Also...this was my first time ever doing a movie... so pardon all the mistakes! Enjoy.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
MaeLynn's Video
This is MaeLynn's friend Patty Bartholomew posting. For MaeLynn's big birthday bash I put together a video of special moments in MaeLynn's life. We thought it would be a good idea to post it here for those of you who weren't able to make it. All the scriptures included in the movie were requested by MaeLynn as was the "Silent Lucidity" song towards the end. A big THANK YOU to everyone who came to the party. It was a huge success and MaeLynn and Andy had a fabulous time. I mean, who WOULDN'T have fun participating in an indoor snowball fight with marshmallows! Pinatas, games galore, chocolate fountain, fruit, a beautiful cake.... and of course, great company. So many people came and showed their love and support for the Harris family. It was an amazing night. Thank you!!!!
Also...this was my first time ever doing a movie... so pardon all the mistakes! Enjoy.
Also...this was my first time ever doing a movie... so pardon all the mistakes! Enjoy.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
One More Thing
If anyone has pictures from the b-day party, or just pictures of Mae they want on the blog, they can e-mail them to me at lauraloo42@gmail.com.
And we are in the process of getting a button on this site for anyone who wants to contribute to a trust fund for the Harris family. I just need to talk to the right people :)
And we are in the process of getting a button on this site for anyone who wants to contribute to a trust fund for the Harris family. I just need to talk to the right people :)
Birthday Party Just What She Needed!
So it's been two weeks since MaeLynn's giant birthday bash, and I've finally got the down-low:). MaeLynn wants to let everyone know that she had an AWESOME night at her birthday party. She was happily surprised at how many people actually came. She was also really glad that once people came they stayed and visited and played games. She felt like she was on an emotional high all night. Her father-in-law said he hasn't seen her laugh and smile that much in a LONG time. It was almost hard to believe that she's terminally ill. She looked and sounded fabulous!
She was able to visit with friends and family from high school days, college, Yorkshire ward, her new ward, Harris friends/family, and her biological family. She even had an old roommate fly out from NY for the party. It was SO fun! Not only for her, but everyone else, as well. She wants to thank everyone for their thoughtful gifts, donations, and just their presence! She also wants to tell her good friends, Patty, Sarah, Leesa, and Courtney, "THANK YOU!!!" for planning and carrying out the best party ever!
This weekend she's heading to Las Vegas for her niece's first birthday. This will only be the second time she's ever seen her niece, so she was excited to go. Plus she gets to spend the weekend with Andrew and her biological mom and dad, which she almost never gets to do. She just hopes the traveling doesn't make her sick and crazy :(. Her sweet mom is watching the kids for her for the weekend.
Life is going as well as can be expected under the circumstances. The pain just keeps increasing, so she is now using two fentanyl patches at a time, along with Percocet. For anyone who doesn't know much about drugs, that's ALOT! She says that the chronic pain can be so debilitating, so it's nice to have some way to cope with it. That said, it's still really difficult to function normally because all those narcotics make her extremely tired. She really just wants to sleep most of the time.
Fortunately, some money from MaeLynn's life insurance has come, so Andrew is quitting his job and will be focusing on staying home and caring for MaeLynn and the five crazies (a.k.a the children :). Hopefully she'll be able to get the rest she needs and desires and be able to spend some quality time with her kids when she's awake.
She remains positive, as always, although some days are harder than others. She really appreciates the hospice nurse that comes twice a week and the hospice social worker who is trying to help everyone to deal with the whole situation. The kids seem to be doing alright, but they are so little. It's hard to know how much this is affecting/will affect them. It's so hard to understand, but we just keep praying for things to fall into place. I'm sure you all are.
She was able to visit with friends and family from high school days, college, Yorkshire ward, her new ward, Harris friends/family, and her biological family. She even had an old roommate fly out from NY for the party. It was SO fun! Not only for her, but everyone else, as well. She wants to thank everyone for their thoughtful gifts, donations, and just their presence! She also wants to tell her good friends, Patty, Sarah, Leesa, and Courtney, "THANK YOU!!!" for planning and carrying out the best party ever!
This weekend she's heading to Las Vegas for her niece's first birthday. This will only be the second time she's ever seen her niece, so she was excited to go. Plus she gets to spend the weekend with Andrew and her biological mom and dad, which she almost never gets to do. She just hopes the traveling doesn't make her sick and crazy :(. Her sweet mom is watching the kids for her for the weekend.
Life is going as well as can be expected under the circumstances. The pain just keeps increasing, so she is now using two fentanyl patches at a time, along with Percocet. For anyone who doesn't know much about drugs, that's ALOT! She says that the chronic pain can be so debilitating, so it's nice to have some way to cope with it. That said, it's still really difficult to function normally because all those narcotics make her extremely tired. She really just wants to sleep most of the time.
Fortunately, some money from MaeLynn's life insurance has come, so Andrew is quitting his job and will be focusing on staying home and caring for MaeLynn and the five crazies (a.k.a the children :). Hopefully she'll be able to get the rest she needs and desires and be able to spend some quality time with her kids when she's awake.
She remains positive, as always, although some days are harder than others. She really appreciates the hospice nurse that comes twice a week and the hospice social worker who is trying to help everyone to deal with the whole situation. The kids seem to be doing alright, but they are so little. It's hard to know how much this is affecting/will affect them. It's so hard to understand, but we just keep praying for things to fall into place. I'm sure you all are.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
30th Birthday Party
So it looks like the Birthday Bash is open to anyone and everyone who would like to come. A lot of preparations are going into it....it will be tons of fun! Who knows, along with visiting with MaeLynn you may see old friends and get to rekindle old flames! Hahaha Hope everyone can come. If you know people that don't check the blog, let them know about the party :)
Monday, January 4, 2010
Wonderful Christmas...Crappy Update
Happy New Year everyone!! My New Year's Resolution: Update MaeLynn's blog more often. Although, to give me a tiny bit of credit, MaeLynn did say that SHE would update it last month...so it wasn't entirely my fault :)
Here's what's new. MaeLynn and her family had the most fabulous Christmas ever! They were the recipients of Sub for Santa from the Mounted Police in Logan/Cache County. They were nominated to be a "Decorated Family" which meant that multiple people called in to a radio station in Logan, nominating them to be one of two families in the valley to have their homes lit outside by Specialized Lawn Care & Pest Control. They also received gift cards and services from a bunch of other businesses in Logan and Cache Valley as part of the "Decorated Family" thing.
Their family also received many gifts and money from friends, family, and anonymous generous people, including a new van, a get-away package for her and Andy, and a VCR/DVD player. MaeLynn wants to thank EVERYONE for their generosity and support in this crazy time. She would give names, but she knows she'd forget someone. She is constantly overwhelmed by the outpouring of love!
As always, Mae remains optimistic and just keeps on trucking. She did get a crappy new prognosis from her doctor just after Thanksgiving, though....which is why she wanted to write it herself last month. However, it's just been too busy, and MaeLynn doesn't know how to say it without sounding blunt and heartless....so I get to be the blunt heartless one. :)
Andrew wondered what the new tumors, and old-tumor-growth meant time-wise, so he decided to go talk to MaeLynn's doctor without MaeLynn there. MaeLynn would really rather not know how long she has left to live so that she can live her life as normally as possible till the end. But when Andy got home from the doctor's office he kept pestering her about it. She finally gave in and Andy told her that the doctor said he doesn't think she has more than six months left to live.
Wow.
That's alot easier to type than it is to ingest.
When a patient has been given six months or less to live, they can get a "doctor's note" and get on hospice care. From what I understand, hospice can be incredible. MaeLynn's insurance will cover it 80%, which is really nice. Through them she can get her digestive enzymes and pain medication for free, they offer counseling services for MaeLynn and her family, they can basically come into her home and do whatever she needs them to. At this point, she still feels well enough that she doesn't need any physical care, but her family is struggling emotionally. She will start having someone come in once a month to just be around her and the kids so that they can get used to hospice workers....and the workers can offer counseling and support.
MaeLynn is doing about the same. She feels nauseous quite often, and very tired. She has lost a lot of weight...about 30 pounds since June. But she still looks good. It's almost impossible to think she doesn't have much longer to live. And she still believes that miracles can and do happen and that possibly her miracle will be that she lives longer than expected.
That said, she and Andrew have been focusing on how to prepare for her absence. They have a good financial advisor who is helping them cash in on part of her life insurance before she dies. They can set up accounts and re-invest part of it that they can live off of later. They also want to create some wonderful memorable experiences with their kids in the next few months, so they will use some of the life insurance money for that. Andrew will try to work a minimal amount of hours so that he can phase into being Mr. Mom.
It seems like there are so many people to see and things to do in such a short time. Some of MaeLynn's friends and ward members are throwing her an early 30th birthday party because no one knows how she'll feel by April 11th. There she'll be able to catch up with Cache Valley friends and have a big celebration for her 30th birthday.
Like I said earlier, MaeLynn is doing okay. She has moments when everything comes crashing in on her emotionally, but she is such a pillar of faith and patience. She seems to be handling the situation better than most people, including myself. Sorry for this news. Until next time....
Here's what's new. MaeLynn and her family had the most fabulous Christmas ever! They were the recipients of Sub for Santa from the Mounted Police in Logan/Cache County. They were nominated to be a "Decorated Family" which meant that multiple people called in to a radio station in Logan, nominating them to be one of two families in the valley to have their homes lit outside by Specialized Lawn Care & Pest Control. They also received gift cards and services from a bunch of other businesses in Logan and Cache Valley as part of the "Decorated Family" thing.
Their family also received many gifts and money from friends, family, and anonymous generous people, including a new van, a get-away package for her and Andy, and a VCR/DVD player. MaeLynn wants to thank EVERYONE for their generosity and support in this crazy time. She would give names, but she knows she'd forget someone. She is constantly overwhelmed by the outpouring of love!
As always, Mae remains optimistic and just keeps on trucking. She did get a crappy new prognosis from her doctor just after Thanksgiving, though....which is why she wanted to write it herself last month. However, it's just been too busy, and MaeLynn doesn't know how to say it without sounding blunt and heartless....so I get to be the blunt heartless one. :)
Andrew wondered what the new tumors, and old-tumor-growth meant time-wise, so he decided to go talk to MaeLynn's doctor without MaeLynn there. MaeLynn would really rather not know how long she has left to live so that she can live her life as normally as possible till the end. But when Andy got home from the doctor's office he kept pestering her about it. She finally gave in and Andy told her that the doctor said he doesn't think she has more than six months left to live.
Wow.
That's alot easier to type than it is to ingest.
When a patient has been given six months or less to live, they can get a "doctor's note" and get on hospice care. From what I understand, hospice can be incredible. MaeLynn's insurance will cover it 80%, which is really nice. Through them she can get her digestive enzymes and pain medication for free, they offer counseling services for MaeLynn and her family, they can basically come into her home and do whatever she needs them to. At this point, she still feels well enough that she doesn't need any physical care, but her family is struggling emotionally. She will start having someone come in once a month to just be around her and the kids so that they can get used to hospice workers....and the workers can offer counseling and support.
MaeLynn is doing about the same. She feels nauseous quite often, and very tired. She has lost a lot of weight...about 30 pounds since June. But she still looks good. It's almost impossible to think she doesn't have much longer to live. And she still believes that miracles can and do happen and that possibly her miracle will be that she lives longer than expected.
That said, she and Andrew have been focusing on how to prepare for her absence. They have a good financial advisor who is helping them cash in on part of her life insurance before she dies. They can set up accounts and re-invest part of it that they can live off of later. They also want to create some wonderful memorable experiences with their kids in the next few months, so they will use some of the life insurance money for that. Andrew will try to work a minimal amount of hours so that he can phase into being Mr. Mom.
It seems like there are so many people to see and things to do in such a short time. Some of MaeLynn's friends and ward members are throwing her an early 30th birthday party because no one knows how she'll feel by April 11th. There she'll be able to catch up with Cache Valley friends and have a big celebration for her 30th birthday.
Like I said earlier, MaeLynn is doing okay. She has moments when everything comes crashing in on her emotionally, but she is such a pillar of faith and patience. She seems to be handling the situation better than most people, including myself. Sorry for this news. Until next time....
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Well-it's still there...
MaeLynn says Hello everyone! She's doing pretty well, under the circumstances. The results from the CAT scan are that the cancer is bigger where it was before, and there are new spots in her liver and lungs. The good news is that her liver is still functioning "normally"! The blood test for the chromagranin A shows that she now has 51,000 ppm. (About 1,000 times a normal person) She doesn't know if there's a max to how much her body can handle. That will be a question for the next time she sees her oncologist.
She is starting to feel nauseous a lot of the time, and says that her "guts feel squished"... especially on her right side where her liver is. When she coughs or sneezes or laughs or yawns, it hurts. It's like her diaphragm and lungs don't have quite enough room to expand.
She's still trying to figure out how to refill her digestive enzyme prescriptions without going to the poorhouse. At one point her insurance told her that she could get a generic prescription for $10...but when she went to the pharmacy, they told her that her prescription IS the generic brand. It costs $160. The name brand costs $240. To some people that might be pocket change, but not MaeLynn (or lots of other people, for that matter:)).
MaeLynn, of course, remains positive and fairly upbeat. She was able to go to an elementary school friends retreat a couple of weekends ago, a girl's night out to see the "New Moon" movie...and liked it! (Although she still refuses to read the books)
Her funny news for this week is that for Thanksgiving, she and her in-laws (none of whom want to be cooking and cleaning all day) are going to dinner at Angie's Restaurant in Logan. It's a fund raiser for the Child and Family Support Center at USU...so it's for a good cause. And she doesn't have to sweat all week thinking about all that WORK called "Thanksgiving". Hope you all have a good week. MaeLynn is thankful for all of you and your support. Until next time...
She is starting to feel nauseous a lot of the time, and says that her "guts feel squished"... especially on her right side where her liver is. When she coughs or sneezes or laughs or yawns, it hurts. It's like her diaphragm and lungs don't have quite enough room to expand.
She's still trying to figure out how to refill her digestive enzyme prescriptions without going to the poorhouse. At one point her insurance told her that she could get a generic prescription for $10...but when she went to the pharmacy, they told her that her prescription IS the generic brand. It costs $160. The name brand costs $240. To some people that might be pocket change, but not MaeLynn (or lots of other people, for that matter:)).
MaeLynn, of course, remains positive and fairly upbeat. She was able to go to an elementary school friends retreat a couple of weekends ago, a girl's night out to see the "New Moon" movie...and liked it! (Although she still refuses to read the books)
Her funny news for this week is that for Thanksgiving, she and her in-laws (none of whom want to be cooking and cleaning all day) are going to dinner at Angie's Restaurant in Logan. It's a fund raiser for the Child and Family Support Center at USU...so it's for a good cause. And she doesn't have to sweat all week thinking about all that WORK called "Thanksgiving". Hope you all have a good week. MaeLynn is thankful for all of you and your support. Until next time...
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
November News
So, not much has been happening since I last posted. Sorry, once again, that I'm so slow at posting things.
MaeLynn had a doctor's appointment last week and had some bloodwork done to see how her liver is functioning and to check the chromagranin A levels. She still doesn't have the results...but the appointment went well.
She discovered that she CAN drive! Apparently when she got her Fentanyl patch, the pharmacist told her that since it is an extreme narcotic, she would not be able to drive while on it. Or...she could drive, but if she ever got pulled over, she could get a DUI. BUT when she was talking to her doctor this last week, he said that she is perfectly fine driving while using the patch. YAY!!!
They also discovered something kind of strange. MaeLynn apparently had forgotten to put a new patch on one morning after she took off the old patch and had crazy symptoms of withdrawals all day...no surprise there. She didn't realize until that evening that she had forgotten to put the patch back on...so then she put the patch back on,remedied the problem, and has been fine ever since. What the doctor wanted to know was, "Didn't you have extreme gut pain to let you know that the patch wasn't on?" "Well, no," was MaeLynn's reply. Sooooo...what is going on with her insides if they didn't hurt that much without the pain killers?
Along with the blood work, they did a CAT scan....so we'll have to let you know the results of that when we find out.
Another YAY hooray item on the schedule is that some people in MaeLynn's ward have coordinated with friends to have Kendall and Ellie take dance lessons every Thursday night. It will kind of give MaeLynn a break, and get the girls out and about. They also worked out a day of preschool for the boys and Abby! So every Tuesday for a few hours in the morning, MaeLynn will be almost child-free! (Ellie doesn't leave for school until after the little ones get home....but still! One kid is so much simpler than four!!)
I don't know if I mentioned this before, but she also has a woman in her ward helping her with laundry, and another woman helping her clean once a week. People are so wonderful to help whenever and however they can. And of course, her wonderful parents and in-laws are a HUGE blessing. Last week Andrew was gone hunting for a few days and all kinds of family were there to help her out. And they survived Halloween! With the boys as policemen, Kendall as an Indian princess, Ellie as a fairy, and Abby as something-cute-I-can't-remember-what. (What kind of horse's mouth am I anyway??)
One last thing...MaeLynn is a little concerned about replenishing her digestive enzymes that she HAS to take. Apparently when she found out she had cancer, the doctors gave her a bunch of samples for free....and they've lasted her quite a while. She's gotten to the end of her supply, however, and her insurance doesn't cover the name-brand enzymes she's been using. It would be a $160 co-pay for a prescription. I can't remember how long they last....but she's really hoping the generic enzymes will work just as well. They are only a $10 co-pay. So pray for her. Like you're already doing, I'm sure. Finances are extremely tight, so if anyone can spare a bit, it would be really appreciated. I always hate asking people for money, but it's for a sweet family in need.
MaeLynn had a doctor's appointment last week and had some bloodwork done to see how her liver is functioning and to check the chromagranin A levels. She still doesn't have the results...but the appointment went well.
She discovered that she CAN drive! Apparently when she got her Fentanyl patch, the pharmacist told her that since it is an extreme narcotic, she would not be able to drive while on it. Or...she could drive, but if she ever got pulled over, she could get a DUI. BUT when she was talking to her doctor this last week, he said that she is perfectly fine driving while using the patch. YAY!!!
They also discovered something kind of strange. MaeLynn apparently had forgotten to put a new patch on one morning after she took off the old patch and had crazy symptoms of withdrawals all day...no surprise there. She didn't realize until that evening that she had forgotten to put the patch back on...so then she put the patch back on,remedied the problem, and has been fine ever since. What the doctor wanted to know was, "Didn't you have extreme gut pain to let you know that the patch wasn't on?" "Well, no," was MaeLynn's reply. Sooooo...what is going on with her insides if they didn't hurt that much without the pain killers?
Along with the blood work, they did a CAT scan....so we'll have to let you know the results of that when we find out.
Another YAY hooray item on the schedule is that some people in MaeLynn's ward have coordinated with friends to have Kendall and Ellie take dance lessons every Thursday night. It will kind of give MaeLynn a break, and get the girls out and about. They also worked out a day of preschool for the boys and Abby! So every Tuesday for a few hours in the morning, MaeLynn will be almost child-free! (Ellie doesn't leave for school until after the little ones get home....but still! One kid is so much simpler than four!!)
I don't know if I mentioned this before, but she also has a woman in her ward helping her with laundry, and another woman helping her clean once a week. People are so wonderful to help whenever and however they can. And of course, her wonderful parents and in-laws are a HUGE blessing. Last week Andrew was gone hunting for a few days and all kinds of family were there to help her out. And they survived Halloween! With the boys as policemen, Kendall as an Indian princess, Ellie as a fairy, and Abby as something-cute-I-can't-remember-what. (What kind of horse's mouth am I anyway??)
One last thing...MaeLynn is a little concerned about replenishing her digestive enzymes that she HAS to take. Apparently when she found out she had cancer, the doctors gave her a bunch of samples for free....and they've lasted her quite a while. She's gotten to the end of her supply, however, and her insurance doesn't cover the name-brand enzymes she's been using. It would be a $160 co-pay for a prescription. I can't remember how long they last....but she's really hoping the generic enzymes will work just as well. They are only a $10 co-pay. So pray for her. Like you're already doing, I'm sure. Finances are extremely tight, so if anyone can spare a bit, it would be really appreciated. I always hate asking people for money, but it's for a sweet family in need.
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