Just a little note...bad news... :'(
Mom passed away this morning a little before 10.
She was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma (bone marrow cancer) in the fall of 2004. After 2 chemo treatments and a stem cell transplant, things were looking good. The last treatment was about a year ago. We'd had a couple scares recently when she had to go for blood and platelet transfusions where her temperature would spike to over 100 degress. They'd hold her at the hospital for a few days to get her temp back down and to help things get back to normal. She'd be back home and fine within a few days.
In the last 4-5 weeks I've noticed her mind starting to slip. She stopped eating and pretty much did nothing but sleep all the time. Last Monday (the 17th) she had an appointment in Philadelphia at Fox Chase Temple Cancer Facility. When she got there, her numbers were low so they decided to give her blood and platelets right then and there. Her temperature spiked again. They kept her there. Her temperature went down, but she was not functioning any better. They continued giving her antibiotics and fluids to keep her going and also did daily blood and platelet transfusions. My brother and I went to visit her on Saturday the 22nd and she seemed to be doing OK other than dozing off a lot. We talked to her a little bit and gave her a birthday card (today was her 55th birthday) and a small stuffed cat that she named Cleo. She was playing with it and making little meow sounds when we left on Saturday night.
Things were not good on Monday. The doctors gave us 2 options. We either do the chemo and stem cell transplant that they wanted to do or we let things run their course. There was no promise that she'd survive the high dosage of chemo needed to clear things out of her system. They wanted to run some more tests on Tuesday to see if there were any other options. They found an infection in her intestines and immediately hung an antibiotic IV for that. They expected it to take about 48 hours to wipe that out and then they were hoping that she would get strong enough that they could give her the chemo and do the stem cell transplant. They were going to wait until Thursday for us to make a decision on what to do. After I got to work this morning, my phone rang. It was Dad. I said "Good morning" and he came back with "No it's not." I could hear that he was in tears. I thought it was over. He said that she was struggling to breathe and could not talk, but that he was going to hold the phone up to her ear so that I could say good bye and tell her that I loved her. I did just that and then let him go to call my brother so he could do the same. He called me back a few minutes before 10 and I knew it wasn't going to be good. I answered with "Hello..." this time, knowing he had something to tell me. Shortly after she heard my brother and I tell her that we loved her and said goodbye, she just let go. I asked if we should come down, but he didn't want us driving down there in this state. I told him to call Ben and let him know and to call me back if he needed anything. Shortly after I hung up with him, my phone rang again. It was Ben. Dad couldn't get his cell at work, so he had called the plant. They let him know that he was trying to get ahold of him. I think when Ben tried to call, it was busy. He called me. I told him what Dad had told me and asked him to call and talk to dad. As soon as I hung up, I burst into tears. I couldn't hold it back anymore.
Dad was supposed to talk to someone about what we need to do now.
I'm doing OK with everything. I think seeing the way her mind was slowly regressing and the condition she was in Saturday (very weak, could hardly stay awake) that my mind started to prepare for this. I certainly didn't expect it this soon. The biggest problem I'm having is talking to other people about it, whether it be face-to-face or on the phone. I've IMed a few people that are around and I was OK talking about it that way. Hearing other people's voices getting shaky make my voice go shaky and I start to cry again.
Rest In Peace Barbara Ann Bush July 26, 1951 - July 26, 2006
She was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma (bone marrow cancer) in the fall of 2004. After 2 chemo treatments and a stem cell transplant, things were looking good. The last treatment was about a year ago. We'd had a couple scares recently when she had to go for blood and platelet transfusions where her temperature would spike to over 100 degress. They'd hold her at the hospital for a few days to get her temp back down and to help things get back to normal. She'd be back home and fine within a few days.
In the last 4-5 weeks I've noticed her mind starting to slip. She stopped eating and pretty much did nothing but sleep all the time. Last Monday (the 17th) she had an appointment in Philadelphia at Fox Chase Temple Cancer Facility. When she got there, her numbers were low so they decided to give her blood and platelets right then and there. Her temperature spiked again. They kept her there. Her temperature went down, but she was not functioning any better. They continued giving her antibiotics and fluids to keep her going and also did daily blood and platelet transfusions. My brother and I went to visit her on Saturday the 22nd and she seemed to be doing OK other than dozing off a lot. We talked to her a little bit and gave her a birthday card (today was her 55th birthday) and a small stuffed cat that she named Cleo. She was playing with it and making little meow sounds when we left on Saturday night.
Things were not good on Monday. The doctors gave us 2 options. We either do the chemo and stem cell transplant that they wanted to do or we let things run their course. There was no promise that she'd survive the high dosage of chemo needed to clear things out of her system. They wanted to run some more tests on Tuesday to see if there were any other options. They found an infection in her intestines and immediately hung an antibiotic IV for that. They expected it to take about 48 hours to wipe that out and then they were hoping that she would get strong enough that they could give her the chemo and do the stem cell transplant. They were going to wait until Thursday for us to make a decision on what to do. After I got to work this morning, my phone rang. It was Dad. I said "Good morning" and he came back with "No it's not." I could hear that he was in tears. I thought it was over. He said that she was struggling to breathe and could not talk, but that he was going to hold the phone up to her ear so that I could say good bye and tell her that I loved her. I did just that and then let him go to call my brother so he could do the same. He called me back a few minutes before 10 and I knew it wasn't going to be good. I answered with "Hello..." this time, knowing he had something to tell me. Shortly after she heard my brother and I tell her that we loved her and said goodbye, she just let go. I asked if we should come down, but he didn't want us driving down there in this state. I told him to call Ben and let him know and to call me back if he needed anything. Shortly after I hung up with him, my phone rang again. It was Ben. Dad couldn't get his cell at work, so he had called the plant. They let him know that he was trying to get ahold of him. I think when Ben tried to call, it was busy. He called me. I told him what Dad had told me and asked him to call and talk to dad. As soon as I hung up, I burst into tears. I couldn't hold it back anymore.
Dad was supposed to talk to someone about what we need to do now.
I'm doing OK with everything. I think seeing the way her mind was slowly regressing and the condition she was in Saturday (very weak, could hardly stay awake) that my mind started to prepare for this. I certainly didn't expect it this soon. The biggest problem I'm having is talking to other people about it, whether it be face-to-face or on the phone. I've IMed a few people that are around and I was OK talking about it that way. Hearing other people's voices getting shaky make my voice go shaky and I start to cry again.
Rest In Peace Barbara Ann Bush July 26, 1951 - July 26, 2006