Posted on January 28, 2009
Later this evening I’m going to have a fun shoot at Jenipher’s house! It’s going to be so good to get back into shooting. This has been a long, rough month and it feels good to be doing something that I enjoy so much.
I’ll post pics later!
Posted on January 20, 2009
I flew back into Fargo last night at about 10:20pm. It’s been a long two weeks.
I arrived in Idaho on Wednesday, January 7th. Grandma was really surprised and happy to see me. She had an anxiety attack that morning before I got in, and then one that afternoon. The one that I saw wasn’t even a bad one, and it still scared the crap out of me. Seeing her panic and knowing there wasn’t anything I could do was about the worst. Despite that, I was still able to visit with her a bit that evening.
The next day was not a good day. She started breathing a lot shallower and wasn’t very responsive. The hospice nurse came and checked on her and basically told us that Grandma’s passing was going to be soon. Grandma was kind of in and out of it all the rest of the day. The hospice nurse told us that the last senses to go are hearing and touch, so we made sure someone was in there and holding her hand and talking to her most of the day. Sometimes Grandma would respond, but most of the time she wouldn’t. The upside to this was that Grandma didn’t have any more panic attacks. While she was breathing shallow and kind of fast, she didn’t have to fight to breathe.
She passed away at about 4:25am Friday morning. It was very peaceful. Mom said that Grandma’s breathing had gotten very soft and then with one last breath she was gone. Grandma had such a look of peace about her. She hadn’t had that for months. Even when Grandma was sleeping, you could still tell that she wasn’t relaxed or calm. Everyone had asked me what they can do to help, and I replied, “Pray for a peaceful end,” and those prayers were answered. People who have lung cancer rarely have an easy death, so I am very thankful to everyone who was praying for us.
Grandma’s funeral was on Saturday, January 17th. The reason for the delay was because of a few things. She had wanted a weekend service so that people wouldn’t have to fight to get off of work to be there. Her pastor’s wife was also having surgery in Chicago, and they weren’t able to be back until that Thursday. It was a very nice service and the slideshow that was shown had everyone in tears. (And few moments in laughter!) Thank you so much Teresa for putting that together for us!
I will be going back to work this week, and life will go on. I miss Grandma, but I know she is in a much better place and is finally reunited with Grandpa. For those who graciously offered to reschedule sessions, I really appreciate it. I will be contacting you shortly to set those up. Those who are waiting on finished orders, I thank you for your patience.
One bit of positive news to end on… My dad was contacted by an old boss who wanted to know if he’d found a new job yet. Since he hadn’t, she asked if he was interested in a temporary part-time position doing what he was doing before. It’s not perfect, but it will help them get through for a bit longer. And perhaps will lead to something better.
Posted on January 5, 2009
I’ll be heading back to Idaho sometime in the next few days. Grandma is not doing well at all, and her hospice nurses have said that she probably doesn’t have much time left. A few weeks, tops. In an update that I received today from my mom, there is apparently no breathing sounds in Grandma’s right lung and the left just has “crackles and wheezes.” Not good at all.
I will be taking a leave of absence from work and have to reschedule a few photo shoots. I sincerely appreciate my clients for working with me during this hard time. I’m also glad that I work for a company that despite its share of problems will allow me to take this needed time off to spend with my family. I know that not all companies care what happens to your family. When my husband’s dad died, he had some issues with his job as he had to take a couple of extra days off due to the funeral being scheduled a few days later than “usual” due to a holiday weekend.
Please pray for my family and that Grandma’s passing is an easy and peaceful one.
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