Memorial Service Planned

There will be a memorial service in honor of Janette’s life on Tuesday, August 16^th at 2 pm at Calvin Presbyterian Church, 1736 NW Dixon Street, Corvallis, OR.

Janette Carol Merriman
May 25, 1958 - August 9, 2011

Rapid Decline

There is no easy or delicate way to put this.  Janette is in a state of rapid decline. We are probably looking at days remaining and not weeks.   She has difficulty finishing sentences or expressing ideas.  Our hospice nurse indicated that this was probably caused by the build up of ammonia in her system due to the liver failure.

I am grateful to hospice for keeping her pain and suffering to a minimum. 

More to follow.

hard to believe

I am not sure it is possible, but the jaundice seems even more noticeable than before. Equally as difficult to believe, she seems to have even less energy than earlier this week.  On the plus side, she is still relating with, and responding to people in the room with her – just not for more than a few minutes at a time. 

A beautiful reminder

In May, on Janette's birthday, she visited the butterfly garden in Buena Vista with a group of friends.  The butterflies were amazing and the trip inspired this butterfly quilt.  She started this quilt in the "Permission to Play" class.

LuAnn, Virginia, Kathi and the rest of the group finished this for Janette and she thinks it is a beautiful reminder.

Thank you.

Not much change

Not much new to report.  The cough is still under control (not gone, but not as bad) and Janette still remains extremely tired.  One highlite has been the fawns.  We can usually see them in the morning, and sometimes again in the evening. They are the cutest landscape destroyers I have ever seen. 
We really appreciate all of the help, cards, e-mails, love and prayers.

Thanks.

Update

We have finally made some progress on the cough.  Janette is now using a nebulizer to help inhale the morphine into her lungs.  This seems to limit the cough, but it makes her really, really sleepy.  We are grateful for this progress, but it has not left her with any energy for responding to cards or emails.  Please know that even though she has not been able to respond, she does appreciate the cards and e-mails.

Mark.