Arrangements

Please join us to celebrate the loving and giving life of our beautiful mother, Susan Cavanaugh.

Service/Celebration arrangements have been made for

Tuesday, April 29th

6pm-9pm

The Hut Restaurant

(239) 694-4178
5150 Buckingham Rd, Fort Myers, FL 33905

Cross Streets: Between Peace Rd and Cemetery Rd

hors d'oeurve's will be served

Information

Many of you have expressed interest in attending the service. We have decided that we will be holding a gathering to celebrate the wonderful woman that Mom was. It will be held on Tuesday evening in either Ft. Myers or Lehigh. We will have a decision made sometime today adn I will post the details once again. Please let me know if you will be there or plan on attending so we have an accurate head count.
Thank you again for all of your support and well wishes.

I'm Sorry

Yesterday Mom was well enough to move her to the cancer floor from SICU. There was a party in her room as all of the grandchildren and kids spent the day with her. She enjoyed having the entire family around. Mom had to try to start eating real food and had lots of trouble. She stressed out and that caused ehr breathing to become irregular and irratic. Jim, Alana & I came in to relieve the others after dinner. She was still struggling for her breath. Jim got her relaxed and we held both of her hands. She relaxed to the point where she fell asleep. I took Lana out of the room so she wouldn't wake her. Within a few moments of me leaving the repiratory doctor and nurses came to check and make sure she was doing better with her breathing. While deeply relaxed and sleeping, her heart stopped. There was about 20 minutes of effort to revive her, but they were unsuccessful.
A very strong, beautiful, giving, loving woman passed away last night. With much love and immense sorrow in our hearts we said goodbye. His mother will be missed and loved deeply for a lifetime.
THank you for all of you support. We will have a service this week sometime during the earlier part of the week. I will post the information when I know. If you would like to attend, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Call For Help

Amidst all of the sad events we are enduring, Jim's sister's husband is in need of a kidney. He has a brain tumor that cannot be operated on until he gets his kidney. He is truly a wonderful person and a loving husband & father. IF you know of anyone who would have O blood type and be willing to donate a kidney, PLEASE let me know.

Our one day of vacation

Dora & Learning to smile

THis is Lana showing off her new dora shoes. She has also recently learned how to smile for pictures and say CHEESE!!!

Bitter Sweet

Well, it has been a couple of days since I have posted any updates. A couple of days agao, mom had given up with her spirits. Then, yesterday was great! Jim's mom was taken off the ventillator and did EXCELLENT! She was full of humor, attitude, and excitement. Then today we were given the answer that we were expecting, but still devistated to hear. Mom was given a few weeks to live. Her cancer is no long treatable and progressing very quickly. We will be spending A LOT of time in Ft. myers over the next couple of weeks/months.
Thank you all again for all of your well wishes, prayers and love. It is truly appreciated and it makes us all stronger.
xxoxoxox

To love and be loved

Today we notice a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Jim's mom has continued to be weened from her treatments and is managing to sustain her needed test results to show progress. We all took turns, once again, visiting and talking with her as we have everyday. She opened her eyes and responded through head nodding and hand squeezing. She continues to have a sense of humor. Her coloring has returned somewhat to normal and her spirit is up. The doctors are very pleased, surprised, and happy with her progress. There is still a gerat chance of relapse, but this is truly a small sigh of relief.
It is amazing what love can do. You can tell someone you love them, but to show them and have them grow from your love in front of you is beautiful. Love is so important for survival. For those who have the blessing of love, cherish that gift. Never take it for granted. Reciprocate to ensure that that love continues to grow. Life your life filled with love. Live your life making sure you let those you love know on a daily basis.
Again, thank you so much for your prayers, blessings and thoughts. They make us stronger through this time.
xoxo

Today's update

Well, Jim's mom is a strong woman! She made some progress in the past 24 hours. We are far from the light at the end of the tunnel, but her tiny bit of progress is enough to provide hope. Mom has been weened of some of her life sustaining meds/treatments and done well. Her body managed to regulate itself without excessive assitance. She was awake/alert enough to respond by nodding her head and blinking. She tried to talk a number of times, but isnt allowed due to the breathing tubes. She even liked a joke we told her. The main focus is to keep her comfortable and out of pain while allowing her body to heal. We will all be back at the hospital tomorrow to show our love and support. I will post another update after we know more.
Thank you all so much for all of your support, prayers, and messages. It means a lot to have such friends!

Our Saddest News

The past 24 hours has been more than anyone could imagine. Yesterday morning, Jim's mom was rushed to the hospital for what was believed to be a non-life threatening procedure. She has had bowel obstructions before due to the treatment for her recurring cancer treatment. While being preped and readied for the surgical procedure, they realized it ruptured and she became septic. She asperated (fluid into lungs from placing breathing tube down throat and vomiting) and was placed on a life support breathing machine. The deadly fluid from the rupture had been so significant in amount, it has effected 5 organ systems. She is on every life support system/machine available. When teh doctors went in for the procedure to fix teh rupture, they found that her intestines are riddled with cancer as well. IF she is to pull through this part of her battle they will have to perform an additional surgery to remove her intestines and leaving only about 5 ft. They have given her a 20% chance of survival. The next 48-72hours will be the time period that will tell what the final outcome will be.
I know it is a whole lot to take in and probably confusing, but I am trying my best to explain to the best of my ability about this horrible situation. IF at anytime you feel the need to call or text either of us to talk about it further, please dont hesitate. We will be here (Ft. Myers) for a while. I know many of you have asked if there is anything you can do, but as of right now we hardly know what we should be doing. At less than thirty years of age, one doesn't expect to deal with these situations for a parent. Especially since we all just lost his mom's mom a couple months ago. Please, just hold us in your hearts and assure us to never take anything for granted. Make sure you accept everything in your life as a beautiful gift.
As Jim's wife, strength is imperitive, but Lana seems to be the rock for everyone. She proves that good things and miracles do exist amidst all of the heartbreak. Her presence has made the excrutiating pain a little bit more tolerable. Thank God for our beautiful gift.

The Birthday Girl

Lana's BFF Madalyn and her FIRST Birthday cake :-)

Our Beautiful Girl!!!!
This is Lana playing in Aunt Jaime's & Uncle Shawn's backyard for Madalyn's first birthday party

Thinking

Sometimes as a mom, you get a chance to stop and take a momentary break from all of the chaos violently swirling around you. The interesting thing is what you do with that time. Me? I have a couple of minutes right now and have decided to sit down and think...I know...dangerous!

Being a mom...what does it mean? It means countless sleepless nights, continually walking around with dirty clothes from spit up or grimey fingers, putting yourself second...or third...or fourth...or just plain last (sometimes you dont even make it on the list)! It means crying yourself to sleep over frustrations, exhaustion & hormones! Being a mom means running around after your toddler, yet wondering how you haven't lost any weight! It means learning how to pick & choose arguments with your spouse because you know nothing will be resolved until your children are out of the house and over 21! Being a mom means being in an upper management position without the big salary and most of the time working with out appreciation or acknowledgement from anyone but yourself. Being a mom is like being a circus performer...always juggling keys, bottles, toys, purse, cell phone, child, pacifier and anything else you are told to hold onto at any one given time all while keeping a smile on your face and not letting anyone know you are stuggling. Being a mom means keeping your shoulders open and available for teardrops, snot, drool or just sleepy heads. It means being given the most precious gift, only to know that one day in her teenage years, you will wish you saved the receipt to return it to the store! It means being blessed with watching something you made (adopted or birthed) grow & learn. It means knowing that no one else on the planet will ever understand how you feel unless they too are a mom. It means understanding, love, hapiness, sadness, frustration, beauty, peace, fear, excitement, pride, admirations, regret, hope, goosebumps, laughter, tears, smiles, frowns, and every other human emotion one person can feel in a lifetime all rolled into one BEAUTIFUL experience that I wouldn't change for anyting in the entire world.

Top is our new shower! Unfortunately it is broken! It doesn't keep clothed Alana out of it! The second pic is Lana with hair! BEAUTIFUL! The bottom are the earliest pics of Elton John (j/k). She just got new sun glasses and thinks she is the coolest kid in town.

Torture & News

Hello everyone! I know it has been a couple of days since I posted...I am such a slacker! These are some pics of me torturing our pups. Nothing new right?
I figured I would also take this opportunity to give you all an update on our little monster...oops...I mean angel!!!
Latest word count: duck, book, Mama, Dada, Papa, hi, quack, bloo (Balloon), juice, ear, what, bite, brush, Bops (Doodlebops), ball, star, Ba-ba (bottle), horse, boob, wow, psst, up, please, baby, dog, cat, tickle-tickle, belly, eye, light, flower, one, two, puppy, Lola, apple, bath, purple, tree, teeth, noodle, buck-buck(chicken noise), Moo (cow noise), woof-woof, Dora, Elmo, cccchhhh (cookie), SHHH (fish), Ellie, pakoo (sparkle-nieghbor's dog), PAOOOL (paul-neighbor), pooool, pooh (winnie the pooh), birrrrr (bird), Anana (lana), Kaleigh, Ba-birrrrr (big bird), ...i think that is it for right now...will update again as they are learned :-)

She can point to her nose, ear, eye, mouth, tongue, teeth, foot, belly, boob, hair, mama, dada, spanky, lola. Alana has an alphabet cd courtesy of her Aunt Kirsten that she sings too & knows most of! It is crazy that at 14months she can remember the tunes, phrases, exclamations from the cd...you have to experience it to believe it! She has also learned how to click her tongue and looks so funny when she does it. I keep askinig Jim to help me remember what is new but he is having the same trouble I am. There is so much, it is hard to keep track any more.
I LOVE HER!