Well I think Liz would feel we did a grand job of celebrating her life and farewelling her.
Liz was given a very fine send-off:- from her arrival in that beautiful Packard (car), to her departure several hours later. So many people there all wanting to celebrate in Liz’s life. Beautiful words were spoken that took us through numerous aspects of Liz, her achievements, important people and some of her travels – and much more. A service that was so well facilitated by our friend Clare (Brockett) that we were able to be sad but also able to celebrate in Liz’s life. Thank you Clare. We will all move back into our routines and mourn the loss of Liz however let’s not do that for too long – it would not be the ‘Liz way’. Be sad, grieve a little, then move forward. I have so many people to thank and many of you personally – in time I will see to that. However I would like to put out a very general ‘thank you’ to all of you who have supported us both, not just through Liz’s illness and subsequent death, but also through our lives together, all of you who contributed to this magnificent website, all who provided food, foot, face & hand massages, gardening, time-out, ran errands, stayed overnight, kept me company, and generally kept me strong. Thank you so very much. Both Liz & I appreciated every bit of support we received. Love Lynn
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Liz’s funeral is on Thursday 27th January 3pm at St Andrews on The Terrace.
Just giving everyone a heads up – Liz loved colour so if you’re coming along on Thursday you may like to wear your favourite colour! Love Lynn Well Liz has finally found her peace. She died very peacefully at 2am this morning.
Obviously I am already feeling her loss enormously but at the same time I am relieved that Liz’s struggle has finished and she can rest easy now. Liz is only going to be at home until 3pm today. If anyone wishes to visit please do so. Her funeral will be on Thursday in the afternoon. I will notify you of the details as they are determined. Love Lynn Sunday 23rd January 2011 Liz is very poorly today. Her energy tank is almost empty and she has an irritating cough. She is able to be comfortable with the drug regime – occasionally gets restless but we are also able to settle that for her. She is less communicative and sleeps most of the time.
Love Lynn Liz is slowly getting weaker and less interested in the days as they pass.
She is no longer able to get up even with assistance so we do all her cares while she rests in bed. She is lucid most of time but not really interested in chat. Has the occasional moment of disorientation but soon gets that back into order. We have her resting on a roho mattress which has made her even more comfortable than just the roho cushion. Her pain continues to be well managed with the pump and the occasional break through is managed with a bolus dose. The other key symptoms she has are nausea and restlessness which we manage with drugs. In the past few days she has developed a ‘wet’ cough so she rests in a more upright position than previously. Overall she remains comfortable. Amazingly she functions on ice blocks and the very infrequent coffee. Thank you everyone for your continued support. Love Lynn Well what do I say…it’s 8.30am and Liz is sitting up in bed enjoying a coffee and waiting for the district nurse to come and mix up her cocktail for the next 24 hours. As you can imagine Liz continues to confound us all, including herself, in the way in which she continues to keep on going. When awake she is aware and lucid. Some days are better than others but generally she has good days. Has the occasional breakthrough pain but this is well managed so she isn’t uncomfortable for long. She continues to sleep soundly and when awake has very few demands – which are always followed by ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. She is such a gracious, humble woman – a pleasure and a privilege to share this time with her.
As time moves on I now have to do some work so I try to spend most afternoons on that while people sit with Liz. So far it is a good routine. Thank you all for your wonderful contributions of time and food. I don’t think I have ever eaten such a wonderful variety of meals so beautifully prepared. It is very helpful to have the meals provided as I can now divide my time usefully between Liz and work stuff. Thank you all very much. Love Lynn ‘Tis 2011 and Liz is sitting up in bed resting while the rest of us go about our day. Liz utterly frustrated and cannot believe she has seen the beginnings of another year. Even the medical profession have no answers as to why she should continue to defy predictions. But then again we know how healthy and strong Liz was prior to the diagnosis of this disease so maybe we shouldn’t be all that surprised? It’s the length of time that she has gone without food and continues to maintain her lucidity and awareness that confounds me. Liz still sucks away on ice blocks, gets up with help for ablutions and then rests. She continues to be pain free and when she is not trying to out think herself she rests peacefully. Liz still has visitors and when awake is totally aware of who it is sitting in the room with her and will contribute to conversation when she believes it’s appropriate – usually when our memories need prompting or a piece of information needs correcting!
Your continuing support is most appreciated. Thank you Love Lynn Although she continues to amaze us with the way she keeps going, Liz is quite low now. She is now experiencing some breakthrough pain that we are able to manage with well with medication. However she is very weary but still lucid whenever she is awake. She is aware of the people around her and recognises all who visit. We spend our days in quiet contemplation and hope for a speedy and peaceful end for our beloved Liz.
I have had a good friend, Carolyn, staying overnight for almost a week which has been great for me. Carolyn is now back at work but returning later in the week. Last night and tonight I have a night nurse here so that I can get some much needed sleep and be able to care for Liz during the day. Liz is being kept very comfortable. Thank you everyone for your ongoing support. We both appreciate that very much. Love Lynn Well who would have thought that Liz’s physical being would continue for this length of time on only ice blocks and the occasional coffee! Even Liz is amazed.
However there is a continuing deterioration in her condition and I see a downward progression – a bit more each day. Yet she still has a twinkle in her eye – she just hasn’t got much to say and rests peacefully. She remains very gracious about everything that is done for her and the continuing kindnesses expressed via the tributes and blog. Liz has asked that I thank you all…so ‘Thank you all’. Although we will not be celebrating Christmas this year we would like to wish all of you a very happy Christmas, especially if it’s family time, and remember to tell all your loved ones that you love them. Love Lynn (and Liz) I haven't put anything onto the blog lately because there has been little change in Liz's general state of health (or ill health!). However her physical abilities have changed - she does tire more readily and can no longer walk to the bathroom. She can stand on her unsteady pins for a few minutes. Unfortunately sometimes the movement causes her to upchuck - but she copes with that.
Liz continues to be gracious as she faces each day. She still enjoys to have people visit but I am restricting that a little bit at the moment because she gets so very tired. However if you are wanting to visit Liz please call and we'll sort a suitable time. Of course Liz continues to amaze me and many of you who have visited. Her strength of spirit is quite remarkable. Regards to you all Lynn Sunday 19th December 2010 |
Liz & Lynn's Blog
This is where Liz and Lynn can talk about anything they want to, and where family and friends can post comments. Archives
January 2011
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