I woke up this morning to face another day. Another day since mom moved on from this life. A day where I don't have to be anywhere or do anything for the first time in a while. A day with time to think and just feel. Since then a world has gone on that I didn't even notice. Our gladiola flowers have bloomed in the front of our house. I'm a sports fan and evidently the NHL & NBA have champions and Tiger won some golf tournament. There's been flooding in the mid-west and something about a presidential election. Then there's the rest of the world. It just keeps on keeping on and so are we.
One thing of importance that keeps coming to my mind is continuing on with the things Gene wants to have continued. So I take this moment this morning, as I drink my cup of strong coffee with her, to lift up the Youth Missions in Memory of Gene Booth fund. This effort is incredibly important to her. The Youth Missions is one of the most important tools we have to equip our childern with the experiences they need on their way to become mature and complete. I know there are many children that are in financial situations at home that make a missions trip impossible. With your contribution, no matter how small, we will be able to help send these children on those missions.
Send your check to:
Youth Missions in Memory of Gene Booth
C/O North Atlanta Church of Christ
Attn: Linda Lindsay
5676 Roberts Dr
Atlanta, GA 30338
You can also make your contribution online at http://nacofc.org/online-giving.shtml
Click on Online Giving and you will be taken to the secure online form. As part of the security process you will have to take a quick five minutes to build a profile. It takes as much time as it does to fill out a check and put it in an envelope and stamp it and put in a mailbox. Get the idea? I've done it and proven this works.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Services
Gene's viewing will be Tuesday, June 17 from 2pm to 4pm and 6pm to 8pm at the Roswell Funeral Home, 950 Mansell Rd, Roswell, GA 30076 (770-993-4811).
Gene's memorial service will be Wednesday, June 18. An additional brief viewing will be at 10am and the service begins at 11am at North Atlanta Church of Christ, 5676 Roberts Drive, Atlanta, GA 30338. After services a lunch will be served.
Gene's graveside service will be Saturday, June 21 at a time to be announced at the Willow Springs Cemetery, Willow Springs, MO.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to:
"Youth Missions in Memory of Gene Booth"
c/o North Atlanta Church of Christ
5676 Roberts Drive
Atlanta, GA 30338
Attn: Linda Lindsay
Or online at: http://nacofc.org/online-giving.shtml
Gene's memorial service will be Wednesday, June 18. An additional brief viewing will be at 10am and the service begins at 11am at North Atlanta Church of Christ, 5676 Roberts Drive, Atlanta, GA 30338. After services a lunch will be served.
Gene's graveside service will be Saturday, June 21 at a time to be announced at the Willow Springs Cemetery, Willow Springs, MO.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to:
"Youth Missions in Memory of Gene Booth"
c/o North Atlanta Church of Christ
5676 Roberts Drive
Atlanta, GA 30338
Attn: Linda Lindsay
Or online at: http://nacofc.org/online-giving.shtml
Friday, June 13, 2008
And That Too Is Ok
Gene is sick no more. She has a new body and is doing what she did for all us here; preparing things for everyone. She did it here and I know she's working with God to get things ready for all of us there. That's her nature. A true servant. A true child of God. A saint.
Gene gave her last breath today at about 5:10pm. She was never alone. George and I walked her hand in hand to the gates and the Lord took her home. We then do the things family and dearest friends do at that point. We hold each other tight and pray together some more. We stand fast in the Lord as he gives us the strength, courage and peace that can only come from him and we go on. That's what Gene wants too. Some would look to me and ask what are they going to do without her. Gene wants us to go on.
So go on we will. At times we will be shelfish and cry and mourn our loss and that's ok. But then we will look to God and know that it is all going to be all right. We may not understand now and we may never understand, but we will be reassured that the God that does know all is in control and that too is ok.
There have been many folk that have been angels from heaven during this entire time. God has shined through you more than you know. They took turns with us helping Gene during these incredibly difficult times. They brought food. They held our hands. They gave us hugs. They cried with us. And ALL OF YOU prayed unceasingly. God is good. God is great. All praise and glory be to God.
I'll miss you until I see you again Mom.
Love,
Dane
Gene gave her last breath today at about 5:10pm. She was never alone. George and I walked her hand in hand to the gates and the Lord took her home. We then do the things family and dearest friends do at that point. We hold each other tight and pray together some more. We stand fast in the Lord as he gives us the strength, courage and peace that can only come from him and we go on. That's what Gene wants too. Some would look to me and ask what are they going to do without her. Gene wants us to go on.
So go on we will. At times we will be shelfish and cry and mourn our loss and that's ok. But then we will look to God and know that it is all going to be all right. We may not understand now and we may never understand, but we will be reassured that the God that does know all is in control and that too is ok.
There have been many folk that have been angels from heaven during this entire time. God has shined through you more than you know. They took turns with us helping Gene during these incredibly difficult times. They brought food. They held our hands. They gave us hugs. They cried with us. And ALL OF YOU prayed unceasingly. God is good. God is great. All praise and glory be to God.
I'll miss you until I see you again Mom.
Love,
Dane
Tough Decisions
Today has already been a day of tough decisions. Decisions of what the next steps to take are based on how Gene is doing. Based on how the cancer is proceeding. Based on her wishes. These are tough decisions. Let's address these one by one.
George called me again this early a.m. as Gene's condition continues to degrade. Her breathing has become more and more strained by anxiety. We are giving her more meds to try to ease that anxiety and the strain on breathing that causes. This will give her more comfort and reduce the natural anxiety that comes with difficulty in breathing. Her vitals are more erractic. Her comfort is priority number one at this point.
The cancer is proceeding uninhibited. It is now pressing in even more on her lungs, taking up more and more room that the lungs would normally occupy and use to expand into. Currently her blood/ox levels are slightly depressed from last nights reading however they are still at an acceptable good level. The blood work this a.m. has shown that the oxygen/CO2 levels are good. The first round of chemo still has shown no effects on the cancer. We will proceed with the second round today in hopes that it will also assist in giving her comfort with breathing by reducing the cancer growth or at least slowing it down.
Pray for comfort. Pray for strength. Pray.
In His Shadow,
Dane
George called me again this early a.m. as Gene's condition continues to degrade. Her breathing has become more and more strained by anxiety. We are giving her more meds to try to ease that anxiety and the strain on breathing that causes. This will give her more comfort and reduce the natural anxiety that comes with difficulty in breathing. Her vitals are more erractic. Her comfort is priority number one at this point.
The cancer is proceeding uninhibited. It is now pressing in even more on her lungs, taking up more and more room that the lungs would normally occupy and use to expand into. Currently her blood/ox levels are slightly depressed from last nights reading however they are still at an acceptable good level. The blood work this a.m. has shown that the oxygen/CO2 levels are good. The first round of chemo still has shown no effects on the cancer. We will proceed with the second round today in hopes that it will also assist in giving her comfort with breathing by reducing the cancer growth or at least slowing it down.
Pray for comfort. Pray for strength. Pray.
In His Shadow,
Dane
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Thank you!!!
George wanted me to relay a huge thank you to everyone wanting to help out somehow. The food is overflowing so we can back off on that a tad. People have been signing up to watch over her when we take a brief respite so with more family coming into town we can back off on that a tad too. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! For everything everyone is doing. We cannot possibly repay you or thank you enough. We are blessed to have such dear friends. Thank you God!
Things get confusing sometimes
For instance, this morning I thought we were going to start the next round of chemo. I misunderstood. It will be sometime tomorrow. I apologize for relaying that confusion. I'll know more from George after he visits tonight and talks with the doctors.
In the meantime, today was a day that was more of the same as this morning. Gene's respiration gets so aggitated that she has to be given a muscle relaxant so the involuntary breathing can do the job it was designed to do. We can tell when she is getting to that stage with higher blood pressure, higher pulse, and bouts of respiration where she doesn't take a breath for longer than normal only to hit a bout of rapid breathing trying to catch her breath. The blood/oxygen is still very good though. Even after the muscle relaxant is given her vitals still vary from moment to moment. She does not eat anymore and has been put on a "nutrient fluid". She continues to be in a prone sitting position and does the "moan" breathing. Some have told me that's the resting sound a cancer victim makes at this stage.
Most of the time Gene is right on the verge of unconsciousness. If you call to her she'll briefly emerge from the haze to recognize you, say hi or that she feels fine or whatever and then she's right back into the murky waters that define someone who exists between dreams and reality. When asked she repeatedly tells us she's not in pain. Thank God.
Also tomorrow more family comes to town: her mother, twin sister, brother, the other sister and a neice. I think that will lift her spirits to see loved family.
I love hearing all the prayers that are coming in from all over. One little girl even made up a song for Gene. Her parents are going to record it for me. Keep the prayers coming. We need them every moment of every day.
In His Love,
Dane
In the meantime, today was a day that was more of the same as this morning. Gene's respiration gets so aggitated that she has to be given a muscle relaxant so the involuntary breathing can do the job it was designed to do. We can tell when she is getting to that stage with higher blood pressure, higher pulse, and bouts of respiration where she doesn't take a breath for longer than normal only to hit a bout of rapid breathing trying to catch her breath. The blood/oxygen is still very good though. Even after the muscle relaxant is given her vitals still vary from moment to moment. She does not eat anymore and has been put on a "nutrient fluid". She continues to be in a prone sitting position and does the "moan" breathing. Some have told me that's the resting sound a cancer victim makes at this stage.
Most of the time Gene is right on the verge of unconsciousness. If you call to her she'll briefly emerge from the haze to recognize you, say hi or that she feels fine or whatever and then she's right back into the murky waters that define someone who exists between dreams and reality. When asked she repeatedly tells us she's not in pain. Thank God.
Also tomorrow more family comes to town: her mother, twin sister, brother, the other sister and a neice. I think that will lift her spirits to see loved family.
I love hearing all the prayers that are coming in from all over. One little girl even made up a song for Gene. Her parents are going to record it for me. Keep the prayers coming. We need them every moment of every day.
In His Love,
Dane
A.M. Update
I went to the hospital this morning to get an overnight update. Gene had an "episode" of a lower respiration rate early this morning. She wasn't breathing enough. They gave her meds to have her muscles relax so her involuntary breathing didn't have to fight against those muscles. She's sleeping right now and her breathing has returned to a relatively normal rate and her blood/ox level is great. That means her lungs are still exchanging gases (taking in oxygen, releasing carbon dioxide) in a great way. She's back to having to sit up all the time, including when sleeping. When she's conscious she appears to be doing better with the "here and now". Confusion still comes and goes.
We also talked to the doctors this morning. Gene has been doing so well with the first round and the cancer has caught us by surprise with the speed of its growth that we all agreed that we need to go forward with the next round of chemo treatments. The cancer is growing so rapidly that it has pressed in on the right lung. The fluids are relatively low so that is not as great of an issue now. In fact they are so low that they are not ready to drain. With the muscle relaxant and the fluids low we have Gene stabilized enough to go forward. They will start later this afternoon/early evening with the first two drugs of this round being applied and the third drug will be applied sometime tomorrow morning. Friends and family are sitting with her non-stop. Anne is with George non-stop.
The speed at which things have continued to change had George bring to mind what Jesus said in Matthew 6:34.
Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Pray for healing. Pray for comfort. Pray for strength. Pray for the staff.
In God's sheltering hand,
Dane
We also talked to the doctors this morning. Gene has been doing so well with the first round and the cancer has caught us by surprise with the speed of its growth that we all agreed that we need to go forward with the next round of chemo treatments. The cancer is growing so rapidly that it has pressed in on the right lung. The fluids are relatively low so that is not as great of an issue now. In fact they are so low that they are not ready to drain. With the muscle relaxant and the fluids low we have Gene stabilized enough to go forward. They will start later this afternoon/early evening with the first two drugs of this round being applied and the third drug will be applied sometime tomorrow morning. Friends and family are sitting with her non-stop. Anne is with George non-stop.
The speed at which things have continued to change had George bring to mind what Jesus said in Matthew 6:34.
Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Pray for healing. Pray for comfort. Pray for strength. Pray for the staff.
In God's sheltering hand,
Dane
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
All Things Considered...
All things considered today was a good day. I relieved George at 11:15am so he could go home to take a very long and more than well deserved nap. I'd actually call it a good sleep session more than a nap. He's still tired but that will soon be addressed. Anne arrived at noon and will be a tremendous blessing in making sure his health is brought more to the forefront of his thoughts.
As for Gene, I fed her lunch. She's still shaky with the hands so we have lined up a few folks to help with the feeding (see the plantohelp.com site!) until she can do it on her own. She actually did pretty well sort of feeding herself desert. What more incentive does anyone need to feed themselves than a good desert? It didn't take long for the nap to kick in after lunch. It was great to see her resting so easily compared to the last five days. Her breathing is greatly eased. She can literally lay down almost all the way on her back and sleep. The benefit from that is easily seen in the quality of rest she is now getting.
She still gets a tad disoriented from time to time but is tremendously more alert of the "here and now". Her blood-ox levels are good so we know it's not attributable to hypoxia (lack of oxygen). She's even off the oxygen mask but not completely off of oxygen. She's back on the oxygen tube up the nose. So we're keeping an eye out for anything else other than the general drugs she's on to explain the continued disorientation. I think additional high quality rest is the recipe for that.
As to side effects of the chemo drugs, the only one that was evident is a slight flush in the face. Everything else is non-apparant at this time. We talked to the chemo-pharmacist and she said this round is going to be relatively mild as to any side effects. Tomorrow will provide an insight to any additional side effects. The third day is usually the worst but as with a great many things in this battle we won't know anything until that comes.
For now I think God is answering prayers for comfort and strength. Thank you all for those prayers and pray unceasingly. Throw in the prayers for intercession for the medical staff too! I don't know how they do this as a job. See you all tomorrow night.
In His Big Grip,
Dane
As for Gene, I fed her lunch. She's still shaky with the hands so we have lined up a few folks to help with the feeding (see the plantohelp.com site!) until she can do it on her own. She actually did pretty well sort of feeding herself desert. What more incentive does anyone need to feed themselves than a good desert? It didn't take long for the nap to kick in after lunch. It was great to see her resting so easily compared to the last five days. Her breathing is greatly eased. She can literally lay down almost all the way on her back and sleep. The benefit from that is easily seen in the quality of rest she is now getting.
She still gets a tad disoriented from time to time but is tremendously more alert of the "here and now". Her blood-ox levels are good so we know it's not attributable to hypoxia (lack of oxygen). She's even off the oxygen mask but not completely off of oxygen. She's back on the oxygen tube up the nose. So we're keeping an eye out for anything else other than the general drugs she's on to explain the continued disorientation. I think additional high quality rest is the recipe for that.
As to side effects of the chemo drugs, the only one that was evident is a slight flush in the face. Everything else is non-apparant at this time. We talked to the chemo-pharmacist and she said this round is going to be relatively mild as to any side effects. Tomorrow will provide an insight to any additional side effects. The third day is usually the worst but as with a great many things in this battle we won't know anything until that comes.
For now I think God is answering prayers for comfort and strength. Thank you all for those prayers and pray unceasingly. Throw in the prayers for intercession for the medical staff too! I don't know how they do this as a job. See you all tomorrow night.
In His Big Grip,
Dane
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
C-Day
I spent the night at the hospital by her bedside double checking the night shift work and reassuring her by simply being there. Gene had a fitful night drifting in and out of drug induced consciousness. George relieved me around 6 a.m. to take over shepherding of medical staff, soothing Gene's worries & brow and double checking preparations for the operation later this morning....
Today the "port-cath" went in. It's a catheter to the heart so the chemo drugs won't damage any veins that would be used instead of the port. After this morning's procedure we have found out that Gene's heart is indeed strong. Some of you might have already heard through various grape vines so let's put it all straight right here.
Gene was subject to being over sedated. That is typified by the patient not responding to the usual techniques (i.e. nudging, calling to them loudly, patting of the hand) to "awaken" the patient and in this case respiration (breathing) was growing shallower instead of stronger, like we all should when we arise from slumber. This is not unusual and happens more frequently than you hear about. At this point Gene was moved back into ICU and treated for this. There are drugs to counteract the sedative however it's a very wide swinging emotional yo-yo. In Gene's case she also experienced episodes of delusion. The medical team was able to resolve this issue and she is resting very well right now. Heart beat has come down. Blood/oxygen is good. Blood pressure very good. All in all she responded as one should and would to this condition and treatment. She is unconscious with full oxygen mask, appears to be resting much better than even last night and is incredibly well attended to and monitored by the ICU crew (MUCH better than the non-ICU staff).
In the meantime, it was determined that we have to attack the tumors now. That's right, tumors as in plural. They are currently confined to the lung area and have not migrated to any other organs. That's relatively awesome news folks. The downside is that, true to it's nature, this cancer type is very fast growing. If we had known last week what we know now then it would have been better to start the chemo last week, however that is what knowing costs; time. Still with it in a relatively early stage and no time to waste we have to begin the chemo immediately. As with the previous days we won't know what the response will be until time passes. We have a battle on our hands and the time is here to strike at the enemy. This will take into the evening to apply the chemo treatment. There is no timeline to her leaving the hospital. It's one moment at a time before the next step can be known.
The response to all the people offering time and energy to post watch and help out where asked is overwhelming. Many of you will be called upon to play your part. Keep the hope-prayers for a miraculous healing and the faith-prayers for comfort and strength coming. For anyone wanting to send flowers please do not as they are very invasive to respitory sensitivity conditions like Gene has. Cards are most certainly welcomed.
Jehovah-rophe
Today the "port-cath" went in. It's a catheter to the heart so the chemo drugs won't damage any veins that would be used instead of the port. After this morning's procedure we have found out that Gene's heart is indeed strong. Some of you might have already heard through various grape vines so let's put it all straight right here.
Gene was subject to being over sedated. That is typified by the patient not responding to the usual techniques (i.e. nudging, calling to them loudly, patting of the hand) to "awaken" the patient and in this case respiration (breathing) was growing shallower instead of stronger, like we all should when we arise from slumber. This is not unusual and happens more frequently than you hear about. At this point Gene was moved back into ICU and treated for this. There are drugs to counteract the sedative however it's a very wide swinging emotional yo-yo. In Gene's case she also experienced episodes of delusion. The medical team was able to resolve this issue and she is resting very well right now. Heart beat has come down. Blood/oxygen is good. Blood pressure very good. All in all she responded as one should and would to this condition and treatment. She is unconscious with full oxygen mask, appears to be resting much better than even last night and is incredibly well attended to and monitored by the ICU crew (MUCH better than the non-ICU staff).
In the meantime, it was determined that we have to attack the tumors now. That's right, tumors as in plural. They are currently confined to the lung area and have not migrated to any other organs. That's relatively awesome news folks. The downside is that, true to it's nature, this cancer type is very fast growing. If we had known last week what we know now then it would have been better to start the chemo last week, however that is what knowing costs; time. Still with it in a relatively early stage and no time to waste we have to begin the chemo immediately. As with the previous days we won't know what the response will be until time passes. We have a battle on our hands and the time is here to strike at the enemy. This will take into the evening to apply the chemo treatment. There is no timeline to her leaving the hospital. It's one moment at a time before the next step can be known.
The response to all the people offering time and energy to post watch and help out where asked is overwhelming. Many of you will be called upon to play your part. Keep the hope-prayers for a miraculous healing and the faith-prayers for comfort and strength coming. For anyone wanting to send flowers please do not as they are very invasive to respitory sensitivity conditions like Gene has. Cards are most certainly welcomed.
Jehovah-rophe
Monday, June 9, 2008
1 minus C-Day
Tomorrow starts the chemo treatments along with the heart port getting put in. Welcome to Adenocarcinoma of Unknown Origin, aka Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma. In plain english that means lung cancer, we don't know where it came from and it's in someone who doesn't smoke or otherwise abuse themselves. She eats healthy. Excercises. In general, someone who is not a typical victim.
She has good days and she has bad days and she has so-so days. She's been recovering from the surgery from last week and healing. Breathing is always labored. The rest has been fitful at times. It's better when she's in the hospital like now getting oxygen. She's constantly attended to by dad. Me & C spent Friday night to watch over her so dad could get some rest. He never left her side. Then we cleaned their place from top to bottom Saturday & Sunday. Put a rotisserie chicken in the fridge for dad. I'm returning tonight to clean up the deck for her return.
The problems that cancer can cause have yet to truly arrive. The problems with chemo will begin tomorrow. My aunt is coming to help full time by Wednesday. Many more have volunteered to take their turns. They will be called upon sooner or later for this battle.
She has good days and she has bad days and she has so-so days. She's been recovering from the surgery from last week and healing. Breathing is always labored. The rest has been fitful at times. It's better when she's in the hospital like now getting oxygen. She's constantly attended to by dad. Me & C spent Friday night to watch over her so dad could get some rest. He never left her side. Then we cleaned their place from top to bottom Saturday & Sunday. Put a rotisserie chicken in the fridge for dad. I'm returning tonight to clean up the deck for her return.
The problems that cancer can cause have yet to truly arrive. The problems with chemo will begin tomorrow. My aunt is coming to help full time by Wednesday. Many more have volunteered to take their turns. They will be called upon sooner or later for this battle.
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