Suzie Q

Much comfort and peace to you and your family.

Thank you all for your kind expressions of sympathy. Note that I have posted a link to my Mom's life story/obituary if any are interested. ~Karen ada "Suzie Q"

The following link will take you to the life story/obituary page for my mom: http://www.lifestorynet.com/memories/13557/ You may have to cut-and-paste the link to your browser. Hopefully it works. I miss her so much already. My heart is aching. ~Karen aka "Suzie Q"

See OBITUARIES topic. My mom passed on April 24, 2006. She lived just over 2 years from diagnosis of stage IV NSCLC, and while nearly all of that time was spent with chemo ongoing, she nevertheless was active and felt pretty good most of the time. Only in the last 2 weeks did she decline (and rapidly); take heart that stage IV disease diagnosis can STILL leave you with good time to spend! ~Suzie Q

My sweet mother, Barbara Hansknecht, left this earth for her heavenly home on Monday, April 24, 2006, at about 4:30 am. She was surrounded by love, and passed peacefully with family beside her. She lived just over 2 years from diagnosis of stage IV NSCLC, and while nearly all of that time was spent with chemo ongoing, she nevertheless was active and felt pretty good most of the time. Only in the last 2 weeks did she decline (and rapidly); take heart that stage IV disease diagnosis can STILL leave you with good time to spend! Will post obit link later. ~Karen aka "Suzie Q", my mom's nickname for me

Hi all, My dear mother is rapidly declining. She is now receiving Hospice care in my home. She seems to be coming to terms with being at this point, but prayers for peace will be appreciated. Love to you all! Suz

Have her call Hospice anyway. Some Hospice organizations are known for not turning away patients who cannot pay. Knowing that her medicare is pending, they may accept her anyway. It's worth the call...

Great news, Lori! Glad you had a nice day with the family.

Carleen, Let me start by saying I am so saddened by your pregnancy loss. That alone is a load to bear. But the news of rejection of the clinical trial is just so, so heavy. My heart breaks for you. My husband and I suffered infertility prior to adopting our precious daughters. I know the pain of loss of a biological child, though not the physical loss as I never conceived. Yet in all this pain and crying out to the Lord, I realized that I needed to change the way I was praying. Rather than ask for a miracle, I needed to request the peace, grace, and stregnth to accept whatever was in God's plan. It really centered me. I felt so relieved to not carry around all the anger and hurt. And it continues to help me whenever I have awaited news of either my mom or dad's test results, because whatever information was in those results was an event (disease progression or remission) that had already occured and which I could not control. And I refuse to waste my energy on a futile effort of worry! I don't know why these things happen to such good people. But I believe in the purification of the spirit that must occur before entrance into heaven, and perhaps this is their purification process (and part of yours, too) so that they may go directly to our Father's arms. Watching my dad go like a lamb to the slaughter as he endured all the indignities his melanoma imposed upon him, and yet bearing it all unquestioningly and without loss of faith is my comfirmation that surely he went straight to God. So the suffering is not all for nothing. Jesus said, "You must take up your cross if you are to follow me" and we never know what crosses will appear in our lives, but we can ask for the lord to carry us in His tender embrace and bear us through. May God bless and comfort you, Suzie

store hours

Deepest condolences to you and your family. ~Suz

Peace and comfort to you and your family in the loss of your sister. ~Suz

Make mine a Molson's, ice cold, please. ~Suz

Lisa, No way did you cop out. You made a healthy decision to decline job that was not a good fit for you. Is sounds like you would do nicely as a patient advocate. Any positions in that area available? You might also think about speaking to nursing and other health care groups on how to improve their bedside manners and "put patients first." If you were closer, I am certain our ultrasound group would have you as a speaker at our symposium. You have the unique persepective as a nurse and as a family member. It's a real eye-opener when the health care worker is on the other side of the bed, so to speak, but it teaches us to care for our patients and family members with true compassion. I'm sorry the move has not gone well. If you were my sister, I can assure you I would have time for you! Have you found a church to join that makes you feel welcome? How is Tariq feeling about the move? Does he want to go to film school still? It is so good to hear from you, though I wish things were going better for you. Yor grief and mourning are normal, though you might benefit from talk therapy to help you unload some of the anger, etc. You have suffered a huge loss, and don't let anyone tell you you should be "over it" and just heal at your own pace. Keep us updated and do stay in touch. Much comfort to you and your son, Suzie

Lori, What a joyous turn of events! I sure hope your bid on the new house is accepted. You will surely be blessed for your good heart. ~Suz

The first two things that come to my mind are DVT and cellulitis.

So sorry for your unexpected loss. Hope your scan results are good.

Lori, You are doing exactly what you need to do. Perhaps the neurosurgeon could have been a bit more up front about er prognosis and given more info, such as how much neuro recovery he expects, but I suspect he was waiting for your mom to ask for more info. When she did not request more, he did not volunteer it. Many patients want only the bare minimum of info if they expect bad news. So teh doctors sometimes play it by ear and only tell them the info they wish to deal with right now. If you haven't already done so, get your mom to sign a Living will and Durable POA naming you as agent to make medical decisions for her should she become unable to do so. You have been the ONLY selfless one here working for HER best interests. I hope she agrees to it. Your SF sounds like a controlling person. He wants her in the nursing home because he has no control if she moves into your home. Best wishes to you. ~Suz

Absolutely marvelous play! I think Emma Thompson played the lead in the film version...or maybe that was on Broadway...anyway, it is a great play!

Karen, Laura, and family; Deepest sympathies to you, and much peace and healing in the days ahead. ~Suzie

Nancy, Sometimes just being there is the best thing. Relating old memories is a good thing. Giving a back or foot massage is nice, too. maybe ou can read to him or share an old movie with him. Anyhow, you are doing the right things, and I'm sure he knows how mch you love him and want to help. So sorry you are going through this. ~Suz

Try the Immodium Liquid. My dad's onc nurse said that the pill form rarely works, especially if one can't keep it down! The liquid is absorbed sooner. If it doesn't work, ask for a prescription for anti-diarrhea. Frequent small meals are the key to avoiding the nausea. Even just a few bites of toast or a cracker will keep something in the stomach. ~suz

They do not want the arm used for BP checks or IVs because the removal of lymph nodes increases the risk of lymphedema in that arm. If all of the veins in her "good" arm are bad, is there any reason she cannot have a port installed in her chest? It makes chemo much easier and less time-consming, provided all the nurses are trained to use a port. Even if the patient goes to the ER, the port should be accessed instead of looking for a vein. It cannot be used for CT contrast injections, though, because it cannot sustain the pressure needed for the bolus injection of contrast (or so I am told via the literature sent home with Mom). I would go for the port, hands down. ~Suz

When I was growing up, we lived in a 40 year old house, and on occasion would get the fog horn sound. It was related to turning on a certain faucet only to a certan point - once past it, there would be no noise. So I agree this is likely a plumbing issue. Or maybe Mike wants you to be a third-shift person and sleep suring the day! ~Suz

I just wanted to rave about Caroline's gorgeous face! Oh, those cheeks! You must be so in love with this new little person! I am so glad you posted a new picture. We all love babies and I know of few things that can brighten a room like a little baby. ~Suzie