Wednesday night (5/13) I got a phone from my mom that she needed help right away. I could tell something was wrong.
I jumped in my truck and rushed over. I walked into her house and went in her room, she was in the bathroom over the sink, she had just thrown up all over and needed help cleaning up and getting back to bed.
She had been very weak the previous two weeks, as she wasn't able to eat very much. The batch of chemo she had been doing was the strongest one she had ever done before.
I got her back to bed and got her some water and something to calm her stomach. She said she was fine after I got her settled and that it was OK for me to go home. I felt sick to my stomach, I knew something wasn't right. I left her house and immediately started to bawl. I knew my mom was the sickest she had ever been and that her body was likely to be shutting down.
Thursday my mom called me and said she couldn't get out of bed by herself, she was that weak. I went over and helped her and made her some breakfast. My sister Rachel and I took turns being at her house throughout the day. My sister Jessica from California had plans to come into town the next week on Tuesday to be in town for my nephews birthday. We called her and told her mom wasn't doing well. She was able to get the last flight out for Friday afternoon to be here with us.
We kept telling my mom she should go to the hospital, her least favorite place, she instead called her doctor and told him how she was doing. She was able to go see her Doctor later in the day.
He told her the chemo wasn't working anymore and gave her some good sweet talk, then told my sister the real story that she wouldn't survive for too much longer. Her doctor said he would put in a order for hospice care the next day.
Friday morning I called mom to see how was she. I asked if she needed any help, but her at home nurse was over and she said she was ok.
I wish I would of listened to my gut and gone over anyway.
The hospice company went over to her house around 2:00pm. My sister was there with her and my mom asked me to come over too. I called my mother in law and she come over to be with Kasen.
Before I left to go over to her house I texted my friend who works for a hospice company and asked which company she works for (she recently changed companies).
She told me Dixie hospice. Then called me a minute later.
She had got a work order with my moms information earlier that day. Right as I texted her she was on her way to my moms house.
I walked into my moms house and saw my friend, her boss and another nurse. Having my friend there brought me great comfort.
The nurse went over everything that was going on with my mom and said she would likely only have 2-3 days left.
I was slightly in shock and she had gone down hill so quickly, as the previous Sunday (Mothers day) we had a great time together, ate tasty food and played some games.
I went to see her in her room, they had her hooked up to a oxygen machine and her levels were very low as well as her blood pressure.
The nurse went over more information with us, what medicines to give her and food...
I called my sister to see where she was.. she was only about an hour away. My brother was up north at the time, competing in a state track race. We couldn't decide what to tell him as his race was set for Saturday morning.
My mom kept getting worse.
She asked to eat a few times, but she was only able to eat a bite or two.
We knew she had planned things for after she did pass, we were trying to find everything. There was a file of things she had put together, but we couldn't find it. My moms good friend Amy came over to be with us and she helped looked for the file.
The hospice company needed us to let them know what mortuary company she had made arrangements with.
We still couldn't find the file.
My sister Jessica arrived around 5.
The nurse said we should talk to her and have our last real conversation with her, she was may not be able to understand much or reply for too much longer. We called my brother so he was able to talk to her one last time.
They were giving her morphine to help with her pain and her breathing. That made her more and more unable to converse with us.
I brought my son over so she could see him and my nephews came over to say goodbye.
She was still acting like herself, she asked to play a game with us.
Amy went in to ask her about the file and my mom said "Its in my cabinet". We looked and looked and couldn't find. Amy asked again and my mom said "I'll find it in the morning".
The nurse left sometime after. We all went in to be with her.
Jessica's friend brought us over dinner. I realized I hadn't really eaten any food, but I also felt so sick to my stomach I didn't want to eat.
Around 10pm Rachel went home. I thought about going home, but had a feeling I should stay longer. Soon after my moms breathing got worse, so I texted my friend the nurse to see if it was normal. She said she would come over to help and be with us.
My friend said her breathing was getting more shallow.
We went and talked in the living room while Jessica stayed with my mom.
We talked for a while, and called every mortuary to find which one my mom had plans with. We didn't have any luck, so we made some arrangements with Serenity.
Then she went to go check on my mom.
Jessica was up as she hadn't felt my mom breathe for a few minutes. My friend checked for a pulse and couldn't one at 12:34am 5/16/2015. She slipped into the light, peacefully.
My heart hurt so bad. I couldn't believe my mother was gone. But, finally, she was pain free.
She has been a wonderful mother to me for 27 years.
I felt like a piece of me was gone.
A man from the mortuary came over. I said my final goodbye to my sweet mom.
The last few years she fought so hard to be with her kids and grandchildren. I know she stayed to be able to see me have my first baby, to see me graduate with my Bachelors degree, See Nathan get his mission call and to see him graduate high school. She did her duty as a mother to all of us. She helped shaped the lives of all of her children.
She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 and was told at that time she would only have 3-6 months to live.
She lived for 7 years after that.
I have comfort that my mom is not longer in pain and that she is with my sweet angel baby.
I love you Mom, I will forever miss you.
