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gerbil runner

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Posts posted by gerbil runner

  1. Hi, all. I read often but post seldom. Had to chime in on this one.

    Some hospice organizations can provide help with bathing, coordinating medications, cna monitoring and the like BEFORE the patient is actually on a hospice program. The program was called "home palliative care" in our case, and did not depend upon any "expected" life span. The patient can also still seek aggressive treatment. If your insurance will cover such care, find a hospice that offers it!

    Also, a few hospices have their own inpatient facilities. Unless you have lots of reliable help from family and friends, find one. It's awful for a hospice patient to have to spend the last days in a hospital or nursing home which does not have a specific hospice program. Inpatient hospice should have no visiting hour restrictions, provide a more home-like setting for family members, and cater to the patient as much as possible.

    My great-aunt just passed away in a nursing home because my uncle couldn't care for her when she could no longer walk. The constant shifting back and forth for visiting, the confusion over who was in charge, the pressure on my poor aunt to eat when she clearly no longer could...a better facility would have made it so much easier.

    Not everyone will be able to find a hospice with these services, but look for them if you can.

  2. My mom was buried in December, when it's impossible to place a monument. The few times I've been to the cemetery, it seems so desolate (though the cememtery itself is beautiful).

    My grandparents are buried in another cemetery, and when I last visited there, it was sad to see how neglected the old planter was. Since my mom had gotten sick, family cared for her rather than the gravesite, as it should be.

    My great-aunt and uncle lost their daughter to breast cancer 15 years ago. Against their wishes, she was buried far away from their home. Nobody in the family now lives near where she was buried.

    All of these circumstances have made me think about how sometimes we feel the need to contribute in a concrete way to a memorial for our loved ones.

    I have decided for my mom and my grandparents to purchase heavy planters (following the cemetery guidelines) and plan to add stones.

    Carved stones have become popular. They can be small and inscribed with a single word, or large with as much information as a traditional monument. Stones can also be painted by anyone. They do not die of like plants, and can be personalized by anyone.

    A planter at the cememtery, or even a flowerpot in our house, can become a place to deposit these stones, as well as the plants and flowers we normally think of.

    http://www.rockitcreations.com/index.html

    This site offers personalized carved stones.

    http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_design_rock ... 61,00.html

    This site details how to paint stone.

    Hope these ideas may be helpful to someone.

  3. Thanks so much. I'd dearly love to have another cat, but I'm afraid of a repeat accident. Dillon is over 50 lbs., and VERY athletic. He's gentle with my kids, but when he plays with other dogs he's very boisterous. His doggy pals are all bigger than he is, so it's not a problem. And he's actually submissive to other dogs.

    Dillon is stil looking for Ollie, but we'll be ok. I just miss my big soft kitty.

  4. You really should see a dr. The blood could just be from throat irritation, or it could be something else. Smoking is NOT the only cause of lung cancer! So even though your smoking history probably wouldn't cause cancer at this point, there are no guarantees.

    Try not to panic, but see a dr. somehow. And congrats on quitting the smoking - best for your long-term health in any case.

    Your parent have your best interests at heart and will survive your telling them.

  5. My mother was actually dying before the gamma knife was done. It was just too late - there was probably too much other microscopic activity going on in her brain. She was almost bedridden when it was done, so the day was just too long for her.

    The person best able to determine whether it would help your mom would be the oncologist who performs the gamma knife. Results depend upon size and location of the tumor. Perhaps your mom's scans could be sent to Calgary to see if they think your mom might be helped.

    If her onc. has only had one patient treated with gamma knife, I'd look for a more informed opinion.

  6. On Saturday I lost my dear sweet cat Oliver. He squeezed out of a partially open screen door, and my dog spotted him. He ran over to play (Ollie would usually run, but was cornered), and jumped on him. I think Ollie died instantly - there was no blood, no bite marks, nothing.

    I'm devastated. Ollie was the best kitty - a total lap cat who loved everybody. His fur was so thick and soft. His favorite spot was riding on my shoulders :cry: .

    Dillon had no clue what happened. He's still looking for Ollie.

    I know some of you will worry Dillon will hurt a person, but it's totally not in his nature. We got him from a rescue who temperament-tests all their dogs. As an example, he has a phobia about getting his nails cut. It's so bad that he gets worried when we cut our own nails. I had the vet try to cut them with no luck. He never growled, never tried to bite, just thrashed like mad - and evacuated his anal glands :shock: . I didn't even know animals could do that. EEWWW!

    I've managed to forgive Dillon, but it really hurts to know Ollie is gone. I miss him sleeping on my bed. My kids miss him hanging out in their rooms. I miss him riding on my shoulders when I make the bed.

    Ollie died exactly 3 months after my mom :cry::cry::cry: .

  7. Cute pics!

    Some kitties hunt, some won't. I had one, Kelly-cat, who pulled open a gerbil cage and ate the occupant (we only found the hindquarters and tail in the cage :shock: ). He voraciously hunted mice in the house 'til the day he died of kidney failure :cry:. He also used to EAT them whole :shock: . Keep in mind I free-fed my cats, so he did it because he loved the taste of mouse. Eeww.

  8. I'm sorry the news is bad. Is gamma knife available near you? It can be used after WBR, so PCI should not rule it out.

    Gamma knife is only a one-day procedure (albeit a very LONG day), so I'd strongly recommend looking into it. Since brain mets so clearly compromise quality of life, slowing them down is important.

  9. I agree a "time limit" is cruel and unneccessary. I do understand doctors wanting patients to understand how dire the situation is, but there are much kinder ways to present it. Like saying, "We'll fight as hard as you want for as long as you want, but keep in mind that we don't really know how well it wil work in your case. Don't assume you have 2 months, and don't assume you have 20 years."

    Hope you get wonderful, miraculous results from the trial.

  10. I would like to see comprehensive home health care assistance offered to all cancer patients undergoing treatment.

    More than one member here has had to make a choice between aggressive treatment and getting supportive care needed - only available through hospice.

    A few years ago, a member of our church had a "drive-through" mastectomy. She had no family nearby, and the whole church pitched in to stay with her overnight (the dr. said she couldn't stay alone, yet was released from the hospital), cook, clean, take her for treamtent...and I know manylc patients are in the same boat.

    I'ts not impossible. Home and Hospice of RI has a Home Care program, available for anyone suffering from a life-thratening illness, which offers most of the services available to hospice patients.

    This would have a very far-reaching benefit. So many people are afraid of hospice because it seems like "giving up" (and there are some for-profit hospices we SHOULD be afraid of :shock: ). Yet they desperately need some help with personal care, durable medical goods, coordinating medication, pain relief, etc. The other part of this is a hospice organization should be about quality of life, not just a pain-free at-home death. Long-term programs for patients who are not ready to be called "terminal" could only help in changing some attitudes both in hospice care and the community.

    Supportive care is vital, both in the comfort of the patient and their ability to continue treatment. I firmly believe that treatment-related deaths could be reduced with aggressive nursing care.

    There are non-profit and for-profit hospices. I think this is an organization which should be non-profit, for obvious reasons.

  11. I'm so sorry you have to go through this. Ask if Ken can get a pain patch - it's much more of a "set and forget" medication, and very long-lasting.

    Prayers going out to you.

  12. 0ne thing to keep in mind is that past figures for smoking were very high. So if someone gets lung cancer today, chances are excellent that the patient was exposed to cigarette smoke - first or second-hand - at some time. The real question, which we don't know and nobody is asking, is what would the rate of lc be without any exposure to cigarettes at all?

    If someone who quit smoking 30 years ago gets lc, why is it assumed smoking is the cause and not possible radon exposure? Or genentics? Or other chemicals?

    As long as smoking gets the blame, we'll never know for sure.

  13. I'm so sorry your pain is still so intense. I know what you mean - some days I just want to sit and howl in pain.

    It WILL get less painful with time. Keeping you in my prayers.

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