Ann

I'm certainly praying that things go well!

Ginny, thank you so much for giving us an update on our friend. I am so glad she has family to be with her right now! I know how tough this is to deal with.

Hang in there Beth! I'm remembering you in my prayers. Hope your over the nausea real soon!!!

Prayers on the way for sweet little Nathaniel, his parents and a great big prayer for his SUPER grandma!!!!!

Dean, it made me feel all warm and fuzzy just reading your post and knowing how wonderful you are. You have truly been given the gift of knowing just what to say to make people feel better. Not a night goes by that I don't remember you and Gay in my prayers and wonder how my faraway friends are doing! So very good to hear from you, my friend!

Sharyn...I pray that you will find peace. I have also felt the same feelings that you are experiencing and have also thought about packing up and leaving this board. For me, I find staying here in some unexplainable way helps keep Dennis' memory alive. Someday, when some of pain has eased, please come back, as you are very dear to all of us! God bless!

Katie....I just got my 10 bands in the mail and wear mine everyday. I have passed the others on to friends on mine that knew and loved Dennis so that they can help spread the message!!!!

Kim, it is so good to hear from you again although I am sorry to hear about your futer MIL's problem. I know this will be so hard for you to go through again. I will keep her in my prayers. I am so happy that you have found someone special in your life. I believe that has happened to several of us from this board!!! Keep in touch!!!

Betty...I am so very sorry to read this news. You have been here for me so many times and your posts means so very much to me. I am praying that God will be with you through every single step of this journey and am asking him to bestow a miracle on you!!!! Please know how much you mean to all of us on this board! You have been such an inspiration for us ...now it's out turn to be there to uplift you!!!

Oh my dear friend, Shirley....I am so very sorry to read this news. I pray that you are holding up alright through all of this. I know you are a very strong lady but everyone has thir limit. I will give you a call soon!!! I'm keeping you in my prayers!!!

Pamela, please forgive me for wording my post incorrectly. Having a long time RN for an aunt, I am aware of what morphine does and doesn't do. It is, however, comforting to know that we have such a knowledgeable person as you appear to be on the board. I never meant that morphine helped the respiratory process at all. I meant that it helped lessen the anxiety that many dying persons experience. Although I am not a medical professional, I learned much more about the dying process than I ever wanted to know when my husband was ill and dying. Would you want to be kept alive for 15 years living as Terri lived?

I am just so glad that this is all over for this family...all of them...and that Terri is now at peace with her maker. I still feel very strongly that the right choices were made and that reinserting the feeding tube would have been a mistake. I am aware that starvation seems cruel but I can also believe it is not always cruel and painful. Many cancer patients actually lose their battle due to malnutrition. I believe this was the cause of Dennis's death. He was in no obvious pain. Lillian, I am amazed that you, having worked in the health care profession, don't know that morphine is not only administered for pain. I was told by our oncologist that the morphine would help ease Dennis during the fying process...not necessarily ease pain but would make the breathing easier and not so very labored. Regardless which side of this issue you are on, and it would appear that many here are on opposing sides with me. it is a shame that this family had to air this in public. This was not an issue for politicians. It was a private choice that should have been made in the best interest of the patient. I have my paperwork ready and my guardian appointed. This will never happen to me!!! I believe that everyone involved in this case should have been asked one simple question. Would you want to be kept alive if you were in this condition??? Then their opinion on this issue should have been based on their answer. Who here....even my dear friend Lillian.....would answer that you would want to be alive and live as Terri has lived for 15 years?

KAren...I'm crossing my fingers and saying my prayers for you and Dave. I went through this a lot with Dennis, once he began the Topetecan. He had transfusions and the medication I gave him was Nupogen (think spelling is right). I gave him the injections for 7 days myself, as we are about an hour and a half from the doctor.

So sorry to read of yur mother's passing. You will remain in my thoughts and prayers. Be strong and through all of the sorrow, try and remember the fun times you shared with your loving mother!

Becky...thanks so very much for standing up for your beliefs and letting them be known. Yes, this is a lung cancer support group and maybe this topic should not have been brought up...but maybe it should. I believe that we should discuss issues that are going on, especially if they are medically related!! I would so much rather you stand up for what you believe in than to ride the fence and "be on both sides", as I have seen so many people do. I had the feeding tube pulled on my mother. She had a degenerative liver disorder and there was no hope for her to ever be any better. She was in a coma and I thank God that her doctor gave me the right to choose the way she died. I have no idea if there was any suffering but if there was I was at least able to limit the amount of suffering she endured. I can speak as an authority on this matter, having "been there and done that." Laura...I think you were very harsh in your judgement of Becky. Everyone here has a right to express there opinions. I am a moderator of this board and strongly believe that everyone of us are entitled to our opinions. You are entitled to differ with Becky's opinion but you should not be so judgemental with your words.

Becky, I'm right in there with you on this one. I would hope that I would have someone fight so hard to respect my wishes, as Michael is doing for Terri. I believe Terri's parents are two of the most selfish human beings I have ever heard of in my entire life!!! No one in their right mind would want to live like Terri is living. She was once so beautiful. Can you imagine the humililiation she would feel if she knew the entire world was seeing her in this state. She is NOT alive!!!! She is breathing on her own and that is all!!! Living here in Florida, this is a really hot topic. I can tell you that most people here (approximately 83%) agree with her husband!

Angie, I am so very sorry to learn of your dad's death. Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers.

Kim, this is so true. Often, I feel closer to the folks at this board than my own relatives. We all have a common bind here and can all understand what the other person is going through! We love you too!!!!

Welcome home Frank! Wow...what a cheering section you have here on the MB. We're all in your corner!!!!

Sharyn...just one more added thing. I've learned that life is tough, but I'm tougher!!!

Happy Birthday Dear Lucie.......Happy Birthday To You....and Many More!!!!

Sharyn...it just breaks my heart right in two to see you wrestling with this issue. I have very little to add to what has been said here by some many others. At the end, I gave Dennis morphine. Did it speed his death? I don't think so, but maybe it did. Did he die more comfortably because of the morphine in his system? ABSOLUTELY!!! ALthough you and I both believe in God and miracles, neither of us could possibly believe that there was further hope for the recovery of your dad or my husband. It was absolutely killing me to see my loving husband of 26 years in such a state. I know that Dennis would have wanted me to administer morphine in an attempt to make him more comfortable. I have read many of your posts on this board and know that you were a completely loving and dedicated daughter. I know that your dad would be really hurt to know that you are having these feelings of guilt. Please, stop kicking yourself in the *ss for something that you didn't do. God determines who lives and dies and when life and death occur. Your dad was living on God's schedule and he had endured enough suffering. Please, give yourself a break!!! I'm saying prayers that you will get through this and find the peace you deserve!

Just made a donation ! Thanks for your help, Andrea!!!!

Pat, I can so relate to the feelings you are experiencing right now. When Dennis was first diagnosed, we were both overwhelmed. Everything was new and different and we were treading waters we had never ventured in before. There were so many new medical terms and procedures that we had to learn really quickly. In the beginning, I stayed glued to the computer. I searched the internet in an attempt to learn every single thing I could learn about lung cancer. One good thing came out of all the research....I found this message board. Then, as time passed, we seemed to find some acceptance of the situation. I feel that acceptance may be the wrong word here, as I have never accepted the fact that our family was stricken by this monster. My best advice is to make sure you have one good friend that you can talk to during this illness. I had one good friend that I always managed to talk to and she always had time to listen. I would talk, cry and express my worst fears to her and she was always there with open ears, heart and arms. If I had kept all of my fears bottled up inside, I seriously doubt I would have survived the life change I went through! Be strong and remember you have us all to help you through this!!!

Lil, I am so very proud of you. I know it took a lot of courage and strength for you to begin writing again. I pray that you will be able to latch on to that strength, especially today. I know that today will be very hard for you. Milestones like birthdays and anniversaries and holidays always are hard to deal with. Make sure and celebrate Johnny's birthday today. As you and I both know, Dennis and Johnny aren't very far from us at any time. I love and admire you so very much Lillian!!!! Happy Birthday Johnny!!!!