital. She is still extremely tired and very weak.

In the hospital

Today, around 11 a.m., Mama went in to Conway Medical Center for a blood transfusion, which she had asked for. After several mishaps (misplacing her blood, having to draw blood for labs again, etc.) they were finally able to start pumping 1 pint of blood into her around 4 p.m. She finished that pint a few hours later. Mama did not talk all day. She feels extremely tired and weak. She has spoken a little since her blood has finished. She told me, "I just didn't have the energy to talk." After consulting with Dr. Sasser, she is being kept overnight, just for safe keeping. Dr. Sasser wants to review her blood work and liver enzymes with her tomorrow morning.

Please pray for strength!

Update

This evening, Dr. Sasser came and visited with Mama to update her on some of the blood work she had done last week. Her levels have lowered significantly, but she is firm against doing any more chemo. Dr. Sasser believes (with support from research that has been done) that patients who receive long-term palliative care can generally live longer than if they did more treatment. With more treatment, Mama could only expect another 3-6 months, and she doesn't want to be suffering from the side effects of chemo during that time. She does not want to disturb the peace that God has given her, so no more chemo.

Yesterday, Mama was able to get out of the house and head to one of her favorite spots- Target. Even though it wore her out, it was well worth the trip to get her out of the house. She's still just hanging out at home-her nights are better than they were a few weeks ago, so that's an improvement. We're just taking it day by day.

Just hanging out

Nothing major happening here at home. Mama's been relatively ok the past couple of days. Not extremely bad, not extremely great. Sunday, Mama was in a lot of pain because she couldn't really go to the bathroom, but we've finally gotten all of that straightened out. If you're local, a pancake breakfast fundraiser has been planned for Saturday, Sept. 26th from 8-10 at the Beef O'Brady's in Conway. Tickets are $6 a piece, and you can see Kelsie, Gene, or Elizabeth to buy them.

Keep praying!