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.