Funeral times

Mom's funeral will be held next Monday, August 31 at 11:00 AM at the graveside in Wellsboro, PA. This is open to friends and family. There will not be a viewing. Thank you for your love.

Home

My mom's brief cancer journey came to an end this afternoon. She spent the last week in the hospital, and this morning the oncologist told me (Heather) in not so many words that basically there was nothing more they could do. The cancer was too aggressive and the chemo was not doing what they desired it to do. Since she had a bad blood infection there were many other complications and even if the chemo had been working, she was too weak to be able to fight anymore. He suggested we have her admitted to a hospice program that was part of another hospital in town. After Dad got there we were getting her ready to go in an ambulance to Divine, when the nurse took her blood pressure and told us that we should not move her. Her blood pressure was low and her breathing was sporadic. So we settled in for a long afternoon of watching, praying, and counting breaths. God was gracious in the end and it was quick and low key. Mom's pastor, Dave, was there too and I was grateful for his involvement and help.
This journey has been a very short, fast one. She was diagnosed in mid June and rapidly got worse. Yet in it all she was an example to people of God's love and faithfulness...just as she was during her lifetime.
Many of you have blessed us through all this by praying, giving money, food, or gas, watching kids, loaning cars, giving rides, and many other things. May you all be blessed double for your kindness and love.
Tomorrow Dad meets with the funeral home and I will post final arragements. There will not be a viewing, but there will be a graveside service fof family and friends. I am not sure what day yet. After I find out I will post my last post. Thank you so much for joining us on this journey.

Constant prayer is needed for 1. mom's healing 2. friends and family to come to know God through this and 3. for the emotional pull we have. We want to be with mom and our families but it is so hard to do both right now.

Ann, Heather and I left for a day or so to be home with our kids. Very hard to leave because Mom cried when we left.

Keep the prayers coming!

We want to thank you all for faithfully praying for our mom Connie and our whole family. We are feeling your prayers. It has been an emotional ride the past few days as each day could be her last in this fight against Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer according to the world's standards. We do pray for peace for her and if it is God's will to heal her by taking her to eternity with him that it would happen soon so she is not in pain anymore. BUT!!!! We believe in a Mighty God who is bigger than this cancer and we are still praying for a miracle and an earthly healing. Please pass this on to your prayer warriors and keep lifting her up in prayer.
Love
Connie's Crew

August 20th

Wow...what to say about today? When Shawn and I (Heather) arrived at the hospital this morning, Dad had spoken to the oncologist before we got there, and gripped me in a big hug and said that they told him she would probably not make it through the day. This should not have been a shock, but since we had seen her the night before and she had responded somewhat, we were not expecting it to be such an extreme. Dad said that she had been in and out of consciousness all night and saying all of us girls' names and muttering. Then she started with a fever when a blood infection set in. Apparently the stent that was put in the liver is blocked again and not working properly, but they cannot do anything because her platelet counts are so low and she is constantly bleeding. Her lips, gums, and nose look awful.

Dad left and took a walk when Shawn and I got there and I text the other "kids" to get there as soon as possible. It seemed like we watched her get worse as the minutes ticked by. She had stopped responding and was breathing heavy. She would occasionally mumble and cry out, but there was not a lot of things being said that we could understand. Earlier in the day she kept repeating, "I love you, I love you."

By the time all of us, plus Aunt Cathy (mom's sister) and our cousins and Aunt Judy had gathered she was no longer responding. Pastor Dave and Karen came and prayed (mom's pastor) and so did Pastor Michelle (Gram's pastor) and we are grateful for the prayers of all you saints out there!

The decision was made to drain an abcess filled with bile from the liver that was not working properly, and they did that in the evening. After wards they cleaned her up a bit and it seemed she was aware and responding. We were all able to tell her we loved her and know that she heard, because she responded to each of us.

We do not know what to expect now. God granted us another day with her that we did not expect to have. Each day is a gift, and we are living in that. To have a day where we were crying one minute, praying another, even singing at one point, then crying again...and laughing over dinner with the extended family while waiting around...it seems surreal. Anyone who has ever dealt with grief would understand this.

On the way back to Covington Andrea, Randal, and Sommer rode in our van...and we had a flat tire! Thank goodness for having some of our husbands with us - late at night and route 15! We will need to replace both front tires tomorrow before we can get back to the hospital, but maybe we need to rest a little here. I am confident God is in control.

Thank you for your continued support, love, and prayers.

Yesterday, Aug. 19, was a very emotional day for a lot of us. Most of us wound up at the hospital at one time or another to see mom. When Andrea and I walked in it took her a minute to recognize us...that was the start of it. Her vision is not right, her platelets were low again, she has an infection in her blood, she was very jaundice again and needed to go in for a scan. They were unable to read the first scan so they took her for a second time. They gave her an antibiotic for her infection and also more platelets. She seemed to be in on the conversation at times just listening and other times comments were made that we weren't sure where they came from. She did however on the plus side show us a smile and eat-as well as enjoy a rootbeer float! We continue to praise God in this storm and ask for your continue prayers. Our God still heals in this world today and we are praying for a healing on this earth.

Today has been a rough day for mom. She has been admitted to the hospital (Williamsport where she is receiving chemo.) because she is dehydrated and her counts are not good. Due to these low numbers she will not have her chemo treatment tomorrow. They need to get everything where it belongs. She is being rehydrated 8 oz at a time, she needs a blood transfusion, and they believe that the stent is blocked. They will be checking the stent tomorrow. Please keep her in your prayers! Please stand with us in faith that she will be healed.

Mom had asked me to post the name of the book I gave her last time I posted and I forgot to...here it is.
Hope Beyond Reason by Dave Hess
It is a wonderful, encouraging book on how God still does heal!

Thank you!

Today Mom started her second round of chemo. Her bloodwork results were where they needed to be to begin this second round. Her liver is improving as she is not as jaundice. We were encouraged when she was given permission to stop taking one of her meds because her liver is also functioning in helping her blood to clot again. She has been able to eat a little more this week than last week. Thank you to everyone who is praying! Please keep praying for God's presence, strength, and healing as she continues on this journey. We serve a powerful God and He is able to heal!
Love,
Andrea

Last Monday Aug. 3, mom went in for routine blood work but no chemo as it was her off week. Her liver counts, we believe were not quite as high as she is not as jaundice as before. Her counts were low enough that she had to stay and have a blood transfusion that day. She starts round 2 of chemo on Tues. this week. We feel that through all the confusion and talk that this is actually Ovarian Cancer not Uterine...although it is has been everywhere in those areas. Please continue to lift her up in prayer.

stent

Well, mom had a stent put in Thursday and she seems to be feeling a bit better already. Still having trouble eating, but has been sleeping well. Krissy (my sister) had a long week of taking mom three times to Williamsport - Tuesday for Chemo, Wednesday for a shot and cat scan, and Thursdau for the surgery! Keep her in your prayers, and thank you to everyone else who takes a turn at driving mom and waiting with Krissy!

Stent

This is Heather again. Mom just received a phone call that her liver count is higher and they feel there is a blockage. She needs to go get a shot for white blood cells today and they are trying to set up an appointment for her to get a stent put in either today or tomorrow. This will help the liver work better as they continue to give her chemo. She is discouraged by this, as you can imagine. On top of that she is feeling quite sick today. Please pray for our little "Glow worm" as Krissy and I have jokingly called her...she is so yellow.

chemo

Hi, all! This is Heather again! Sommer is helping to keep this blog updated since we no longer have internet at our house. I am at my mom's house today getting ready to leave so I can go get my kids ready for cousin camp with their other grandparents next week!
Yesterday Krissy and I took Mom to her second round of chemo. They did her blood work first and discovered that her white blood count was low, so she needs to go back in today to get a shot to boost that count. It is just a quick visit, but I think it takes a toll on Mom to be in the car so much because it is a 45 minute drive over the mountain each way! She tends to get a little nauseaus in the car.
The chemo yesterday seemed to go well. She slept deep last night and is feeling a little sick this morning, but not too bad. The big thing right now is that she is still not able to eat anything or keep any liquids in. She was pretty dehydrated yesterday and they put on her a saline iv to get some liquids back in her body. Her veins were flat and they had a hard time getting a good spot for the chemo iv. Please pray that she can at least eat a little something a drink each hour. She lost another 3 pounds this week.
She is also severely jaundiced. The doctors seemed to be concerned that it is worse this week. They had said that if the chemo does not shrink the tumor enough by next chemo (Aug 11) they will put a stent in. She does not want this...the thought of another surgery, regardless of how minor, is too overwhelming.
As always, we ask for continued prayer for her strength, stamina, and faith. We ask for prayer for complete healing. We ask for prayer for her family members and all the extra traveling safety and turmoil of emotions swirling. We are so thankful for each of you and your love for us and Mom.

Last Tuesday July 21, 2009 Mom went in for her first chemo treatment. The first one went well although it changed from its original plan due to high liver counts. She will be administered two the first week, one the second week and off the third week. This is one set and she will go through six sets. Please continue to pray as she is struggling with tiredness and still not being able to eat.

I was happy to go home and serve my mom this week although it was a little bit emotionally stressful between taking care of my very active children who do not understand things and bringing myself back to reality with my mom. Heather had previously mentioned the overwhelming feelings from all the cards being sent to mom. There is so much encouragement from everyone and we are truly blessed. I think I felt even more overwhelmed my the gifts that were being given to her from baskets of pampering products, money, a beautiful quilt and even a new comfy chair. The quilt hit me first. This quilt was made by Tuesday Quilters from Tioga and Bradford Counties of PA. They make these quilt and find people to give them to. They know that with chemo you often feel cold and so they thought of mom and presented her with one. The second thing I personally got to learn from as well, was to trust God with some financing. My family was talking about how mom really needed a new chair to be comfortable in especially once she started chemo. But who has the extra money? I spoke with my pastor about our church being apart of this service. He was all for it and presented it. The catch was I had to get the chair before I left and trust God that the money would come in and guess what....it was right on the dot! Thank you Beacon! God is awesome! And just so everyone knows...she has gotten her best rest in that chair since. Thank you so much for everyone who is serving our mom with gifts, words of encouragement but most importantly for lifting her up and the rest of us in prayer. I know that I personally feel it. Keep the prayers flowing! Love Sommer

each day is a new day...

Today we spent the better part of the day in the ER because mom had not had a bm in over a week and the doctors were worried. It turns out there was no blockage, but she does have a bladder infection (which could account for her sore back and lack of appetite!) So at least we got antibiotics for that. She was given more meds to help her go and hopefully that will be cleared up before too long.
Thanks for your prayers!

some good news...

Well, I am visiting mom right now, and we have enjoyd our time with her. Shawn and the kids go home tomorrow and I am staying so Krissy and I can take Mom to her first chemo treatment a week from today! Thanks to my wonderful in laws for helping so much during all this!!!

Mom called to get her result from a bone density test and a chest x ray and the doctor said that both were normal! Yay~this means that the cancer has not moved into the bones or the lungs. We are very grateful for this since the type of cancer she has is aggressive, and that would not be good.

She has not been able to eat much and has lost 25-30 pounds. The last few days she has managed to keep a half a piece of bread and some applesauce down...and a third of a sloppy joe! :) We are praying that she can get more in her to get some strength before chemo next week!!

I was overwhelmed at the cards and gifts that she has received...hundreds of them! Thank you all so much! (Keep 'em coming...the hard part begins soon!) You are all wonderful answers to prayer!

So...my crazy sister called me last night to ask me a question that made me laugh - do I want to get a tattoo with her??? LOL! Krissy, Sommer, and some cousins and aunts are going to get teal cancer ribbons (for uterine cancer awareness) tattooed on themselves. Andrea and I opted out...I have nothing again tattoos, but I don't want one myself! :) The guy doing them told mom he would do hers for free, but she opted out too! hahaha! Can't wait to see pics of the final results! You go, girls! And if any of you want to join them, I think they got a special price!

update...

Ok, hopefully I will get al lthe details on this right. I talked with my mother today, who had her first oncologist appointment. Things are not as positive as we had originally hoped.
Mom has unterine cancer, but it is stage 4. The type of carcinoma that it is (I hope I got that terminology right) is the most aggressive kind. Since there is still a mass of cancer cells around the gallbladder, it seems that is not a good thing. She has a bone scan tomorrow to see if it has spread into her bones already, and will be having a chest xray to see if it has gone into her chest.
She said that she starts chemo on the 21st, and it will be a powerful cocktail of things. She will have to plan on being there several hours for her first treatment, so they can see if there are any side effects. If it shows that it has spread in to the bones and chest, they will have to make it more aggressive.
The cure rate for this type of cancer is only 40%. I am not going to lie, this has affected my family in a great way emotionally. To see our healthy, active mother be diagnosed with stage 4 cancer is a shock. The doctor she has is a gentle, soft spoken man from Ghana, but he is honest and direct. The nurse is a Christian and reminded them that there is a spiritual aspect to this.
We continnue to pray for my father the way he deals with this. Please pray for strength for him. He is not the healthiest man himself!
I will be there next week with her and we are all taking turns spending time with her over the summer months and beyond. We will keep you updated, and appreciate you!!!
Love,
Heather

Good News!

I just heard from Mom. I do not have a lot details, but apparently the cancer started in the uterus. The doctors feel that they removed all of the cancer other than what is around the gallbladder. Their hope is that after chemo that mass will shrink and they can remove the gallbladder. Mom was worried because she has been feeling ill and sore and cannot eat a lot still, but they told her that she just had major, major surgery and she is expecting far too much too fast! (Glad they old her!) LOL!
She is not looking forward to chemo...just the word is scary. But we are so thankful for all your prayers, love, and support! There is still a long road ahead, but we are thankful for a positive outlook today!
She should hear from an oncologist in the next week to know what the chemo schedule is!

Tomorrow we know...

Tomorrow (Thursday) is the day that mom goes for her follow up appointment and hopefully we will find out more info about the type of cancer and the treatment options. Keep her in prayer. My sisters, Andrea and Krissy, and my nephews and niece are all going.

Everyone will be where they belong!

Dad is coming home tomorrow (Saturday.) He apparently stopped bleeding, and maybe it was a small ulcer that healed??? He will be going to another bigger hospital that can do tests that the one he is currently in cannot do.
Mom is home and still waiting results!! (I am super frustrated about that, but that is a side note!!) She is bored out of her mind as she sits and heals...poor lady! she is never one to sit and do nothing - she is constantly moving. If you live nearby and want to pop in and say hi, that would be great! If you have any suggestions to help her pass time over the next few months, that would be great too! LOL! Thanks for praying!

Dad

Nothing new on Mom right now. She is home and recovering. Dad is still in the hospital having tests. They discovered he has GERD but they do not think that is why he is bleeding, so they are keeping him another night and will do more tests. Krissy is doing a lot of running back and forth and taking care of both Mom and Dad...she needs to be lifted up. Thanks!!

...and more

Well, Mom is home and doing ok. She said she was able to eat a little and when I spoke to her on the phone this morning she sounded very chipper! Then she called this afternoon - to tell me that they were admitting DAD to the hospital and he may have to have surgery! He has been bleeding internally and they do not know where it is coming from. He has has a bleeding ulcer in the past and this could be another, but he is in bad shape. My guess is that he was not feeling great this whole week, but didn't want to make a big deal about it with Mom's cancer stuff! Anyway, he will have more tests tomorrow - they will use a scope to try to figure out what is going on and then they will stop the bleeding. He is on morphine right now because the pain is pretty bad.
Needless to say, Mom is having a hard time with not being able to be there. Dad told her to stay home (smart move!) and she stayed at home with Gram today. My sister, Krissy took Dad and stayed with him all day. My brother and his wife (Mike and Gina) were going over tonight, and I think Dad's sister was goin to be there. This is all craziness...but I am thankful for family that is there for each other, friends and strangers alike praying for us all, and for God's faithfulness in everything!
Thank you, again for all your prayers and love!!!

(This is a picture of my Dad with one of my nephews, Dylan, a couple years ago! Dad hates getting his pic taken!)

Here is a picture of Sommer, Andrea, and Mom before she was discharged. Thanks for your prayers!!

from Krissy again

this is krissy. so doctors said that she shouldnt be around 2nd hand smoke.. and so far she has been in the house.. dad put the cig out when i told him but then lit acouple more up... please pray that somehow they(everyone) in the family who smokes and gonna be around her that they would think and not smoke... i hooked up a humidifer thing b4 i left tonite and i did say something to dad but all he said was he will go out into the other room.. which the smoke is still gonna be in the house they just need to leave the house all around and smoke outside.. so just pray that they will get it and smoke outside so that mom isnt near it.. she needs to recovery and thats not gonna help!

Coming Home!!

Yay! Mom was discharged from the hospital today! (Here is a pic of her riding home with my sister, Krissy) There is still no results as far as what type of cancer we are dealing with, but they felt she would be more comfortable and heal better at home. No matter what she will not start chemo for about 6 weeks because she still has some major healing to do! She is extremely happy to be headed home, and it will be easier for Dad since he will not have to drive over 1.5 hours each way to see her.

The doctors are apparently leaning towards ovarian cancer, which is a much better prognosis than gallbladder. We don't know for sure yet (and I was not there, so I do not know whay they are saying that) but they feel pretty good about the outlook for things. She is young (53), in good health and physical condition, and they think they got most of it out (except the whole gallbladder thing, which they are counting on chemo to shrink so they can remove it safely.)

You could pray for Dad...we are not sure if he cought a flu, if it is stress, or a combo of things, but he has been thowing up and pretty sick! He couldn't even work today.

Thanks for your prayers, and we will continue to keep you updated!!

From Krissy

Now on the other note pray for my daddy he seems to be doing better but he hasn't eaten since probably monday and he keeps throwing up if he trys to eat... well tonite he got home and walked in the door and broke out in a cold sweat and threw up... something just doesnt seem rite... so please pray for him... thanxs again!!!

Mom and baby Nicholas

This is my cousin Jackie's son, Nicholas. He is in the same hospital mom is in waiting to have heart surgery. He visited her today!

prayer request

Today (Saturday) was a pretty good day overall for mom. She was able to get a shower and walked up and down the hall a few times! She cannot eat until she has a bowel movement. She has had many rumblings inside, but no "action." She took a peppermint tums-type thing and immediately threw it up along with a bunch of bile. This took a toll on her physically and emotionally tonight. She text me and asked me to have people pray for her to be able to pass gas.
She has a low grade fever tonight. She has been having hot and cold flashes, but is going through immediate menopause with the hysterectomy. She thought this would not be a problem, but it is bothering her a lot.
Dad, Gram, and Krissy were there today for most the day and Krissy is the one who updated me. Pray for her as she has a lot on her plate.
Andrea and Sommer went there this evening and will spend some time with her. She can take a sleeping pill tonight, and hopefully by the time they leave she will be in a nice sleep!
Thanks again for your prayers!

From Krissy

This is krissy!!.. mom texted me this morning, so u can tell she is getting better ... she is writing long texts and u can actually understand what she is saying... lol unlike the other nite! She was getting up and getting a shower at that point and that was at 9:45. She does seem to be doing better today other than being really tired. She said since she hasn't been able to sleep, doc said that she can have a sleeping pill but she just hasnt asked for one yet.

moving right along

I (Heather) came home last night late. It is hard to spread ourselves in two places...but many of you have dealt with that before, so you understand! For the first time in a year I can say I am glad we are not in Africa right now!

So, Mom was doing much better yesterday. When I got there she was being a little grumpy about the blood pressure cuff feeling tight and wanting to get a shower! I was glad to see she was still fiesty! They moved her to a different room since she does not have to be in the special care unit anymore. Unfortunately that means she has a roomate, but she did not seem to mind as much as we did! (We should feel sorry for her roomate with all of us coming everyday!) She was able to get off the cath, morphine drip, and bp cuff. She is taking percocet in the pill form and starting liquids, and seems to be ok with that. The doctors said that maybe by tomorrow she could try solids, but she is in no hurry for that...it is a little intimidating for her to think about that right now!

She can walk by herself today and even get a shower! That will make her day!

Still no news on the biopsy. I was irritated, but my Dad is being so patient about everything! They said definitely by the beginning of this week. It will depend on whether it is gallbladder or ovarian cancer the type of treatment they begin and the aggressiveness of it.

Thank you all for cards, food, gifts of gas money, calls, and PRAYERS!! You are all such a blessing to us and it is overwhelming to feel love from so many of you!

Sitting up...

A New Day

Today was a better day for all of us! Mom was able to get the tube coming from her bowel out and was able to keep some ice chips in. She got up and sat in a chair for a while, and the nurses helping her commented on how strong she is - I could have told them that! LOL! The incision looks good, though rather intimidating! It was a good day with all of my sisters there and my brother-in-law, Randal. Randal is good at making Dad laugh, so it was nice to have him there with us!
There was no news on the t ype of cancer yet, so we are hoping to hear tomorrow. I (Heather) am headed back home Saturday, so I would really like to know before I go, but as with anything we are trusting God's timing. I think we are all starting to understand that this is just the beginning. We will let Mom get home sometime next week, then take turns coming and staying with her for a few days at a time. I think her biggest worry about chemo is the boredom! She has not ever been one to sit still long. So we have promised to come and color with her, read to her, watch a movie, or whatever. Of course, this is all said without having any clue what we will be facing!
For those who have asked...she has very good insurance and they do not seem to be worried about that aspect. I talked to Dad today about it. She also has tons (about 800 hours) of sick time accumulated and some vacation, so she is not worried about a job situation right now, she can instead focus on doing what she needs to do now.
Please pray for all the family traveling...it is a little over 2 hours for Andrea and Sommer (who is staying at her in-laws) each way, and about 1.5 hours for Dad, Krissy and other family members. That gets tiring each day, though we all feel better when we are there with her. All of us moms/wives miss our kids/husbands, but want to be with Mom, too. Many of you out there can relate to this, I know!!
Thanks for taking the time to read this and pray...we have felt the effects of those prayers and know that God is at work!

New Beginnings...

Hello everyone!

What a week we have had so far! Thank you all for joining us in this journey with my mom!

After watching poor Krissy try to either call or text everyone yesterday whenever we got more information, I offered to set up this blog! You will probably see either me (Heather) or one of my sisters (Andrea, Sommer, or Krissy) posting on this! We will try to let you know who it is so you do not get confused...especially since some of you reading this do not know all four of us! It's kind of amazing to think of the multitude of prayers and where they are coming from all over the world!!

Let me start from the beginning with an insert from Sommer's email:

"It started about 6 months ago when she went in for an ultrasound and I believe yearly checkup. They found a fibroid tumor which they said was usually not cancerous, but none the less they never addressed it with her. She was feeling worse so we all encouraged her to go back. She was told about the fibroid, then a cat scan was done. They found a swollen gall bladder and a pelvic cystic neurosis. She went in Tues. for a hysterectomy and about 6 weeks later was to go back in for the gall bladder. Once opened up they immediately sewed her back up and flew her to Geisinger Hospital (A good cancer hospital in Danville, PA). They found cancer from her pelvic area all the way up to her gall bladder. They got her in for surgery around 4:30 Tues. They removed her ovaries, uterus, part of her liver, part of her colon, part of her bowels and burned some off of the intestines. There is a still a huge mass near her gall bladder which was not removed at this time because of organs near by. They plan to attack this with chemo. We are waiting the biopsy report as to what cancer but they are looking I believe at either gall bladder or ovarian so they can start the next treatment.

She is sore and tired, but fully relying on God. She is an amazing woman and there is always a reason for everything, but in our minds we cannot even comprehend. Thank you so much for you prayers. Feel free to pass this on for even more...we can all petition to God. He does hear today, He does heal today and He is always with us. "

People have asked many questions about how to help. so let me address some:
1. She cannot accept flowers at the hospital, so please do not send them there!
2. She is able to have visitors and phone calls, as long as we are careful not to be too loud and make her more tired or stressed.
3. Gram lives with Mom and Dad and is a great help. Krissy also lives just down the street, and Mike (my brother) and his wife Gina live nearby. They are taking care of many things that it takes to run a household - paying bills, the dogs, cleaning, meals, etc! Please pray for them ion all this as they take on many of Mom's different roles for a while!
4. She will be able to do chemo in Williamsport, PA, which is about 40 minutes from here so they will not have to travel as far each week.

We are hoping to hear the results of the biopsy either today or tomorrow, and I will update you again then! Thanks!!!!!!!!