My dears, Val is doing well at the in-patient hospice house. They have been able to observe her closely and streamline her medications with the result that she is breathing a little more easily (still with the oxygen cranked, but without so many scary breathing crises) and overall feeling less Continue Reading
cancer
changes
Dear hearts, Things are changing quickly these days. Val’s symptoms have begun worsening much more rapidly. As of the last couple days she can no longer get out of bed. She fights constantly for oxygen. The medicines for pain, nausea, anxiety and breathing leave her groggy and often cause hallucinations. Continue Reading
A short history of Betty’s life
We wanted to share with you Betty Garrison’s obituary, a fascinating brief outline of her varied life, written by her family. Here it is; enjoy. EUREKA – Betty Lee Garrison went home to be with her Lord Jesus on Tuesday, April 2, 2013, at age 87. Her battle with pancreatic cancer Continue Reading
this terrible feast
i am thinking now of saying goodbye. how to say goodbye. to my mother. trapped in her body. mouth open, eyes glazed and fixed. staring. and her odd ungated voice, robbed of consonants. her dry uncooperative tongue. i tell her i love her. and then i tell her, under my Continue Reading
solitude & ducklings
Dears, my sister Abby has been visiting and making life good, so I haven’t updated you in a while. This is just a quick note to say we are all still here. Val is very tired and weak these days, often not leaving her bedroom, but now and then she Continue Reading
ways to be home
Dear ones, How shall we talk about this? What do I say? Everything changes so quickly and at once so slowly, dreamlike. We are still here, but we are inexorably changing. For so long I have known none of us would get out of this alive. And I knew in Continue Reading
saying goodbye to Betty
Folks, this was one of the hardest weeks of my life. Val was incredibly, terrifyingly sick all week and we both just barely made it through. She was especially sick on the day of Betty’s funeral, which was lovely and moving and sad and celebratory. The Garrison family has lived Continue Reading
in the blender
Dear friends, here are a few updates: Radiation: The radiation oncology team was able to map out a radiation plan for Val. The trick was to avoid major risk of damage to her trachea, esophagus and heart, yet still target the tumors constricting her breathing. Val has now done eight Continue Reading
missing Betty
Friends, Still no time to write, but I know people worry, so I just wanted to say Val and I are still here. Lots of big events in the last couple weeks, too big to encompass in hurried snippets. The biggest event is that the very beloved Betty Garrison, Valerie’s Continue Reading
pain’s better
Not so much pain this week as she had on Sunday/Monday. Such a dense week I haven’t had a second to fill anybody in. We are still here. Stay tuned. xo Deborah p.s. Tomorrow is Val’s birthday. What luck for so many of us that she was born! Happy birthday, Continue Reading