08/30/09: Tonight I write as I am sitting up in a bed near mama's, watching over her. Sleep will not come easily tonight for either of us. She is increasingly restless and it seems the last hour or so she has not been able to settle in. She is less and less responsive each day. Sadness fills our hearts as she moves away from us and we light up at each slightest recognition or reaction she offers us. She was able to hear the prayers of her great grandchildren tonight. We coordinated the time and used speaker phones as the triplets said their prayers. They said they loved their "gigi" and "prayers for gigi" as mama listened without response except a single tear that rolled down her cheek. Although she doesn't respond much of the time she hears us. We continue to let her know how much she is loved, not only by us but by God, try to make her comfortable, let her know we are ok, not to worry and that she is safe. Again, thank you to all who continue to pray and offer compassion.

08/25/09: Yesterday was a really hard day for me as I had to leave OC and head back home to work. I'll be going back down on Thurs and am anxious to get back to mama. She is still sleeping quite a bit but she has awareness when visitors stopover though she can only visit for a short time. She says she is not in much pain and we are so grateful for that. Her best times are in the morning. Seems she has a bit more energy and is able to talk to us a tad longer. We have had a few great and meaningful chats. As wonderful as they are, they are also emotional and usually end tearfully. She is still being mama, worrying about us and how we are all doing, not wanting to cause us any upset or hardships. What we try to convey and trust that she understands is that we have so much love and dedication that it is a privilege to be there to care for her and support her. We have had an opportunity to witness the kindness of everyone who has rallied around her and those acts of kindness have filled us with such gratitude. To have the ability to see her not just as our mother but as a friend and a christian woman, dedicated to using her talents to help others, assist with charities and do "Gods work" is a wonderful gift to us. She is receiving communion daily and we are so thankful for the church clergy and their devotion. Her church family has set up 30 minute increments around the clock to pray for her. This is in addition to those praying daily, praying all day and during their daily devotions. Listed among the prayers are: 2 Samuel 22:17-37 and Zephaniah 3:17. I am in awe of this generosity.

8/23/09: It is a very difficult time right now. Mama has decided to stop all treatments and is currently under Hospice care. She is sleeping longer and more frequently. We try to catch her in between to have a few moments to talk with her, read to her and pray with her. Those moments don't last for long though. She has had some agitation and restlessness and then sometimes she falls into a very peaceful sleep. I can only say at this time that we are continuing to ask God for a miracle because it is never too late. Thank you again for all the support. If your heart calls you to visit her I would suggest that arrangements be made fairly soon. God Bless each of you.

08/13/09: Good evening. I arrived at the hospital just a little while ago and wanted to give an update before going to bed. Mama was sleeping when I came in but she woke up long enough to smile and say hi. We talked for only a moment as I could tell she was ready to go to sleep. We are hoping she will be released tomorrow. She said she is anxious to get home and I am anxious for her to get home. Not much else to say at this point but will update tomorrow. Good night and say your prayers :)

08/11/09: The doctors have discovered that she had several mini strokes Sunday and they believe that there is a blood clot that they have not seen yet, possibly near her heart. They will not be doing an advanced echo cardiogram to locate it because her treatment would be the same regardless. They have prescribed her aspirin daily and cannot give her the blood thinner due to the tumors so there would be little point in putting her through the other test. Her heart is strong and in good condition and they do not want to interrupt the radiation treatments that began on Monday, so she will be continuing those daily until Fri 8/21. The cardiologist, neurologist, internist and the radiologist have all agreed that the number one priority is to keep the treatments for the tumors moving forward. This was a relief to have everyone on the same page including the family without any opposing opinions. No set backs to deal with this time. She has an appointment for blood work on the 20th and an appointment with the chemo doctor on Mon 8/24. We are supposing they will be checking her blood work and how she is physically to determine when the chemo can begin. While in the hospital she has had good days, rested, her spirits have been high and she has had a healthy appetite. The doctor did not say when she would be released but did say it will not be tomorrow. Ross has been reading the book Marley and Me to her and that seems to be soothing to her. Early Sat morning after giving her the medications we talked for awhile. I asked her if she wanted me to relay a message for her on the blog. She wanted to thank everyone for all of the caring, prayers and support you have shown. Also, through this, she has realized something about giving and receiving. In the past, when she has sent cards to those in need, although heartfelt from her, she did not have a sense of how significant that gesture was. Now, being on the receiving end, the impact this has had on her has showered her with a new understanding and appreciation. She will never send another card not knowing the level of importance it carries with it. We will look forward to hearing from her again, possibly this weekend. I am so grateful that there are so many of you making yourselves available to her and our family, assisting us in so many ways.

08/09/09: I am posting this tonight from the hospital while I sit here with my mother. She was admitted this morning and they will be doing a few tests tomorrow am. This morning she experienced some unsteadiness while walking and her speech was slurred and mumbled so we brought her into the emergency room. After doing a cat scan they found that she was at the beginning stages of a stroke. The neurological doctor will be by in the morning and we may be able to get some more answers then. She still seems to have some confusion so it is important at this time that someone be with her to help clear things up for her and she seems to feel more comfortable to be able to look to us for that. Her blood sugar is raised and she needs some insulin to help bring that back down. They explained that this is due to one of the meds that she is on. They will check this regularly and only administer it as needed. She is in good spirits and being true to herself was joking with the nurses saying she was here because we thought she "talked funny". She had a wonderful day yesterday. There were alot of visitors and she was able to get up each time and visit with them on her porch that she loves so much. She ate very well and took all her meds that she was supposed to. I was so proud of her and the effort that it took to do these things. She laughed and even wanted to go for a quick visit to the store with me today. Well, the trip to the store has been put on a hold, but only temporarily. Please continue praying for her. I will post again tomorrow to let you know how she is doing. Thank you for being so involved and caring enough to read this.

08/06/09: The meeting with the radiologist today revealed some new information in that there are actually two tumors on her brain and one being close to a blood vessel. The radiation will begin Monday with a total of 10 treatments. Last night and this morning she was a little restless and a bit agitated but this afternoon she had several visitors and that seemed to help her settle a bit. She was experiencing some pain in her rib area again today but she is resting comfortably tonight. There have been small prayer groups that come to the house and pray with her for a short time. What a wonderful gesture and I am sure this helps to comfort her. Ross is going to check into some home health care assistance tomorrow. There is so much to be done and so many things to keep track of that this help will ease some of the tasks for him as well as having a professional to help guide them. With her doctors caring for her physical well being, her church family caring for her spiritual well being and her family caring for her emotional well being we are enveloping her with all the knowledge, prayer and love that we have at hand. Knowing that you are keeping her in your thoughts and that so many prayers are being offered helps to alleviate some of the apprehension we encounter. Please know how much you are appreciated.

08/05/09: The results of the MRI are in, the doctor called this afternoon. There is a tumor on the brain-somewhere behind the eye. She will be going to the radiologist tomorrow to set up a start time for radiology. There should be approximately 12-15 treatments. Chemo will have to wait now until this is taken care of. They did say that this is a better scenerio than if it was in the spinal or brain fluid because it is more responsive to treatment. She had a good day today of eating more and feeling a bit better. Please continue to pray for her healing and for guidance of the doctors, according to his will. The power of prayer and the numbers of those praying will surely be heard and I for one am not waivering on the hope of a miracle for her.

08/04/09: On Monday there was a dr appointment with Dr T's office (chemo). His associate felt like the eye issue is due to a connection with her cancer. He will be awaiting the results of the MRI from today. If those results come back normal he will order a spinal tap to be sure none of the cancer cells have spread to the fluids around the spine or the brain. He also determined that all issues are to go through their office. This was great news. Now there is only one person Ross has to keep in touch with. Their office will handle all symptoms and tests and this should also help with test result turn around time. Mama is also de-hydrated so she needs to go into the dr office twice a week for IV fluids. They are also waiting on the results of the MRI/spinal tap before making a decision on when the chemo will start. If the results show any issues that will become the priority and chemo may have to wait. When I got to OC on Sunday she was very tired and slept most of the late afternoon and evening. She had a little more energy on Monday but after 3 hours of IV (1 hr for Zometa and 2 for fluids) she was pretty tired again. I will post new information tomorrow when we have the results back from the tests.