Saint Joseph, Patron of a Happy Death, Pray for Us

I have actually known this for a few days (since Thursday?), but since my grandma hadn't been told yet, I had to hold off putting it on my blog since she has a bookmark for it.

This is the most recent update from my family in Texas. My mother forwarded this to me, so it is her "piecing together" below.

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Howdy, everyone.

How do I write this note? I guess I just start...

We are home from the hospital. Our oncologist said that B****'s latest health turn, especially the blood clots in her lungs, is a real setback to her health and to her ability to withstand further cancer treatment. He recommended focusing on making her as comfortable as possible.

We will be assisted in this regard by Hospice ************. We have heard wonderful things about them and from our experience so far the compliments are well-deserved. B**** is not in any pain but she is usually very tired and so she spends the better part of the day snoozing. She's on oxygen and, along with other medication, is now receiving daily injections of Lovenox to prevent formation of further blood clots.

We were not given an an estimate as to the possible time line of the hospice phase. God, I hate euphemisms, but they sometimes hurt less than calling a spade a spade.

Until my next health update, I just want you all to know how much we treasure each and every one of you. Your love and your prayers and support for all of us through this whole experience have been like uplifting air currents, supporting our wings when we find ourselves sinking under the physical, mental, and emotional weight. How do people deal with such illnesses without faith, family, and friends? I don't know, but I do know that we are blessed to have all three.

God bless you all. Hug and kiss one another. No matter what else is going on, it's a wonderful day when you're in the company of those you love.

Love, B*****, B*******, and the boys


************** Part Two.. about visiting... This was a separate email, but I have combined them. ************

Hi, all.

In order to minimize tiring B****** out and adding to her stress level, we hope that those of you who would like to visit us soon will try to keep your visit with B****** relatively brief. As it is now, much of her day is spent asleep. I think that visits that exceed an afternoon or maybe the better part of the day would be too taxing for her.

Also, I think it would be better for her and for you if visits were "intimate", i.e., without too many visitors at a time. For those of you who would like to travel in two's, I think that would be fine, but if we have a crowd here I think it'll just wear her out. Besides, I would think that you would like your time together to be intimate, to allow you to reminisce and share your love without an audience. To help accomplish this, I've asked S*** and K**** [ed: oldest son and his wife] to act as the primary points of contact in order to coordinate who's visiting when. Their contact info is:

S**** phone: ***-***-****
K**** phone: ***-***-****

S***** email: xxxxxx@xxxx.xxx
K***** email: xxxxxx@xxxx.xxx

For those of you who would like to grab a hotel room locally, I'm sure that S&K can assist in your selection if your Internet search leaves you with more choices than you can figure out. I think the best "local" places to stay are in the ****** area. Our mailing address says "******" but ******* is an old, small town that's on the decline. ******* is about 30 min away from our home.

One thought on staying locally... the only times it's hard to get hotel rooms in the **********[nearby college] area are during home football game weekends and during graduation. The [college] website says that graduation will be held from May 8-10. If you try to stay locally over that weekend you will find a reduced selection of hotel rooms and probably higher prices. I'm not saying you should not come then, but you should start checking for available rooms now if that weekend works best for you.

Let me/S****/K**** know if you have any questions.

Love, B*********

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I ask you once again, dear friends, to please pray for my family. I feel as though I've asked again and again, but I just know that they need prayers. My aunt is the fourth of six children, the only girl in her family. My father prayed to the Blessed Virgin for a sister the very year she was born. My grandmother delighted in her only daughter, who was named for her in deference to my grandfather's wishes. (I actually named Big Girl the name my grandmother wanted for my aunt, and her middle name is that of my grandmother and aunt.) Her big brothers loved on her and her little brothers looked up to her. I named her my "uncle," thinking that since Daddy had all brothers (save this one sister) and Mommy had all sisters, Daddy's siblings must be uncles as Mommy's are aunts. Though I figured out the truth by the time I was six, she loved being "uncle" so much that she requested that I call her by that name. "Okay, as long as you know you're really my aunt," I said. To this day, she is my Uncle Aunt, and my children and my sister's children all call her uncle, too. (This unusual name was the cause of some very interesting conversations, such as the time when my father called my college dorm and left a message that my uncle had a baby boy; my roommate had no sense of humor and just didn't get it, even after the explanation.) My aunt just turned 53 this December after welcoming her first grandchild into the world in September. This is so difficult for their family, too. Two sons still live at home and are in the local Catholic high school.

Please keep them all in your prayers.

Thank you and God bless you.






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