Author: herringpond

February 8, 2007

Well it has been a pretty good week. Diana got a little stronger each day. We went out on Monday and bought a portable PC. Diana came to the Fry’s store with me – a short 30 minute ride from our house. Diana likes to play computer games and this will allow her to do so in bed or at the kitchen table. I needed a PC anyway – some of you may not know but I use a Mac and have never used a PC. The are many applications that I have wanted to use but don’t work on a Mac. So we now have a PC. Diana doesn’t like to sit in the office so this portable will make the PC usable by her wherever she wants – even in her bed. She does like computer games.

Diana is now off of all medication except for her pain patch and pills. The end result is good. Diana had an appointment with Dr. Blumenschein yesterday. He was very happy with her progress. The new plan is for Diana to not be on medication for the next 2 weeks. We will meet again with Dr. Blumenschein on Feb 21. If Diana continues to improve and get stronger, he is ready to start Diana on MD Anderson’s newest clinical trial – code name Battle. The clinical trial requires that Diana get a biopsy on her lung tumor. Then based upon the types of cells found – Diana will be prescribed one of four oral medications. The trial is attempting to match the patient’s cancer cell types to to a medication that the patient is more likely to respond positively. Dr. Blumenschein also informed us that approximately 1 out of 5 patients cell biopsies do not match with any of the medications and thus that patient cannot proceed with the clinical trial.

After our appointment with Dr. B yesterday, Diana and I went for a short walk at the Houston Zoo which is located a five minute ride down the street from MD Anderson cancer clinic. It was a nice walk as we both felt good after our encouraging visit with Dr. B. For those of you up north in the cooler climates – the temperature was 72 in Houston yesterday. We enjoyed the stroll together, especially with the weather.

We will now wait the two weeks. In the meantime, Diana is working to make sure she gets sufficient exercise each day to build her strength. Diana is doing her best to eat several smaller snacks during the day. We are concerned about her weight loss. Next weekend , the third son of our Cape Cod friends is getting married in Boston. As soon as we received the invitation a while back, we knew we would not be going. to the wedding However, as the time approaches, Diana is saddened by the fact that we cannot go. She would’ve liked to been able to go even though it is winter weather in the Boston area. The fact that we cannot go is just another example of how her cancer is affecting our personal life. Often, you cannot do things you want or take trips that you want. It makes the both of us very sad.

Have a great two weeks. Will update you after our next appointment. No tests scheduled- just an appointment with Dr. B.

Thanks for all of you support and prayers.

 

February 21, 2007

During the past 2 weeks Diana sort of hit a recovery plateau. She is a little more active but still tires very easily. She is spending 18 – 20 hours per day resting/sleeping in bed. She will get up each day for breakfast and return to bed soon after. Around lunch she will get up, shower and get dressed. We usually do some errands like go to the bank, cleaners, pick up some groceries, etc. And once we return home, it is back to bed until dinner. An hour after dinner – it is back to bed for Diana. Not a very active day.

On Saturday February 19, there was a fruit tree sale at the county fairgrounds. Yes, every county in Texas has a fair grounds. Dallas hosts the annual State Fair of Texas which lasts for three weeks in October. Well all three of us – Diana, her Mom and I – got up early and went to breakfast at The Waffle House. The Waffle House is a chain of Southern restaurants open 24 hours per day and guess what their specialty is – Yes Waffles. After breakfast we went to the fruit tree sale. Diana helped pick out three fruit trees that grow well in the Katy area – Fig, Lemon and Sumatra – a variation of an orange. We wanted to get a grapefruit tree but they were all gone by the time we arrived. We will need to wait 2-3 weeks to plant the trees until the threat of frost is gone – yes, we do wake up an occasional morning and see a white lawn in the winter. Not often, but it does happen. Diana was exhausted by the time we arrived back home.

The following week was a quiet one spent mostly at home. I would do my best to come up with some errand that I could drag Diana so she would get some exercise. Once we would get back home it was bed rest for Diana.

Well today we met with Dr. Blumenschein. After lots of discussion about future treatments, we came to the conclusion that Diana has improved but not enough to proceed with the clinical trial treatment. Diana has been experiencing some numbness in her lower lip and jaw and we discussed that condition as well. Dr. B thinks it may be from some nerve damage, possibly done while she was getting brain radiation. He will follow up with a scan later to see if any nerve damage shows. Dr. B wants to monitor Diana’s strength over the next two weeks – and have us meet with Dr Blumenschein again on Mar 7. In the meantime he is going to schedule another brain MRI and CT scan before our next visit. Based upon the MRI and CT Scan and Diana’s strength at that time – a decision will be made as to whether to proceed with the clinical trial treatment.

Basically we are in limbo for the next 2 weeks.

Thanks to all who have sending Diana emails, cards and notes – it really cheers her each day to open and read them. She reads each one and really appreciates them. She is upset because she does not have the strength to respond to each one and she asked me to thank you all from her in my email. Diana has lost another 3 pounds so far this month in spite of our efforts to fatten her up.i just wish there was better news that I could write.

Thanks for all of you support and prayers.

 

March 15, 2007

Time flies. Seems like yesterday that I last wrote to you all.

However, in the meantime, we have been very busy here in Katy exploring treatment alternatives for Diana. Diana has not gotten any stronger in the past three weeks. She continues to be very fatigued and now spends most of her days resting/sleeping in bed. She is also eating the majority of her meals – what little she is currently eating – in bed also. We are now feeding her mostly soft, easy to swallow foods. We started feeding her in bed as a treat for her – Diana does like to be waited upon. But now, it is too difficult for her to get up and come to the table. Mom and I take turns feeding Diana. For some reason she eats more from me than her mother. Out of house trips are limited to the doctors and clinics. It is too exhausting for her to get up and move around. Diana weighed 113 pounds yesterday – down from her fighting weight of 133. While she was on steroids during one of her chemo treatment cycles, Diana peaked at 150 pounds.

We had an appointment with Dr. Blumenschein yesterday. After much thought and discussion between Diana, me and Dr. Blumenschein – Diana and I have made a decision to try an alternative treatment – TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) rather than proceed with an MD Anderson Clinical Trial. The side effects and risks associated with the MD Anderson Clinical Trial called “Battle” – are too high – especially for anyone in the physical condition that Diana is at this time. Dr. Blumenschein is in total agreement and is supportive of the decision. In fact – I think he is going to visit an acupuncturist himself because of what I will write about later in this email.

I flew to Orlando FL two weeks ago to meet with a Chinese acupuncture and herbal doctor. I left our house at 6 AM and returned home late that evening. He was referred to us by a friend of a friend. The person he is treating has Stage IV pancreatic cancer and after a couple of months of treatments, the pancreatic cancer has gone into remission. I spent about 3 hours with him. He opened my eyes to this type of medicine. The difference is in our western medicine whereby a doctor tries to find the cause of the problem before trying to cure and/or fix. In Chinese medicine the philosophy is to strengthen the body and the immune system in the area of the body where the problem exists and let the body fight the problem. Don’t try to find the cause. It took me a little while ( remember I am an engineer) to understand the concept – but once the bell went off, it rang hard.

The Chinese doctor i visited in Orlando showed me several video tapes that he had made of his patients. The tapes showed the patients in his office – at the start of treatment, during the treatment process and final result. Several of the tapes included news clips from local and national TV News broadcasts that had picked up the story of that particular patient. If I was not sitting in his office – I am not sure I would not have believed what I saw on the video tapes.

One was of a pregnant lady – 4 months – diagnosed with breast cancer. Both her oncologist and gynecologist wanted her to have an abortion so they could treat her tumors with chemo and radiation. She did not want to have an abortion. The Chinese doctor treated her with acupuncture and Chinese herbs. The video showed her at 4 months pregnant, 6 months, 8 months the mother & baby at 6 months and now showing them both as the baby is now 5 yrs. old. The mother is still fine – no sign of cancer,

Another was of a teenage boy who was confined to a wheel chair for 5 yrs. Lots of clips of the boy being treated in the Chinese doctor’s office, followed by a TV News clip (CBS Local Orlando, FL station) showing the boy walking across the stage at his high school graduation to receive his diploma and his classmates sitting below all cheering wildly.

After seeing 5 different patients (not all cancer) I was shaking my head. The patients were not all cancer patients and he kept reminding me that he does not treat cancer per se. He also kept reminding me that not everyone responds to every treatment. But he did show me many success stories.

Chinese medicine and acupuncture do not work on everyone either – but typically the percentage is much higher than the success rates for chemo. Chemo ranges in the 10 ,- ,20 % success range – TCM is in the 50 – 86% range – of course depending upon the disease and stage of disease.

After arriving back in Katy – I told Diana about my trip findings. She was game to move forward and try acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. I did not want to subject Diana to now getting treatment in Orlando FL So we did some home work here.

First – I called an acupuncturist clinic in Houston to make an appointment for me. I have had back pain forever. I mainly wanted to see and feel the process that we would be subjecting Diana before making any appointments for her.

Well I have had 4 acupuncture treatments with a 5th scheduled for Friday. My back has improved and is continuing to improve. I am continuing to go to the acupuncturist and taking my herbal supplements.

We started Diana on acupuncture at MD Anderson last week. She has now had 3 treatments. We also were exploring doing some alternative treatments with MD Anderson doctors but closed the door on any possibilities of any alternative treatments at MD Anderson today. MD Anderson is doing much research in China but they are not allowed to use any of those methods on patients here because of FDA approval. After much investigation and networking, Diana is starting with a new acupuncturist/herbalist on Saturday.

Houston has a large Asian population and the American College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine is located here. The Doctor we will be seeing – at her private practice – is the Dean Of Clinical Training at the college. For anyone interested here is a link to her bio page

http://www.acaom.edu/en/cms/?945

Dr. Yanfang Liu

Dr. Liu (she) will be working in telephone consultation with the Chinese doctor I visited in Florida.

Diana has also started taking a herbal tea which we brew from the natural roots and herbs The tea is a version of Essiac Tea – so named for the nurse that had great success using her version many years ago. There are many varieties available in food stores, internet etc. However, many of them are fakes, just ripping off the public. One of our friends knows someone who is having good success fighting her cancer with Essiac Tea and she has provided me with the manufacturing source where we purchased their version (Thank you Colleen). Diana has been taking the tea for about a week – too early for any indications of success or not at this time.

Since Diana will not be receiving anymore treatments from Dr. Blumenschein at the clinic at this time – Dr. B wanted to set up hospice to visit Diana at our house. We are in the process of getting hospice set up. I have not heard from them yet but expect to do so in the very near future.

Diana will continue to meet with the Palliative doctors at MD Anderson in the future but we have no new tests or treatment scheduled at this time.

Lastly, Dr. Blumenschein put Diana back on steroids to help her gain some weight. We will also be feeding her Ensure protein supplements twice per day.

Thanks for all of you support and prayers. It is a very trying time for Diana and me and we really appreciate your prayers and support.

 

April 4, 2007

I have been writing emails regarding Diana’s progress in her fight against lung cancer since she was diagnosed almost 2 1/2 years ago. My emails have provided not only updates on tests taken, doctor visits, treatment options, medicines and test results, but the emails have been written expressing the emotional feelings of both Diana and I at the time of my writing. Not that I wanted to include our emotions but they just got expressed as I wrote the emails.

I am having lots of difficulty writing this email. I have no new tests or test results to report nor are any new tests scheduled for the near future.

Hospice is now sending its nurses to see Diana twice per week. We now have an oxygen machine, oxygen tanks, wheel chair and a walker as equipment in our house. It is a very sad sight to walk around the house and see these items.

The past 3 weeks have been a very different emotional time in our lives. I feel like we have been on a very fast roller coaster ride for the past couple of years. We have had many emotional highs and some emotional lows. Where I find us now is that there is not much new to describe to you – much like you feel when the roller coaster car that you are riding in is gliding to a stop.

Diana is still getting 2 acupuncture treatments each week at MD Anderson and seeing Dr. Liu ( Chinese Doctor herbalist ) once per week. We (Diana’s Mom & I) are brewing the herbal teas daily. The herbs being used are changed weekly and given to us by Dr. Liu (Chinese Doctor). Diana is taking a cold herbal tea twice per day (morning and bedtime) and hot herbal tea twice per day (mid morning and mid afternoon). She is also taking some herbal capsules 2X per day.

Diana’s Acupuncturist at MD Anderson – Dr. Garcia – is unbelievable. She is treating Diana as one of her own. I am in communication with her several times per week via email or cell phone. She sent me an email last Friday around 3 PM asking me a question. I hadn’t checked my email Friday afternoon and at 4:15 my cell phone rang. It was Dr. Garcia – she told me it was getting late on Friday and since she hadn’t received an email reply from me so she was calling. Dr. Garcia is mainly in research at MD Anderson. MD Anderson has a full time acupuncturist. However, the full time acupuncturist had broken her wrist and Dr. Garcia was covering for her when we first started to look into acupuncture. Well, the full time acupuncturist is now back to work at MD Anderson. However, Dr. Garcia is going to continue to treat Diana. We are making special appointments directly with her each week. She is great and Diana really likes her. I really feel blessed to have Doctors such as her looking after Diana.

Diana is very weak and in lots of pain. Her pain patch which is changed every 3 days has been increased from 25 to 50 mg. She needs assistance getting up and down from bed. She is barely able to walk with assistance from the bed to the bathroom. Her weight is down to 107 pounds and she is not eating very well. We are feeding all of her meals in bed and it is a tough task to get her to eat more than a bite or two of any food that we prepare.

I am giving Diana a daily shower and dressing her on the days we have to leave the house. Else she just wears her PJs – which we change a couple of times per day. I went out and found some easy on/off comfortable cotton tee shirts and pants that she wears as her PJs. She perspires quite a bit and we usually will change her shirt a couple of times during each night. Can you believe it – I never thought I would ever see the day that Diana would let ME – yes ME -buy clothes for her. Our shower has a tiled bench seat inside and I have installed a shower head on the end of a long flex hose – so I can give her a nice shower while she is sitting in the shower. i now take 2 showers per day – my normal one first thing each morning and secondly when i give Diana her shower later in the day.

The car rides to and from the clinic are very difficult and painful on Diana. She feels every bump in the road in her bones. It is a very tough trip for her. Houston roads are not quite as bad as those in New England but they are much rougher than the Dallas area.

For the past month or two – Diana has had no feeling in her lower lip/jaw. All of her liquid consumption is through a straw. Dr. B attributed the problem to some nerve damage when Diana had radiation treatment. Well, now Diana is losing the mobility of her right arm. Once it is stretched out or hanging at her side, she cannot lift it at the shoulder or bend it al the elbow. Again – talking to the Dr, B – there is nothing that can be done. We are exercising the arm and joints daily. She can still squeeze her fingers. We are giving the arm much exercise therapy each day. And Dr. Garcia works acupuncture on the arm every visit.

We are both still committed to fighting this disease. There are times when it doesn’t appear as if we are winning or even have a chance of winning. It is not an easy task to continue to fight, but we are proceeding forward and continuing the fight the best we can. We have not given up or lost hope. Diana is not giving up. We have her next acupuncture scheduled for Friday afternoon, April 6.

Needless to say – but we need your prayers more than ever and we appreciate your support.

 

April 5, 2007

We woke up this morning and fed Diana a soft boiled egg with orange juice. Diana’s Mom wanted to go grocery shopping. There is a huge HEB Store about 1 mile from our house. So at 10:30 I told Diana I was going to drop her Mother off at the grocery store. I came back home in about 10 minutes. Once she finished shopping, Mom would call me to pick her up. In the meantime I tried to give Diana her 10:30 AM tea. For some reason, she did not want to drink it. I tried for a little while to get her to drink it with no success. I stopped trying at that time. No need to upset Diana any more than I already had. In my mind, I would just give it to her at a later time.

Around 11:30, Diana;s Mom called and told me she was ready for me to pick her up. I went in to the bedroom and told Diana I was leaving to get her mother. When I arrived back to the house after getting Mom, Diana was breathing heavily and had some shortness of breath. I was not able to communicate verbally with her. I connected her to the oxygen machine. After about 30 min on oxygen she talked to me a little.

In the meantime I called the Hospice nurse to report on what happened. Hospice dispatched 24 hour nurse coverage starting this afternoon. They also delivered a hospital bed which was set up next to our bed in our bedroom. By 2:30 PM, two of the nurses lifted and moved Diana to the hospital bed. Diana is now sleeping in the hospital bed.

I have been with Diana all afternoon and she has lost her ability to speak. I can make eye contact with her and she is somewhat aware of what is occurring around her. She can no longer sit, stand or move. I put my finger in her hand – asked her to squeeze it and she did. So she can still hear and understand me. All I have been doing is standing by her bedside, my finger in her hand and telling her how much I love her. I asked her for a kiss. Diana worked hard to pucker her lips a little – I leaned over and she gave me a kiss best she could. Her eyes smiled at me as I drew away. About 6 PM tonight, Diana closed her eyes and is resting peacefully.

This change in her condition has happened very suddenly. Looking back, the signs have been there for a couple of weeks. I did not want to accept what the signs were telling me.

The only good thing I can say today is that Diana is not in lots of pain while she is laying in the hospital bed. The nurses have told me it is now only a matter of time. I did not want to hear those words. Obviously the nurses have been through this situation before. I appreciate all that they are doing for Diana. But…this should not be happening.

 

April 6, 2007

I have had no communications with Diana since late Thursday afternoon. I called Diana’s brother Thursday night to make him aware of what had happened. David and his wife were planning to drive to our house – departing Wichita KS Friday afternoon and arriving late Saturday. They were planning on spending Easter week with us. Based upon my phone call, they were going to try to leave earlier.

Thursday night, I laid on the couch in our family room. The nurses have taken over the bedroom. I would lay in a manner that I could see Diana resting in the hospital bed. Every time, the nurse went to Diana’s bedside to check on her, I would go into the room. Diana would be lying there peacefully with no motion.

Friday I spent the day standing next to her bed. To see the one you love, just lying in the bed and you know what the end result will be, is very sad. The nurses were asking me if I had made funeral arrangements yet. Why would I do that? I don’t want Diana to die. That is not something I want to do. It was so hard. Every time that I would start to cry I would leave the room. I think I spent more time out of the bedroom than in it. I had no visible communication indications from Diana all day. Although the nurses said that hearing is the last sense to go and Diana may still be hearing me as I told her how much I loved her.

Later that morning, I did call a friend in Frisco. She has lived in Frisco all of her life and knows everyone in town – or used to when it was small. Today the population of Frisco is approximately 100,000. It was only 2,000 when Diana and I moved there 17 years ago. I had decided that I would not have any funeral services in Houston but have them in Frisco. So I called a funeral home in Frisco and made tentative arrangements with them. Diana wants to be cremated. It was a call I never wanted to make. Diana was still in my bedroom – but it was inevitable and had to be done.

Diana’s brother and his wife arrived at midnight. We all spent about an hour at Diana’s bed side before they went to bed. I went back to the couch and just continued to look at Diana. Even though I had had 2 1/2 years to prepare for this date, I was not prepared.

April 7, 2007

When I wrote my most recent update email to you on April 4 i mentioned I felt that Diana & I were on a roller coaster ride that was gliding to a stop. I didn’t realize that the brakes would be slammed on.

Diana passed away this morning – Saturday April 7, 2007 at 9:30 AM. She was in no pain and passed away peacefully. It happened at our house and Diana’s Mom Mary, Diana’s brother David and his wife Pam and I were present. It is a gray, cold, dismal overcast rainy day in Houston today.

Final funeral arrangements are being made at this time. There will be a visitation and church service next week in Frisco, TX Details will follow in a subsequent email.

Please no flowers or gifts to our house or the funeral home. A Memorial Fund for the benefit of Lung Cancer Research has been established at MD Anderson, Houston TX in Diana’s name. Details will be in the next email.

In the meantime – if you need or want to contact us – here are the telephone numbers to reach me, Diana’s Mom Mary or Diana’s brother David.

April 8, 2007

Thanks to all who have contacted us via email or telephone. We really appreciate your support in our time of deep sadness. I am in the process of finalizing details for next week’s schedule of events in Diana’s honor. However in the interest of assisting with your schedules, here is what has tentatively been planned.

Diana will be cremated at a Frisco, TX Funeral home. However, there will be no service or visitation at the funeral home. I woke up early this morning and said to myself – why would I have the visitation at the funeral home. Diana is being cremated. There will be no viewing of the body. My thoughts moved to I could do it a hotel. Nicer environment. Finally, I said why not Stonebriar Country Club. We were members there for 16 years, it was like home for Diana and I. But then I thought – would Stonebriar want to host the visitation?

After much internal deliberation, I placed a call to Stonebriar at 9:30 AM. It was Easter Sunday and one of their busiest days. I received the voice message for the manager and left my message. He had worked at the club for about 12 years and was a good friend. His wife had breast cancer 7 years ago and we often spoke about the perils of cancer when Diana and I were still in Frisco. About an hour later, I received a return phone call from Stonebriar – not only could we have a visitation there but they wanted to be involved in any manner they could. Since it was Easter and there were very busy, they asked if would call back on Monday and finalize details. They did not know what rooms were available, but rest assured they would find a place even if someone else’s function had to be moved. I was so happy that we would not have to have the visitation in a dreary funeral home. I think Diana will be pleased.

Therefore, Diana’s Family and I will have a visitation reception for family and friends at Stonebriar Country Club, Frisco TX on Thursday, April 12, from 3:00 PM until 8:00 PM. We will have pictures of Diana on display and would like to share your memories of Diana with you at that time.

On Friday April 13 – there will be a Memorial service at 10:00 AM For Diana at:

Lighthouse Christian Fellowship 4255 Pioneer Trail Prosper TX 75078

You all are invited to both events. All times and locations are tentative at this time since it is Easter weekend. I do not expect any changes but will send a final updated email schedule Monday afternoon after all times and locations have been finalized.

As I mentioned previously – please no flowers or gifts . A donation honoring the memorial of Diana Grace may be made to The University of Texas M D Anderson Cancer Center. All donations will be used for the research of Lung Cancer at M D Anderson.

To make a donation: Mail a check to: Put “In Memory of Diane Grace” in the memo section of the check and mail to: M. D. Anderson Cancer Center P.O. Box 4486 Houston, TX 77210-4486

OR

Credit Card Donation Call 713-792-3450 or 1-800-525-5841 – mention Diana Grace when making the donation

or go on line at

http://www.mdanderson.org/gifts

In the meantime – if you need or want to contact us – here are the telephone numbers to reach me, Diana’s Mom Mary or Diana’s brother David.

April 9, 2007

All times and locations have been confirmed and here is the updated information.

Diana will be cremated at a Frisco, TX Funeral home, however, there will be no service or visitation at that location.

Diana’s Family and I will have a visitation reception for family and friends at Stonebriar Country Club,Frisco TX on Thursday, April 12, from 3:00 PM until 8:00 PM. We will have pictures of Diana on display and would like to share our memories of Diana with your memories of Diana with you at that time.

There was an error in the church address in my prior email and it is corrected in this one. the street address is Prosper Trail not Pioneer Trail – Sorry (Thanks Angie)

On Friday April 13 – there will be a Memorial service at 10:00 AM For Diana at:

Lighthouse Christian Fellowship 4255 Prosper Trail Prosper TX 75078

There will be food snacks available after the Church Memorial Service in the fellowship hall for all attendees. Please plan to join us after the Memorial Service.

Directions to the church:

North on Preston Road to Hwy 380 East (right) on Hwy 380 to Custer North (left) on Custer to Prosper Trail West (left) on Prosper Trail and the Church is on the right (north) side of the road.

Or here is a link to Mapquest for the church location

As I mentioned previously – please no flowers or gifts . A donation honoring the memorial of Diana Grace may be made to The University of Texas M D Anderson Cancer Center. All donations will be used for the research of Lung Cancer at M D Anderson.

To make a donation: Mail a check to:

M. D. Anderson Cancer Center P.O. Box 4486 Houston, TX 77210-4486

Make the check payable to M D Anderson Cancer Center and Put “In Memory of Diane Grace” in the memo section of the check.

OR

Credit Card Donation Call 713-792-3450 or 1-800-525-5841 – mention Diana Grace when making the donation

or go on line at

http://www.mdanderson.org/gifts

In the meantime – if you need or want to contact us – here are the telephone numbers to reach me, Diana’s Mom Mary or Diana’s brother David.

 

April 15, 2007

I drove to Frisco on Wednesday April 11. My son was flying in from Massachusetts and I was to meet him at the airport. Thursday morning, I had a meeting at the funeral home to settle the matter. The funeral home would deliver Diana’s ashes to Stonebriar prior to 3 PM for the visitation. Diana’s brother drove up Thursday morning arriving in time for the visitation. He brought Diana’s Mom with him.

The visitation went fantastically well. Several friends flew in from various parts the uS unexpectedly. I had the opportunity to visit with over 100 friends and family. Stonebriar did a fantastic job. They had set up one of their meeting rooms with chairs and couches. They had snacks and drinks at one end of the room. Kevin (my son) and I had dropped off Diana’s pictures earlier and Stonebriar placed all of the pictures in the room. We had three 2′ X 4′ cork boards filled with pictures of Diana sequentially arranged from her early years to the last 2 1/2 years (when she had cancer). Stonebriar even ordered flowers for the occasion to decorate the room. It was really more than I expected and I was truly appreciative. We started to receive guests at 3 Pm and I did not leave until 9:30 PM. Yes I was exhausted – but what great memories I shared that day. I am so happy that I made the call to Stonebriar. I have been to many wakes in my life – however, this was an exceptional event for me that I will always remember.

On Friday the church service was held. Lots of attendees including many who had not come to the visitation. The service was so nice. The preacher had quizzed me on Diana’s likes, dislikes and events in her life. From that he made and unbelievable sermon. Yes, I cried my eyes out. After the service, there was food for all in the church hall. Lots of people stayed and we just chatted.

On Friday afternoon, I took my son to the airport for his trip home. I went back to the hotel and crashed The emotional stress of the past two days just caught up with me.

Saturday morning I picked up Diana’s Mom at a friend of hers’ house where she stayed and we drove back to Katy.

Although there will be no more emails from me about Diana, I have already decided to develop a web site and blog for Cancer Caregivers in honor of Diana. I feel as if I have lots of information to share with other patients and cancer caregivers that I will be able to communicate via the blog. Stay tuned, I will notify when I bring the web site and blog live. It will probably take some time – my mind’s creative ability is not back to functioning yet. As soon as the web site and blog are completed, you will hear from me.

It is going to be lonely. It was eerie yesterday to come back to an empty house. I will survive and hope to help others with my experience in the memory of Diana. Thanks and I will be back to you in a short time.

This is the end of Diary Of A Cancer Caregiver journey