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Francine/Blue Bayou (not good)


mhutch1366

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I received a message from Francine's husband Giles. Francine passed July 28, 2005, in the early evening. This is his letter:

Dear friends of BlueBayou,

bluebayou.jpg

My dear sweetest loving wife, Francine, died at 6:30 pm on July 28th,

just two days before her 57th birthday. She was informed on Wednesday

July 13th that Tarceva, which she had been on for about two months was

not working and that the tumours in her neck, chest and abdomen were

very much larger. Her oncologist said he had no more tricks up his sleeve

and so with heavy heart and in a bit of shock we headed back to our

apartment. Over the next two days she deteriorated very rapidly and she

was admitted to the palliative unit at Elizabeth bruyere Hospital in

Ottawa on Saturday the 16th.

It was the last two weeks of her life that really defined Francine as a

person. She accepted that she was going to die and set about making it

easier for all of her loved ones and friends. She ambraced God and

Jesus and clearly indicated that she was anxious to get to heaven and see

her father again. She asked only that she die in dignity and with no

pain and I can say that got her wishes. In fact, the nurse looking

after her loved and admired her so much that she gave her a bubble bath the

morning of her death.

Literally, she held court towards the end of the first week, calling

everyone in and either speaking words of encouragement or saying

wonderfully kind things to all. Her humour was unbelievably refreshing. For

instance on Saturday after seeing thirteen people throughout the day and

into the wee hours of the morning and having prepared herself for

death, she exclaimed to me upon waking the next day (I slept beside her that

night) "Oh shi_, I am still alive". At another point when my daughter

was singing to her and I was feeding her an iced cappuccino, and her

sister was massaging her legs she sighed and said " this is the best

death ever".

Francine had no regrets, she lived her life exactly as she wanted,

travelling the world and experiencing the wonders of different countries

and cultures. She and I raised a wonderful, loving and independent

daughter who is strong of spirit and generous of heart.

Francine and I loved each other with a strength that will endure

forever. I will miss her so very very much.

I hope that I have done this right and that you can share this with all

her friends whom she came in contact with on this website. If anyone

of you wish to express your thoughts about her please send them to her

yahoo e-mail address globetrotter6_ca@yahoo.com which I will

check regularly.

Thanks

Gilles, her hubby

_________________

Dx NSCLC Stage IIA Feb 03.

Lobectomy upper right lung.

No chemo or radiation. Observation only.

Mets to the bone (spine) Sept 03

Mets to adrenal gland Oct 03

5 days of radiation finished Oct 03

New CT scans and MRI show mets to gland, bone and to brain

Whole Brain Radiation: 4-17 Dec 03

Chemo (Cisplatin/Taxotere) Jan 04

Stereotactic radiosurgery Jan 04

CT Scans Brain/Chest/Abd (Mets to brain & glands gone)

Loss of hearing Apr 04 - restored June 04 after surgery

MRI upper spine May 04 results inconclusive

MRI/CT scans indicate mets to spine (C6/C7) Jul 04

Surgery to upper spine Jul 04

Chemo trmts Carboplatin/Taxotere begin Sep 04

CT Scans brain/neck/chest/abd Nov 04 results indicate no mets to brain/chest or abd/neck stable and tumour on adrenal gland slightly reduced

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I am so sad to learn of Francine's passing. She has been missed on the board I am sure will be missed in this world. The message posted is one of the most beautiful and inspiring accounts of courage and faith I have ever heard and I am so very grateful for the posting. It brings me tremendous comfort to hear that she was feeling such peace, love and happiness in her transition to heaven. I am thankful to her family for the unselfish act of sharing the account of her last weeks with us.

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I am so sorry to hear this. I did not know Francine, but I know that many of you did and loved her. To you, I must express my condolences.

What a beautifully written letter accounting Francine's spirit, courage, love and humor. She had an amazing husband it seems as well.

I am sorry for this loss of a good woman.

Cindi o'h

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To die with dignity, grace, humor and peace....is surely the best way to go. And Francine couldn't have left any better than she did.

I'm saddened to know that not hearing from her in a while means what it means....but I'm grateful to Gilles for sharing what he did of her passing, as I just hope that someday I can do it with the same "style" Francine showed.

Godspeed, Blue Bayou. Your user name always reminded me of one of my favorite songs - the Linda Ronstadt version. Now, though, when I think of Blue Bayou...I'm also going to remember you saying..."Oh sh*t, I am still alive"!! And then I will smile in fond remembrance.

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This news has saddened me so deeply. She was a wonderful source of support here and will be missed.

To Giles, your words were so beautiful, so full of love and admiration for your wife, it brought tears to my eyes. My deepest appreciation for sharing with all of us her last days and the courage and dignity she demonstrated.

May God Bless your Family.

TAnn

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Below,the last we heard posted in January, thanks so much for the message of what happened to our Francine. Donna G

PS Her last words for us " God Bless us All"

bluebayou

Joined: 22 Aug 2003

Posts: 354

Location: Ottawa, Ontario

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 3:39 pm Post subject:

Rick and Katie:

No apologies needed. Glad to see you back

God Bless us All

Francine

_________________

Dx NSCLC Stage IIA Feb 03.

Lobectomy upper right lung.

No chemo or radiation. Observation only.

Mets to the bone (spine) Sept 03

Mets to adrenal gland Oct 03

5 days of radiation finished Oct 03

New CT scans and MRI show mets to gland, bone and to brain

Whole Brain Radiation: 4-17 Dec 03

Chemo (Cisplatin/Taxotere) Jan 04

Stereotactic radiosurgery Jan 04

CT Scans Brain/Chest/Abd (Mets to brain & glands gone)

Loss of hearing Apr 04 - restored June 04 after surgery

MRI upper spine May 04 results inconclusive

MRI/CT scans indicate mets to spine (C6/C7) Jul 04

Surgery to upper spine Jul 04

Chemo trmts Carboplatin/Taxotere begin Sep 04

CT Scans brain/neck/chest/abd Nov 04 results indicate no mets to brain/chest or abd/neck stable and tumour on adrenal gland slightly reduced

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This news about Francine just breaks my heart. She will definitely be missed. I am so grateful that her husband shared his beautiful post with us. I don't believe I have ever heard an account of someone passing this world in such a dignified and graceful manner. While reading the post, I kept thinking that is exactly the way I would like to live my final days, surrounded by family and friends. I'm sure our dear Francine has now joined the beautiful group of angels that once frequented this message board. God bless and keep you always near him, Blue Bayou!!!!

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our dear Francine is now at peace and with her Daddy... She helped me so much when my Dad passed, her story of the last weeks of her life will live in my memory forever. There is no way to describe the way I felt reading her husbands sweet and moving post. May you and your daughter have sweet peace now, it is obvious from your writing you have great faith and faith will lead you through this... God Bless You all....

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Thank you Giles for posting about your beautiful Francine. She was so supportive on this site and will be greatly missed.

Her passing was beautiful as she just gave so much of herself so others could not worry about her. What a beautiful soul she is!!

I know her dad was there to help her pass over and that must have been a beautiful reunion.

She will always live on though all those wonderful memories you both shared. Those special moments you both privately shared and all those memories of her life with your daughter her family and friends.

My deepest condolences goes out to you Giles.

She certainly is at peace now.

Peace be with you,

Maryanne

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I am so sad to hear that Francine is no longer on this side, but her last few days and humor are no surprise to me. What a classy lady she was and what fond memories I have of her here. I'm sorry, Giles, that the light of your life has been dimmed but know that you'll have memories of what a wonderful person you were so lucky to have for as long as you did - and she was lucky to have you, as well.

Peace.

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I sent an email to Francine's husband telling him very much the same thing that has been said here. I was really moved by the combination of simplicity and eloquence in his post. I didn't know Francine, but she has become my role model. I think his post is one of the most loving tributes I've read.

Leslie

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I am so saddened to read of Francine's death. Obviously she left her mark on this board as well as with her family and the way she lived her life. What a beautiful tribute from her husband. How loved she was!

My thoughts and prayers go out to Giles and their daughter.

Gail p-m

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