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pjdarin

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Everything posted by pjdarin

  1. Hi All: I think the 9:00 EST toast to Frank is a wonderful idea! I will be toasting with a glass of wine (I know, Frank, certainly a wimpy substitute for le beer) and a candle! pattie darin Frank's Sister
  2. Hi all: I am so sorry to have to bring everyone this update, but Frankie finished his battle here on earth this morning at 8:45 am. May the spirits of earth, wind, fire and water embrace and support him on his new journey. For me his spirit light will shine forever. pattie darin Frankie's sister
  3. Hi All: Pattie (Frank's sister) here with an update. I went to work yesterday but kept in touch with Connie. There has been no significant change in Frank's condition; however, last night he was running a fever. He continues to be able to monitor his pain level and answer Connie when she asks if he is comfortable or needs more pain meds. He does have a lot to say but it is hard for them to understand his dream language. The upshot seems to be that he is revisiting his life experiences (with no sign of discomfort). For me, that was some comfort because no matter what his life experiences have been over the years, he always met them with a sense of humor and the sheer joy of living. That he is able to go back and enjoy them again is quite wonderful! I am at work now but will check with Connie later. She and his family are with him constantly. Again, let me express how we all value your support, concern, and prayers .... personally speaking, you will never know how much this means! I will keep you posted. pattie darin (Frank Lamb's sister)
  4. hI everyone. The following is from my brother, Frank Lamb. I was out to see him on Saturday and he was forging along. He became paralyzed from the waist down and was coping with a wheel chair. He was wheeling around from kitchen, to dining area, to living room on a kind of "pacing" track. He was hoping to build up his upper body so that he could be more of help in getting him from wheel chair, to bed, to potty chair, etc. He was tired but had his pain under control. Connie called me tonight and I went out to his house. He had a type of seizure early evening and seems to be on the fringes of a coma .... his lungs are filling up with fluid and had to be aspirated: he is on oxygen and the visiting nurse was there dispensing pain meds and making him comfortable. He did recognize her (Lori) and cooperated for his morphine(crushed tablets in water applied under his tongue). Connie and his family are with him and he was resting comfortably when I left. I sent his word document home to myself and have copied it, exactly as he wrote and typed it. I made no changes except to add smiley/frown faces that Connie wanted added like he would have (I did my best with that). I will keep you posted. thanks once again. pattie darin Frank Lamb's sister DEAD MAN WALKING (WEEK # TWO) Hello everyone.Well it is good to be here to relate to all of you how goes week #2 . This week has been a week of more PAIN although a lot of that has been brought on by myself.They have done a very good job of regulating the pain with the long acting morphine.It is my job to take the liquid morphine and administer it so that the breakthrough pain is kept to a comfort level that is comfortable.It must be a guy thing I guess that we keep some pain hanging around. This week in a short period of time(one week) I have gone from walking on my own power to a walker,then a wheel chair (that I can’t use real well,and now have delivered a hospital bed..to me.I am now completely paralyzed from the waist down.It takes my wife and at least one of our son-in-laws to get us from the bed to a wheel chair.Even with that help we have trouble getting us in the chair.The paralysis today already seems to be working into the upper stomach. THE FRUSTATIONS: T hey would be all the above along with the trouble of trying to eat (I still have appetite esp. for chocolate donuts).Add to that it is very hard to do bowel movements(POOP) and now it is important for us to maintain the function of bowels (POOP) and urinary tract. It is veryy hard to communicate to all of you as just being at the computer is a hard task.I may only work at a couple of sentences in a long time and get dopey,so be patient as at times .Connie has hung in there so strong and brave same as our daughters,son-in-laws,grand children and all our family.We are trying so hard to stay at home as long as possible. The very worst thing that happened to us this week was that after all these years last night Connie and I were separated by a hospital bed and our own bed.. THE GOOD SIDE: THERE WERE NONE.
  5. Hello All: Frankie is my brother ... my younger and only brother. .... he is and will always be a bright, shining light in my life. He is courageous, strong, tenacious, empathic, honorable, and has a wonderful sense of humor! Not only that, he is smart. His spirit is great and a wonderful thing to behold! He is a tremendous warrior and fights all battles that engage him with all his might! His character in fighting this devil disease has never once faltered! Even though I realize that all of you already know this, I felt I needed to "put it to pen." His team of doctors and, now his hospice team, are top notch. Connie, the love of his life and, indeed, a "keeper," and his family are the best anyone could have. Also, I have frequently visited the site over these past almost 4 years and cannot put into words how much your support means to him, but to me as well. I talked briefly with Frankie tonight, and after a few unsettling events today, he was relatively comfortable and in good spirit! His "Dead Man Walking" is a wonderful gift and a true labor of love. No matter where the next phase of his journey takes him, his spirit shines always. pattie
  6. A woman walked into the kitchen to find her husband stalking around with a fly swatter. "What are you doing?" She asked. "Hunting Flies" He responded. "Oh. Killing any?" She asked. "Yep, 3 males, 2 Females," he replied. Intrigued, she asked. "How can you tell them apart?" He responded, "3 were on a beer can,2 were on the phone."
  7. well, I'd at least give a couple of them a call .... you never know .... they might organize something (beer and chips, etc.) and give you a helping hand ..... if not, you at least will know where you stand and can go from there .... good luck on your move! pattie d
  8. Frank is still in the VA hospital: they are still trying to regulate his body functions. He is out of the CCU unit, though, and in a semi-monitored room, which is progress, and has started back on radiation while he is there. He is walking around (down to only 1 IV) and keeping watch out his room window across the way to the Pitt dorms where he is trying to figure out who is hugging who!!! ..... when I went in to visit after work last night, that was pretty much the topic of great interest ... i looked out and sure enough there was hugging but I couldn't quite figure out who was hugging who either! Connie, as always, is with Frank every step of the way. ... they are a great team!!! By the way, Frank says "hi" to all: the other day I printed out what I could of the responses to the last email .... your support and caring are a great source of comfort!!! He was tickled to hear from you. Well, as I have a tendency to do, I have rambled on quite a bit. Connie or I will keep you updated (I promise to be less long-winded the next time) until Frank gets home and is back at the keys. pattie (Frank's sister)
  9. pjdarin

    Frank

    Hi all, Frank's sister here He wanted me to let you know that he has had somewhat of a setback and is back in the hospital. As a result of pretesting for his chemo and radiation event on Monday, they discovered that his blood pressure had dropped sharply and his heart rate accelerated dangerously. They did a bronchioscope to rule out blockages, etc.; they defibrilated his heart which did allow his heart to achieve normal rhythm; they started him on several iv's including blood thinner; tomorrow he will resume his radiation treatment while staying in the hospital so that his blood pressure and heart can be monitored. At this point it is uncertain when he will go home although he is shooting for the weekend. He says to say "hi" to everyone and that he'll touch base when he gets home. In the meantime either Connie or myself will keep you posted. Please keep him in your thoughts. pattie d
  10. Hi, Pattie (Frank's sister) here: Frank said this month joke theme was boy/girl type of thing ..... here's my contribution A Woman's Parable One day, when a seamstress was sewing while sitting close to a river, her thimble fell into the water. When she cried out, the Lord appeared and asked, "My dear child, why are you crying?" The seamstress replied that her thimble had fallen into the water and that she needed it to help her husband in making a living for their family. The Lord dipped His hand into the water and pulled up a golden thimble set with pearls. "Is this your thimble?" the Lord asked. The seamstress replied, "No." The Lord again dipped into the river. He held out a silver thimble ringed with sapphires. "Is this your thimble?" the Lord asked. Again, the seamstress replied, "No." The Lord reached down again and came up with a leather thimble. "Is this your thimble?" the Lord asked. The seamstress replied, "Yes." The Lord was pleased with the woman's honesty and gave her all three thimbles to keep, and the seamstress went home happy. Some years later, the seamstress was walking with her husband along the riverbank, and her husband fell into the river and disappeared under the water. When she cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked her, "Why are you crying?" "Oh Lord, my husband has fallen into the river!" The Lord went down into the water and came up with Mel Gibson. "Is this your husband?" the Lord asked. "Yes," cried the seamstress. The Lord was furious. "You lied! That is an untruth!" The seamstress replied, "Oh, forgive me, Lord. It is a misunderstanding. You see, if I had said 'no' to Mel Gibson, you would have come up with Tom Cruise. Then if I said 'no' to him, you would have come up with my husband. Had I then said 'yes,' you would have given me all three. Lord, I'm not in the best of health and would not be able to take care of all three husbands, so THAT'S why I said 'yes' to Mel Gibson." And so the Lord let her keep him. The moral of this story is: Whenever a woman lies, it's for a good and honorable reason, and in the best interest of others. That's our story, and we're sticking to it!
  11. Hi I'm Pattie Darin, Frank Lamb's sister. I know that Connie, Frank's wife, has updated you and I'll be updating as well. I'm about to go to the hospital to visit with him shortly. He is still in the hospital but may go home tomorrow. The surgeon, oncologist, and radiologist still need to firm up the overall plan of attack but the certain thing is that Frank will need to undergo aggressive radiation and chemotherapy for the new cancer attack. He is dealing with a repeat of the urinary track problems that occurred a while back caused by his enlarged prostate and hopefully the problem will have eased so that he can go home Monday prior to startup of his radiation and chemo. He says "hi" to all of you!!! I am eternally grateful for your connection with Frank. You will never know how much your support helps Frank. Thank you so much! Hopefully he will be on line Monday and fill you in on what's next. Pattie Darin
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