Posts Tagged ‘hospital’

Life is Fragile, Be Thankful

June 17th, 2011 - by admin

By Nikole Ventrca

Gone too soon.
It seems like it was yesterday.

My dad called and said he had emphysema, I began to cry and he replied “everything is going to be fine.” The next couple of weeks he went through a few tests and it was confirmed that he had lung cancer. I was devastated!

Immediately thoughts started going through my mind – “Please lord, let my dad make it to see my daughter be born”, “He’s too young, there are several milestones he still needs to see”, “I can’t imagine life without him”. We might not have seen each other that often, but from that moment on I called my dad every single day.

The next year my dad did not work and it was great seeing him more often then I ever had before. He got to watch my daughter be born and share in the joys of  watching her grow to be an amazing 1 year old. My son turned 4 a few months before he passed away, and he is lucky enough to remember my dad for the gentle and fun-loving man he was.

My dad turned 60 November 7, 2008 and my sister and I planned a party to celebrate. There were friends and family there and he seemed to be in good spirits except a little tired. A week went by and it was my son’s 4th birthday. My dad was too tired to come to the birthday party. He was the type of grandparent that didn’t miss an event, but a 4 year old party was just too much for him. Thanksgiving came up shortly after the birthday party, and my sister had Thanksgiving dinner at her house. I remember my niece texted me to see where I was because dad kept asking when we would be there. We arrived to my sister’s within the next 15 minutes and my dad didn’t stay long after that. This was the moment I knew my dad didn’t have much longer to be with us. This entire month he was more tired then usual.

December came quickly after the busy November. It was decided that we would have the entire family together for Christmas this year. A week or so before Christmas, everyone got together and brought a dish for Christmas dinner and the kids exchanged presents. Dad’s good friend came and took group pictures to celebrate this merry occasion. Christmas Day came and my sister’s family and my family had a quiet evening at my dad’s house. He seemed to be upbeat and in a good mood. Little did we know, he had a hard time breathing that morning but didn’t want to let us see he was in a lot of pain.

The next month would be the hardest month of my life.
January 2009 my dad was bed ridden and could only walk from the bed to the bathroom. We went through ups and downs that month and saw my dad deteriorate before our eyes, something I pray my children never have to witness. The family decided we did not want strangers in the house taking care of dad in his last days, so we created a calendar and rotated so someone was with him 24 hours a day. January 30, 2009 my sister and I were both there visiting with dad. He was only sleeping that day, but we talked and laughed right beside him remembering the good times. When we were headed home for the evening we told him we both loved him very much and would see him in the morning, he squeezed our hands to let us know he could hear us.

January 31, 2009 1:00 a.m I received a call from my aunt, “He has left to be with the Lord.” I cried but not because I missed him, but because he was no longer in pain. I was happy he didn’t have to suffer any longer.
 
I immediately knew that I wanted to help find a lung cancer CURE. I went to the internet and typed in lung cancer events in Dallas, TX and found DFW Walk for LUNGevity, now known as Breathe Deep DFW. From that moment on, I have been a volunteer for this amazing event. My dad might not be here to see the day that lung cancer is CURED, but I HOPE my family and myself get to see lifesaving research find a CURE.

My dad told me several times that month that he was ready to go to heaven. I know that my dad is up in heaven making jokes and hanging out with Elvis and the Beatles.
“Walk on, walk on with a hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never, ever walk alone”
- Elvis Presley
 
Life is fragile, be thankful for your blessings everyday.

Hug and kiss the ones you love and don’t be afraid to tell them you love them.

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Posted in Advocates Perspective, Lung Cancer | 2 Comments »

We Need to Find A Cure

May 3rd, 2011 - by admin

by Kelly Wysocki

On October 7th, 2007, the hospital found a “mass” on my Dad’s left lung.

Through further tests, it was determined that my dad had a minimum of stage 3 Lung Cancer, and this included a large tumor, which was also wrapped around a rib. The only option that seemed viable was to remove ¾ of his left lower lobe, in hopes to remove the cancerous tumor.

The day of the surgery, I was prepared (or so I thought) to be strong for the man that taught me strength. Twenty minutes into the surgery, I hyperventilated, leaving me in the ER, feeling like a failure.

I didn’t realize what the reality of my dad not making it through would do to me.

Luckily, he made it through.

The months following, led to a lot of decisions (to have chemo or not to have chemo for example). The doctors felt they successfully removed the tumor, but for insurance purposes, felt it best for my Dad to pursue the Chemo, so we did. It was brutal on his system, he lost his hair, sat in a room with other depressed Chemo patients, and the unknown was awful to endure.

Other complications followed. My dad was put on a blood thinner, and came down with Pneumonia and was put on a medication that cause the blood vessels to burst throughout his stomach as it reacted against the blood thinner, leading to a risk of death. I spent that night in the hospital, in a chair next to his bed. I held his hand and clenched it harder when he would scream out in pain. I asked God one thing that whole time “Please do not take him yet, I’m not ready”. He made it through yet one more challenge, and I know that faith is what brought him there.

I was also going through a divorce at the same time, and raising 2 wonderful boys, under the age of 4. I know now why they say “God does not give you more than you can handle”, but from the words of Mother Theresa “I just wish he didn’t trust me so much”.

After 3 years, my dad’s journey still continues, and so does my fight to find a cure for this horrible disease!

I am racing on June 11th, in Breathe Deep Chicago not just for the survivors, but for those who have lost a loved one(s), such as I.

We need to find a cure before we lose more of those we love.

It is possible…we will get there.

God Bless.

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Posted in Events, General, Lung Cancer, LUNGevity, Testimonial | 1 Comment »

Why My Mother is My Hero

April 12th, 2011 - by admin

by Tyler Rudnick

Language Arts 3/9/11 Period 5-6

Tyler and Heather
Tyler and his mom, Heather

My mom.

There are so many words that come to mind when i think of her. Funny, vibrant, caring, and most importantly my hero. I picked my mother as my hero because to so many people she was a hero, including me. She was such a great mother. Always putting my needs before her own. Always taking me on a new adventure every day. I never knew what to expect when i woke up but i always knew i would have a great day just because she was there. There was never a time that she didn’t make me smile or laugh. Even all my friends loved her and she loved all of them. They all thought of my mom as a second mother to them, and she thought of them as her own children. Always welcoming and warm. She really did make you feel at home when you walked in. Everything was just perfect until she got diagnosed with lung cancer.

At first no one would tell me what was wrong other then she was just sick because of my age. But I always knew it was more than that. She had to go into the hospital multiple times but came out within a few weeks. But as the “sickness” got worse she went into the hospital for longer periods of time and I was told that it was actually lung cancer. I couldn’t bear to hear those words, and neither could my mom. But do you think she let that slow her down? No. she stayed stronger than ever. Even stronger than me. She battled cancer for 5 years. But she never showed a trace of doubt. She made sure she did everything she could to beat cancer and still had fun at the same time. She went on cruises and climbed waterfalls and went to beautiful islands with my step dad who supported her the entire time. It wasn’t until my birthday that she got real bad. She went into the hospital after my party and stayed there for many months. She slowly got worse and everyone starting losing faith. But not her. Not my mother. she’s too strong. She made the nurses give her all her medicine at the right time and worked on breathing exercises. The tests that the doctors held showed no sign of improvement. It took a turn for the worse. she quickly became worse and was told she may only have a few days to live. Most people wouldn’t know how to handle hearing something like this. But, of course she could. She took it as a chance to live the rest of her life to the fullest. She made tons of jokes and made everyone laugh and never stopped smiling. I didn’t know she had a few days left until my guidance counselor took me out of class to tell me my dad was here. He told me he wanted to go to the hospital with me. I knew right then she didn’t have much time at all. When we got to the hospital all the nurses and doctors looked at me with the saddest eyes I have ever seen. I walked into the room and saw my mom smiling of course. I stayed and talked to her a little while. My grandma took me out into the hallway and told me they were going to make her fall asleep. After she fell asleep they would turn off the machines that helped almost all of her breathing. When i went back int the room i was only allowed to stay a few more minutes. But I couldn’t even stay that long without crying. My mom knew once I left it would be the last time she saw me and this would be the last time I ever saw her too. I kissed her on the cheek and whispered “I love you”. She whispered “I love you too”. I hugged her and walked into the hallway and cried. I was at my grandmas for my grandpa’s birthday party when my dad took me into my room and told me she had not made it. It took me a few hours to register what exactly he had just said, and when it hit me I cried all night long. but I can’t let those feeling get in the way. I need to only remember the good times and stay strong like my mother had. It takes so much strength to forget all your troubles and just live life like she had. In the worst of times, she remained confident and fearless throughout everything. May she forever remain in all of the hearts she has touched.

My family, friends and I, have a walk to help raise money for lung cancer research She has inspired so many people to have a walk of their own. She was the first person to have a lung cancer walk in this country. Now there are many across the country. She started the walk when she had cancer . When she passed away we named it The Heather Saler Lung Cancer Walk. Over 600 people attend the walk every year and we raise about one hundred thousand dollars a year towards research. It may be too late to save my mother but it’s not too late to save people in the future.

Hopefully one day there will be a cure for lung cancer. Until then we will have this walk every year until a cure is found.

This is why my mother is my hero

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Posted in Letters to LUNGevity, Lung Cancer, Testimonial | 2 Comments »

Katie Brown

What do you really know about Hospice ?

February 16th, 2011 - by Katie Brown

I’ve been asked recently to write about hospice and how that applies to those facing lung cancer.

The one thing I hear regularly is that people often wait until the last possible moment to call in hospice.

Recently there was a study that showed patients who entered hospice care earlier actually lived longer and had a better quality of life. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/health/19care.html This study showed patients who began receiving palliative care immediately upon diagnosis not only were happier, more mobile and in less pain as the end neared — but they also lived nearly three months longer.

There could be many reasons why a patient and their family waits until the last-minute to utilize hospice care but mainly, I think, it’s because people think that by calling in hospice they are “giving up” the fight against cancer.

That’s a tough one, especially when it may feel like you are giving up hope, but try thinking about it in this way.

According to the Hospice Foundation of America, hospice is a special concept of care designed to provide comfort and support to patients and their families when a life-limiting illness no longer responds to cure-oriented treatments.

Hospice care neither prolongs life nor hastens death. Hospice staff and volunteers offer a specialized knowledge of medical care, including pain management. The goal of hospice care is to improve the quality of a patient’s last days by offering comfort and dignity.

That is what we all want in our last days right? Comfort and dignity? I believe so. But what if we don’t recognize our last days or the last days of a loved one? What if there is no plan for hospice or agreement for when to enter hospice care?

THAT’s where stories about hospice teeter between being praising in nature or more like horror stories.

What can be done to improve our experiences with hospice care?

An open dialog about hospice between medical professionals, patients and their families is crucial. People need to know what hospice is, what they do and what they don’t do. They also need to be prompted by their medical professionals to ask questions, made comfortable enough to voice concerns and fears and there must be a frank conversation between loved ones. The patient needs to know that it is ok to enter hospice care, without being made to feel like it means giving up.

People need to know that hospice care can be done in your own home and when medically possible that patients can stay in the comfort of their own homes.

Make decisions concerning hospice before the patient ever reaches the need for hospice care. This is something all of us, with critical illness or not, should consider doing along with wills, living wills, power of attorneys and directives. Hospice care should be something decided upon early in a diagnosis.

Reiteration that hospice care is not giving up hope. There is always hope. There are those stories of people who have entered hospice, only to improve in their health and return to active treatment against their cancer and survive. It can happen.

Communicate with your hospice provider. Ask and get answers to all your questions. explain what your expectations are of them. Let them know what YOU expect of THEM and what is appropriate or inappropriate behavior according to your personal beliefs, religious views and morals.

Recently I read on LUNGevity’s Lung Cancer Support Community an amazing experience with hospice and how a hospice team made the final weeks of a patient’s life peaceful and memorable. The poster raved about how much support they provided to her family during those last weeks and how much that helped in their grieving process.

Another story I read about was how clinical and cold a specific hospice experience was. This patient had entered hospice care only a few days before he passed away and his pain management and care had been very technical and not very compassionate. The nurses spoke openly of his impending death to the family, in front of the patient, and his wife was mortified. It was not the peaceful or calming presence she had expected. She was sad that this was her husbands last experience and that hearing about his pending death and the process of his death was a terrifying experience for him.

I believe if we follow the principles listed above we can prevent the outcome of the second story and ensure the most peaceful experience possible with hospice.

Lung cancer can be a fast and furious disease. It’s the leading cancer killer with the highest mortality rate. The timeline from moment of diagnosis to hospice care can be very short so it’s easy to be caught in a whirlwind of decision-making and uncertain choices. As with anything in life, it’s good to be prepared. Talk to your families, write down your wishes and then spend every moment with those you love.

What is that saying? Prepare for the worst but hope for the best. The worst may take decades to reach fruition.

And never give up hope. The one thing I’ve seen in the past 8 years of being a patient advocate is MORE survivors.

At LUNGevity Foundation, they are funding lung cancer research so that even more people can survive this disease!

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Posted in Advocates Perspective, General | 1 Comment »