Monday, September 29, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Visitation/Funeral Information
Visitation will be held Friday, September 26, from 3-5Pm and 7-9PM at Harry H. Witzke's Funeral Home, 4112 Old Columbia Pike, Ellicott City, MD 21043.
Funeral Mass on Saturday, September 27 at 11:30 AM, Church of the Resurrection, 3175 Paulskirk Drive, Ellicott City, MD 21042 with internment to follow at Crest Lawn Memorial Gardens, 3150 Mount View Road, Marriottsville, MD 21104
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to
Homewood @ Crumland Farms
7407 Willow Road
Frederick, MD 21702
Hospice of Frederick County Co
516 Trail Ave
Frederick, MD 21702
The family would like to extend their sincere appreciation to everyone for the warm thoughts, prayers, kindness and all of the postings that have brought us both laughs and tears, it is greatly appreciated.
Funeral Mass on Saturday, September 27 at 11:30 AM, Church of the Resurrection, 3175 Paulskirk Drive, Ellicott City, MD 21042 with internment to follow at Crest Lawn Memorial Gardens, 3150 Mount View Road, Marriottsville, MD 21104
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to
Homewood @ Crumland Farms
7407 Willow Road
Frederick, MD 21702
Hospice of Frederick County Co
516 Trail Ave
Frederick, MD 21702
The family would like to extend their sincere appreciation to everyone for the warm thoughts, prayers, kindness and all of the postings that have brought us both laughs and tears, it is greatly appreciated.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
A Very Sad Day
It is with unimaginable sadness that we advise you that Elaine passed away this evening at 5:25PM. Her parents and friends were present as Elaine passed peacefully and without any pain or suffering.
Visitation and funeral arrangements will be posted as soon as possible. If scheduling allows, the preliminary thought is for Friday visitation and Saturday funeral.
We cannot imagine life without Elaine and although she is gone from us now, Elaine will live in our hearts forever.
Visitation and funeral arrangements will be posted as soon as possible. If scheduling allows, the preliminary thought is for Friday visitation and Saturday funeral.
We cannot imagine life without Elaine and although she is gone from us now, Elaine will live in our hearts forever.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Bad Day
As we have mentioned before, the goal of this site is to provide honest communication regarding Elaine's condition. Tuesday was not a very good day for Elaine and it seems as though her condition continues to deteriorate almost daily. Elaine spent all day in bed and while this was not the first time that has happened, today Elaine was unable to communicate effectively with visitors. Whether it is the increased medication or the advancing cancer (or both), Elaine spent the day in a deep sleep with little awareness of what was going on around her.
We understand the prognosis for Elaine but it has been shocking to see her condition deteriorate as quickly as it has. We hope that Elaine can bounce back from today with renewed strength but we also hope that if that is not possible that Hospice and the staff at Homewood can keep her as comfortable as possible.
Elaine has displayed an incredible amount of strength and courage as she has waged her battle, we ask for your continued prayers for her.
We understand the prognosis for Elaine but it has been shocking to see her condition deteriorate as quickly as it has. We hope that Elaine can bounce back from today with renewed strength but we also hope that if that is not possible that Hospice and the staff at Homewood can keep her as comfortable as possible.
Elaine has displayed an incredible amount of strength and courage as she has waged her battle, we ask for your continued prayers for her.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Sunday/Monday
Elaine had a very restful day on Monday, spending a great deal of time sleeping. Despite the Morphine, her pain level continued to increase so the frequency of the pain medication has been increased from every two hours to every hour. In what is a nasty cycle, the increased pain medication likely means Elaine will spend more time resting since the morphine makes her tired/drowsy.
On Sunday, Elaine was able to get into her wheelchair and enjoyed a couple of hours listening to live music provided by "Brad Baby" (sorry I don't know his real name), one of Elaine's favorite performers. This performance was arranged by her great friends Terri, Jane, & Kim (if anyone else was involved I apologize) and by all accounts Elaine had a wonderful time enjoying the music and visiting with everyone. By the end, Elaine was quite tired and asked to go back to her room. Many thanks for everyone involved in making the day special for Elaine!
We hope you like the new picture of Elaine that was added, it was taken in late June during a trip to the QVC studios in West Chester, PA with her mom and sister in law Michelle.
Thank you for checking in on Elaine.
On Sunday, Elaine was able to get into her wheelchair and enjoyed a couple of hours listening to live music provided by "Brad Baby" (sorry I don't know his real name), one of Elaine's favorite performers. This performance was arranged by her great friends Terri, Jane, & Kim (if anyone else was involved I apologize) and by all accounts Elaine had a wonderful time enjoying the music and visiting with everyone. By the end, Elaine was quite tired and asked to go back to her room. Many thanks for everyone involved in making the day special for Elaine!
We hope you like the new picture of Elaine that was added, it was taken in late June during a trip to the QVC studios in West Chester, PA with her mom and sister in law Michelle.
Thank you for checking in on Elaine.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Saturday/Updates
Elaine was very tired on Saturday and spent a lot of the day sleeping. While awake, she was very happy to receive visitors but it was clear this was a day of rest for her. Despite the Morphine, Elaine still has some pain, her memory issues persist and she still has no appetite, though she will have small amounts of food from time to time.
The Hospice team did address the lack of appetite and advised that this is quite normal for patients with Elaine's condition. They further explained that Elaine's body will tell her when and what it wants to eat and there is a very good reason her body is telling her it does not want anything now. As contradictory as it may sound, Hospice explained that food would have some very negative effects; it would serve as fuel for the cancer while putting more stress on Elaine's digestive system and other organs. The nurse expained that it is OK for Elaine not to be eating and that we should not be so concerned with her lack of appetite. If visiting during meal time, please keep this in mind.
The last post failed to mention one change for Elaine, my apologies. Late Wednesday night, Elaine was placed on oxygen because the oxygen saturation levels in her blood dropped below acceptable levels. Although these levels quickly returned to normal, Elaine remains on oxygen.
Another update for the music lovers. The MP3 player has been brought back into the room and Uncle Ab brought a lot of new music on his visit last Thursday. While Elaine has been through some good days and some bad ones and it seems that lately her condition changes on an almost daily basis, one constant has been that she LOVES to listen to music and she loves to have visitors to sing along with !!! Please feel free to enjoy some music with her on your visits, the CD's are in the bottom drawer of the nightstand.
Finally, there has been a big change in Elaine's condition over the past two weeks and I hope that we have accurately reflected that on these postings. Her condition is also changing faster than it did two weeks ago so we will try to post on a daily basis as much as possible.
The Hospice team did address the lack of appetite and advised that this is quite normal for patients with Elaine's condition. They further explained that Elaine's body will tell her when and what it wants to eat and there is a very good reason her body is telling her it does not want anything now. As contradictory as it may sound, Hospice explained that food would have some very negative effects; it would serve as fuel for the cancer while putting more stress on Elaine's digestive system and other organs. The nurse expained that it is OK for Elaine not to be eating and that we should not be so concerned with her lack of appetite. If visiting during meal time, please keep this in mind.
The last post failed to mention one change for Elaine, my apologies. Late Wednesday night, Elaine was placed on oxygen because the oxygen saturation levels in her blood dropped below acceptable levels. Although these levels quickly returned to normal, Elaine remains on oxygen.
Another update for the music lovers. The MP3 player has been brought back into the room and Uncle Ab brought a lot of new music on his visit last Thursday. While Elaine has been through some good days and some bad ones and it seems that lately her condition changes on an almost daily basis, one constant has been that she LOVES to listen to music and she loves to have visitors to sing along with !!! Please feel free to enjoy some music with her on your visits, the CD's are in the bottom drawer of the nightstand.
Finally, there has been a big change in Elaine's condition over the past two weeks and I hope that we have accurately reflected that on these postings. Her condition is also changing faster than it did two weeks ago so we will try to post on a daily basis as much as possible.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Condition has stablilized
Elaine's condition continues to be relatively stable on Thursday & Friday. She remains fatigued but has been in better spirits and able to enjoy visiting with family and friends both days. Friday afternoon, Elaine was able to get out of bed and keep the appointment she had to have her hair cut. She was tired but very determined to keep the appointment. This was only the second time this week Elaine was out of bed so we are very happy to see her in the wheelchair this afternoon.
Hospice Care of Frederick County met with Elaine on Thursday. Hospice care was discussed with Elaine, along with her Mom & Dad and brother. It was agreed that Hospice will begin seeing Elaine going forward. Some of you probably know quite a bit about Hospice, but they are essentially being brought in to work in conjunction with the staff at Homewood to ensure that Elaine is kept as comfortable as possible. As mentioned by their staff in the meeting, Elaine will be moving from "skilled care" to "comfort care" and the Hospice staff is specialized and skilled in providing that for Elaine. Initially, a Hospice nurse will visit once a week and aides will visit twice a week to check on Elaine. As conditions change, they will adjust their schedule accordingly.
We wish everyone a very happy weekend and continue to appreciate your concern and prayers for Elaine.
Hospice Care of Frederick County met with Elaine on Thursday. Hospice care was discussed with Elaine, along with her Mom & Dad and brother. It was agreed that Hospice will begin seeing Elaine going forward. Some of you probably know quite a bit about Hospice, but they are essentially being brought in to work in conjunction with the staff at Homewood to ensure that Elaine is kept as comfortable as possible. As mentioned by their staff in the meeting, Elaine will be moving from "skilled care" to "comfort care" and the Hospice staff is specialized and skilled in providing that for Elaine. Initially, a Hospice nurse will visit once a week and aides will visit twice a week to check on Elaine. As conditions change, they will adjust their schedule accordingly.
We wish everyone a very happy weekend and continue to appreciate your concern and prayers for Elaine.
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