Viewfinders MC
Public Board Topics => General Discussion => Topic started by: Chris Cory - President 2012-14 -Life Memeber on February 26, 2011, 08:55:56 pm
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I haven't been on here as much the last few days and as I mentioned in the other thread, I took my mom to the ER on Thursday. It has been going on since January 8th and she finally got weak enough to agree to go to the ER instead of waiting on the insurance to take forever.
They did the CT scan that she was waiting on the insurance company to approve for a week. They found a mass was connecting her colon and kidney along with needing to remove her gallbladder that her normal doctor missed in the earlier ultrasound results.
She went in for surgery this morning and unfortunately we found out that it was advanced cancer. They had to remove the tumor, part of the small and large intestines, her right kidney and her lymth nodes. It had spread to her lymth nodes so that is a big concern. She is in ICU and we won't know to much for a few days. We only got to see her for a few minutes since they are keeping her on a ventilator for the night since her breathing was to shallow. She woke up enough to know that we were there and could answer our questions by blinking her eyes.
It is real hard on all of the family right now even though we have known that this was a possibility. My grandfather, great grandfather and mother and great great grandfather all died from colon cancer on her side. The last two colonoscopies that she tried to get were denied by the insurance company. We didn't know this until recently. She hasn't had one since 2005 so if she would have, they could have caught this sooner.
We are hoping for the best and hope that it has not spread to anywhere else that they don't know about yet. For now, we just want her to heal form the surgery and then see what the next step will be.
Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
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I feel anything I can say at times like these would be woefully inadequate. Rest assured you are in are thoughts, and if there is anything that needs to be done by your Viewie family, it will be.
Hudy
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Never know what to say at times like these, We will definatly keep all of you in our thoughts and hope for the best.
Lila and Bob
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Thanks guys. Today is a little better than yesterday. They took the tube out so she can talk now. Still very tired but talkibg about all the things that need to be done at home. Her vitals have been good and everything is going as expected at this point. We can only hope that she recovers without any issues and nothing new comes up. She will be here for around 10 days but should be moved out of the ICU tomorrow.
Thanks again for keeping us in your thoughts.
P.S. I hope everything goes well with your surgery Bob.
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P.S. I hope everything goes well with your surgery Bob.
THANKS Chris
Will let all of you know more info tommorrow night if things go as planned.
Were all hoping things keep improving with your Mom.
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Sorry to find out this AM that your mom has been dealing w/ this for several weeks. Praying that what has been done solves her problems. Stay tough in the fight and lean on the Club for for any support you and your family may need! Keith
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Echoing KJ's sentiments Chris. Any support you need on this please call. Any questions regarding the colon cancer you can talk to Pam, she's a reluctant expert on the subject. Where's Mom at?
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Thanks guys my family is doing good for now. She's continuing to improve is it a little pain but that's expected at this point. They are moving out of icu into managed care today. My 2 nieces flew out from back east at my sister is coming in tomorrow so we have plenty of help for now. Her speech is much better today and my dad was able to understand her on the telephone.
Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers.
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Chris - I just read this. I'm so sorry to hear about what's been going on. I'm not far down the road, and have a somewhat flexible schedule. If there is anything I can do for you guys, please let me know. Your family is in our prayers.
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P.S. I hope everything goes well with your surgery Bob.
THANKS Chris
Will let all of you know more info tommorrow night if things go as planned.
Were all hoping things keep improving with your Mom.
Was with Lila this evening, Bob is at Kaiser Baldwin Park, will be there a day or two. If you're in the area stop by and give him some support.
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Sorry to hear about your Mom Chris. We will keep her in our thoughts
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Have not heard anything in a few days, hoping "Mom" is doing better.
I know your very busy Chris, so give us an update when you have time.
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Thanks for the thoughts and prayers everyone. I really wish we are getting better news but we just found out that she has stage 4 lymphoma. It is a type that they can not just find and remove with surgery. She will be starting chemotherapy on Monday through a catheter inserted up around her neck. At this point, we have no clue on life expectancy since there is so much going on. The first step is to recover from the surgery. She does have some leakage that they believe is from the intestine that they capped off but they are waiting to see if it will heal itself.
They seem to be taking good care of her, so all we can do is wait to see what happens. It is very hard to set by and not know what the outcome will be.
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Sorry chris. That's rough. Hang in there.
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Thanks for the update, I know its rough on you and the family, still have all of you in our thoughts and prayers.
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I just got a call so I am heading to the hospital now. She is upset that my other sister is not there yet and said that she doesn't think she can make it until monday. She said she would rather go home and be with jesus then stay here and deal with this. She is giving up so we need to figure out how to change that.
This unfortunately is a part of life that I wish I didn't have to live. It is pretty hard to stay strong through this but I am trying.
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Hang tough Chris, she needs lots of support and a positive attitude to fight this. What hospital is she at?
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Hang in there.
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Sorry to hear Chris.We are hoping for good news.
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Well I feel just a little better now. It is very hard to see her this way but her spirts are doing a little better. I told her that her body is in the crapper but she needs to keep her spirit strong. She seemed to do better as time goes on. She is in a lot of pain from the surgery. They cut her from one side to the other.
Just not knowing what kind of time frame we have is the hardest part. We are hoping for years but so far have no idea. Stage 4 is the worst so we will be happy with her just coming home fo awhile.
Thank you so much for thinking about my family. Just being able to write about it here helps.
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Hope is a good thing. Just try and stay positive. You have a lot of friends/family thinking and
praying for you.
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Chris I went through this last year with my dad. Be strong, the family will need a rock to lean on. We will keep you and your family in our prayers.
CB
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Thank you Charlie. I am trying but it is such an up and down thing right now. She was at her lowest yesterday morning but my sister was there until around 1:30 this morning and said she was the best she has seen so far. I talked with her last night about needing her mind and spirit to be strong because her body wouldn't heal if she just gave up. We talked about her grandkids and I just tried to remind her of the things she needs to fight for. She has lots of people thinking about and praying for her so I hope it continues in this direction.
Oh and she is in the Antelope Valley ICU Donn. Her insurance doesn't cover the new hospital in Palmdale.
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Tell her her extended Viewie family is praying for her. The power of prayer is pretty great, and of course you guys know we're praying for you as well.
Funny how I say "prayer" as I've never "prayed" in the literal sense. So I guess "thoughts" are my prayers, not being a religious man. In any event I think you know what I mean.
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Prayer and her family suuport will be her best comfort and strongest spirit lifter. Also, you and your family stay strong knowiing thoughts and prayers are there for you! The Joneses
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Stay strong Chris. I went through this almost 4 years ago with my mom. Sometimes it's difficult to keep a strong and positive attitude. The best you can do is give everyone else, including your mom, a lead to follow. My heart goes out to you and your whole family. Keep strong and keep positive thoughts.
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I agree with Brian, When you are in the room with "Mom" keep up your spirits and stay positive, Keep assuring her that getting better is the way out of the hospital and hopefully home with family A S A P.
I can't remember how many times I dreaded getting in the car and going to the hospital or convalesent home to see My Dad/Step Mom/Father in law while they were recovering, NOT something anyone wants to do.
Stay strong !!
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Thanks guys, today is a better day. Besides her pulse going up around 220 for a short time, she is doing a little better today. They aren't exactly sure why but they got it under control. She was joking around a little today. She looks much better and says she is feeling better. She speaks very softly mostly because her mouth is really dry. She still can't eat or drink anything. She hasn't for 9 days now and not sure when they are going to let her. She is getting everything through IV's.
Yesterday was a challenging day but everyones words of wisdow really helps.
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Thanks for the update Chris
I think the "dry mouth" is caused by the medications, probably pain meds.
I can't drink enough water to eliminate it and today is the first day my voice is semi normal.
I even told Lila to take all the calls for me, and that I would call them back in a few days when the voice is better.
Hang in there, were all here if you need anything
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All you can do is take it a day at a time ... Unfortunately the "C" word has consumed way too many of my family members and I have seen it all ... it's not pretty, it's not fun .... Best thing you can do is keep spirits high .. Positive ... Give her WHATEVER she wants, even if it's a NO NO!
;)
Swab her mouth with the lil mouth thingys they have .. I would squeeze water from a washcloth into my grandma's mouth because it killed me to see her throat/mouth so dry ...
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Thank for the advice Jenn, she is done with the mouth swabs and has been on ice cubes for a few days.
This month is sure different that how I had planned. This was going to be a busy racing month for me but as you know, things have changed.
I haven't updated on what has been going on for a while but it has been a roller coaster. To start with, things are finally looking better but we are still taking it one day at a time. She has been transferred down to UC Irvine hospital and from what we have seen, this alone may save her life. She has top surgeons and Dr's working on her now. The only good thing about Antelope Valley hospital is that they got the transfer setup for her to go to UC Irvine.
What has happened with her insurance and High Desert Medical Dr's over the last year or so is very upsetting. First she was turned down for two colonoscopies. With the family history of cancer this was absurd and even the ER doctors were upset when they found out. she hasn't had one in 6 years. Next was her regular doctor(s) who let her go for over a month of being sick, not really eating and having let?s say bathroom issues EVERY SINGLE day for the entire time, and never admitted her to really see what was going on. They did x-rays and blood work and the normal push the patient through the line kind of stuff. They DID NOT even catch the gale stones that the x-rays showed that the ER Dr?s caught when they reviewed them. When they did find the mass, the request to have a CT scan was put in that she had to wait for. Just to be clear, at this point she had been sick for about a month and a half and was very week. They sent her home to wait for the approval. Oh, did I forget to mention that the Dr was walking out of the room when my parents stopped him to ask about the ultra sound results which was why they were there in the first place? That was when he said oh and looked at his papers and then told them about the mass that they found.
So she ended up getting the approval 9 days later, two days after she was already admitted to the hospital. This now leads us to the worst part of all this. Antelope Valley hospital did the CT scan and saw the mass as the Ultra scan had showed. We told them all about our family history with cancer. They said they were going to remove the mass that Saturday morning. The surgery showed that it was cancer and turned out to be much more than they expected. After the surgery, her intestine that was capped off was leaking and for the most part, there plan was to give it a month to SEE if it would heal on its own. The nursing staff was up and down. Some were great while others were not very good at all. Two continual issues were with her drains. One on her right looked like a hand grenade and it was very critical. My family had to tell the staff about it almost EVERY time they moved her. The Dr finally told them to tape it to her. The 2nd issue was with the two drains on her left side. They accidentally pulled one of them out while moving her. The 2nd one would go for hours without doing anything. We asked the nurses about it multiple times and they would look at it and say it was fine. Finally we complained to the Dr and he asked the nurse if she had flushed it. She said no, which they hadn?t all week, and he was pissed and said he had written orders for it to be flushed EVERY 8 hours!
So the biggest mistake that Antelope Valley made was to do the surgery in the first place! We expect Dr?s to know what they are doing and provide the best care for us. The new doctors at UC Irvine said the she should have NEVER had the surgery and that she should have been treated for the cancer first! They were pretty upset that now they are having to FIX the issues from the surgery first before they can start treating her cancer. The oncologist out here said she has weeks to months to live instead of the year like she had hoped if she goes without chemotherapy. So to hear that combined with the new doctors saying that it could take months and 4 to 5 procedures to correct and heal for the surgery is very upsetting to say the least.
We did get some hopeful news tonight though. The new oncologist came in but didn?t know to much about her. She said she would review her records and come back. She didn?t come back so my sister figured we hear something next week. Three hours later the TEAM came in and talked about what they were going to do. They are going to do the PET scan and bone marrow tests next week that will really tell them what they are dealing with. We were looking at a month or so from now out here for these tests. They are very optimistic through and are giving her a 50 to 60 percent chance of being curable. They can start her on chemo in about 3 weeks or whenever she is healed. This is great news from everything we have been hearing and seeing.
I really wish I would have known about more of what was happening with her over this last year. She keeps things to herself and didn?t tell us everything. I also would hate to imagine how things would have been for her at Antelope Valley hospital if we weren?t there 24/7 with her. It is also sad that this medical system is so screwed up.
We will keep moving forward and are extremely thankful that she is at UC Irvine now and not at Antelope Valley anymore. It is a huge difference in medical care between the two.
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Thanks for the update Chris, hopefully she gets better care at this hospital.
I have issues with Kaiser as well, if I had listened to the urgent care Dr., I would probably still be popping Vicodin every 4 hours and keeping an ice pack on the swollen arm. 6 weeks to finally get an answer is B S. To be fair, after the MRI and referal to another Kaiser facility, I have been on the "fast track" thru the system and have been more than happy with the service and care. They would have liked to treat the cancer first, then remove the tumor, but since I had been in so much pain for 6 weeks, they went on with surgery.
Again, We hope for the best for your Mom, looks like She is getting far better care now.
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Just got an update from the new Doctors. They did more CT scans and Ultra sounds yesterday and there concern at this point is her surviving the surgery that Antelope Valley did. If she makes it, it will take up to two months for her to heal. They are basically saying that Antelope Vallery Hospital really F'd up and they aren't sure if she will ever heal from it. She also can't eat or drink durring this healing time so she may be going 2.5 months without eating or drinking anything.
What we thought was her actually moving forward and getting her problems taken care of now is her biggest issue with not getting better because Antelope Valley didn't know what the hell they were doing!
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Hang in there Chris, were all pulling for You and your Mom.
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Thanks Bob, it is a roller coaster ride I wish I wasn't on!
She was moved to another room tonight. The new room is in a wing were the nurse only looks after 3 room instead of 4 rooms where she was. They have teams of Doctors looking after her now so it doesn't seem like she could get any better care than what she is getting now.
The Doctor did say this morning that she will be there for the next 2 months or so. This actually makes us feel better based on the care she is getting even though it is around 2 hours from the house. Antelope Valley was planning on her transferring to a convalescent home at the end of last week. That was before the realized they really screwed up and they needed to do something about it so she was transferred.
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Hang in there Chris, tough times for sure. It's stories like this that make you understand why the politicians are trying to fix the health care system.
Also sure makes me appreciate Kaiser much more.
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Thanks Bob, it is a roller coaster ride I wish I wasn't on!
She was moved to another room tonight. The new room is in a wing were the nurse only looks after 3 room instead of 4 rooms where she was. They have teams of Doctors looking after her now so it doesn't seem like she could get any better care than what she is getting now.
The Doctor did say this morning that she will be there for the next 2 months or so. This actually makes us feel better based on the care she is getting even though it is around 2 hours from the house. Antelope Valley was planning on her transferring to a convalescent home at the end of last week. That was before the realized they really screwed up and they needed to do something about it so she was transferred.
Glad to hear they DID NOT send Her to a Convalesent home, and you think things were bad at the A V hospital !! (I wont elaborate).
2+ months seems like a long time, but it looks and sounds like She is getting much better care and thats what counts.
Again, your in our thoughts/prayers.
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Holly crap Chris, what a story. It sounds like things are heading in a good direction now. I 'm glad to hear that. We are thinking of you and your family.
CB
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Holly crap Chris, what a story. It sounds like things are heading in a good direction now. I 'm glad to hear that. We are thinking of you and your family.
CB
Yes, you were in our thoughts/conversations this weekend for sure.
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Thanks guys. She just got done having an inline fuel filter put into the artery that goes to her heart. They did this to prevent any blood clots from hitting her heart. They had to take her off blood thinners because she had some bleeding in her drain. They had a whole team of doctors come in an discuss everything that is going on. It is amazing the care that she is getting now.
This has been a very emotional time but it is more of a get down to business kind of feeling now.
I am not sure when the next time I will be out in the desert will be. With her being a round 2 hours from the house the only time we can see her for the most part is on the weekends.
I will still be representing at the big 6 meeting tomorrow night though.
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I haven't given an update for awhile. We are still hoping and praying but things are not looking good. We are going to the hospital tomorrow to discuss with the doctors what to do in terms of keeping her alive. At this point, they aren't giving her much of a chance and are saying it will probably be within 30 days. She isn't healing from the surgery which means they can't feed her and she can't stay on the IV long term. She is to weak to go through another surgery and nothing can be done about the cancer the way she is now.
She has been very delusional since Sunday night and most of the time, is living in the past. She didn't know my sister the entire day and comes in and out of this state. It is appearing that she has an infection setting in and it has come to the point of needing to make the decision to start to let things take there course.
For those of you that have lost someone, you understand what we are going through. For those of you that have not, I can't explain how this feels.
There is still a chance for a miracle to happen but we also have to face reality that the end may be near.
Thank you all for the continued thoughts and prayers.
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Still hoping for the best for your Mom
Between Lila and I, We have lost both Dads and My Mom and Step Mom and know first hand what your going thru.
Hang in there Chris, all of us are here for You if you need anything.
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I am so sorry Chris, this has to be rough. You know you are in our thoughts and prayers. Hang tough.
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You and the family stay strong! Again our prayers are w/ you. The Joneses
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Hang in there Chris we will keep you and your family in our thoughts and prayers. I know these are hard times that require some very hard choices. We wish you and your family the best.
CB
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She is such a fighter! On a good note, she is here 100% here today. It has allowed us to really talk with her, say the things we want to say and she fully understands everything that is going on. We are looking at having her come home within a few days. Her remaining kidney is only at 20% and it has been dropping over the last 4 days. We are praying that a miracle happens but short of that it will be within a week. She would rather be at home resting in piece when she goes. It turns out the leak was actually a duct that was not re attached during the surgery. AV hospital really didn't know what they were doing and part of what they removed, they thought was a different part of her intestine which is why the duct wasn't re attached.
Even after hearing all this, she still got up and walked alittle bit before setting in the chair for awhile. She just wont give up! The feeling of complete helplessness is only lessened by the strength she shows and determination to stay strong to the very end. She is being a leader and guiding us even while she is going through this.
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[quotec author=Chris Cory - Secretary link=topic=1668.msg15064#msg15064 date=1301008878]
She is such a fighter! On a good note, she is here 100% here today. It has allowed us to really talk with her, say the things we want to say and she fully understands everything that is going on. We are looking at having her come home within a few days. Her remaining kidney is only at 20% and it has been dropping over the last 4 days. We are praying that a miracle happens but short of that it will be within a week. She would rather be at home resting in piece when she goes. It turns out the leak was actually a duct that was not re attached during the surgery. AV hospital really didn't know what they were doing and part of what they removed, they thought was a different part of her intestine which is why the duct wasn't re attached.
Even after hearing all this, she still got up and walked alittle bit before setting in the chair for awhile. She just wont give up! The feeling of complete helplessness is only lessened by the strength she shows and determination to stay strong to the very end. She is being a leader and guiding us even while she is going through this.
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WOW Chris, sure wish I knew your Mom, she is one tough one. Sure glad you're able to communicate and get it all straight between all of you. The man upstairs works in mysterious ways so this is probably for the best. Very sad to hear all these issues with AV hospital.
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I hope She gets to come home soon and spend time with the family.
Still hoping for that miracle to happen, She is obviously a strong person.
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This has been a journey that I wish we didn't have to go on. I am very sorry to say that we lost my mother this morning. She went very peacefully shortly after Staci and I got to the hospital.
I am still amazed at how strong she was through all this. She never showed any fear of what end was probably going to come. As she always has, she was still thinking about us and one of the last things she told me was that she was sorry that we had to spend so much time at the hospital with her.
There will always be something missing with her gone but I will do my best to remember the things she taught me and pass them down to my kids.
I truly hope non of you have to experience the flaws in the medical system that she did. She passed away from complications of the surgery and not the cancer itself.
Thank you all for the words and support you gave us throughout all this.
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You have our sympanthy Chris and the whole Cory family.
Rick and Nikki Hudachek
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Sorry to hear the news.
Our thoughts are with you
Bob and Lila
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Well, what can I say. The usual words will not do justice to what you must be feeling. Knowing that she is no longer in any pain should be of some comfort. I know your heart is aching but it is for your loss, not for her, she is now in a better place than in recent weeks. You know you have your extended Viewie family here to help in any way we can so do not hesitate to reach out to us.
Keep us apprised on arrangements please.
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There really are no words of substance at a time like this. Deepest sympathies to the Cory family from the Matthews'. We are at your service if you need us.
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Thank you everyone, I know some of you have experienced this yourself so you know what it is like. There really is no way to prepare yourself for this. I know it is a part of life and we will all pass on some day but you always hope the day never comes for your loved ones.
I have tried to be strong knowing that she was so strong through all this and was completely at piece with going. I have to admit I haven't been doing a very good job of it though. It has been especially tough since I started and have finished making a video of her life since she passed. I don't know how many times I have watched it now but I still can't get through it without crying.
I find myself having a hard time facing that she is actually gone. She hasn't been with us at family dinners and such since she got sick but we new we could still go visit and be with her at the hospital.
The viewing is tonight and her funeral is tomorrow morning. I am not sure how it is going to go and I keep trying to tell myself that she is in a better place so I should be happy and not feel the way I do. I know we will all get through this and the pain will go away in time but it doesn't make it any easier now.
Thank you again and sorry I have stepped back from my club duties the past few months. My mom was always there for me throughout my life and I really needed to be there for her during all this.
See you soon,
Chris
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Hang in there Chris, having been down that road several times I know How tough it can be.
AND don't worry about any "club duties", they will get done one way or another, family first !!
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Make the time you need for yourself and your family to heal. All the fond and loving memories are with you to stay. Your club members and friends are here for you when you need support or a shoulder to lean on .
Stay strong and prayers are with you, The Joneses
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Chris, myself and Darlene are very sorry for your loss you have our deepest sympathies.
CB