Celebration Service arrangements for Cheryl

A service of Celebration for Cheryl will be held on Thursday, January 26 ~~ 2 pm at :

Valley Bible Church
646 29 1/2 Road
Grand Junction, CO 81504

Family requests in lieu of flowers to make donations to:

Arizona Assistance in Healthcare
c/o Cancer Treatment Centers of America
14200 W. Fillmore Street
Goodyear, AZ 85338

Cards can be sent to Howard at:

3180 Bookcliff Ave
Grand Junction, CO 81504

Arrangements to come

Today and tomorrow we will be finalizing arrangements as best we can.  Please check back later! ~Trish

On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand

I am now sitting in the most calm and serene room, with my friend Cheryl.  At approximately 6:20 pm Cheryl went Home to be with the Lord.  Her family was here and was able to say goodbye, but the Lord allowed me the privilege of praying my friend in to his arms.  Cheryl held my hands and looked me in the eyes and breathed her last breath on this Earth.  Many of you have been praying for her and Cheryl wanted me to thank all of you for her prayers and ask you to continue to pray for Howard and the kids. She is now at peace and in no more pain.  She fought a good fight and she was amazing all the way through.  Please remember that first and foremost for Cheryl was always Jesus Christ.  She ended her blog each time by saying I live for Him, well now she lives with Him! Praise the Lord that she went quickly and peacefully!  Just remember the foundation we stand on.  Cheryl was having such a hard time breathing all week, but she still managed to sing to us "On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand".  Stand on the Rock as Cheryl did!  Her verse that she asked me over and over to use was Isaiah 40:31.  Be blessed!  We will post arrangements after they have been made.  For tonight please allow the family to grieve in private.

Plan "G" for God January 21st

"As energy allows I will try to continue posting, but my energy level is decreasing so don't anticipate much."  ~~Cheryl~~

This is Trish--
Just an update on the real plan that took place -- "God's Plan":
So we spun our wheels for hours trying to get Cheryl Discharged -- I even signed the papers twice!!  Her oxygen needs doubled overnight and she is now needing 10 liters of oxygen.  We tried to use a concentrator and plug it in, but the car battery did not like it.  Then everybody was trying to find us enough tanks, I had been praying all day.  I really started to feel uneasy in the morning, but wanted so badly for Cheryl to go home that I was ignoring my gut.  All of a sudden it hit me!!  This is about GOD'S PLAN!!! Not mine, not the case manager (even though we love her dearly - "our best friend in the hospital"), and not even Cheryl's.  So while everyone was spinning their wheels looking for oxygen I went to talk to my friend about a new plan, one that involved more peace for her.  So we are still in Arizona, we have been moved to a hospice center.  We have a great room with a patio and huge patio doors.  Howard and the kids arrived this morning at 5 ish followed by a couple of friends.  Cheryl's Dad and sisters will be here at 2ish.  Cheryl is still in pain often and her breathing is becoming more labored.  Please pray that she remains calm and peaceful.  We are not checking her blood levels anymore and she will not be getting chemo.  Please pray for this time as she visits with her family.  PRAY FOR HER TO REMAIN CALM!!

January 19, 2012 "PLAN B"

So we were all ready to leave Arizona, just waiting for the oxygen arrival.  The respiratory therapist got here at 4:30 with the oxygen and we were getting nervous about her arriving so close to leave time.  When the therapist got here she explained to us that the special airplane oxygen only goes on a "pulse", (meaning it is only activated when you breath in), she also said Cheryl's oxygen level would have to be 88% or higher for her to leave the tank with us and OK Cheryl for air travel.  Cheryl did not pass the test, her oxygen level was too low for air travel.  Therefore PLAN B is now in effect!  After our emotional breakdown of planning all day to get on plane and then being told we couldn't travel by air only 2 1/2 hours before our flight, PLAN B has now been enacted! The airline tickets were canceled and we are getting all our money back except a $17 fee!! Praise the Lord for that!  Tomorrow morning we will head out from CTCA "by land".  We are renting a Mini Van from enterprise and driving to Grand Junction.  My understanding is it's about 10 hours.  The oxygen company opens at 9 am so we are hoping to get the oxygen by 10 ish?  (I said hoping ~~ here is where your prayers are needed!)  Cheryl's cousin Andy has agreed to come with us (Blessing number ? hmm.... not sure since the blessings keep coming!). Please pray for our travels on this journey as we try so hard to get Cheryl home to her family.

Other blessings:

• My airline ticket home was able to be canceled without ANY fee
• Howard called and was so blessed to have received a recliner for Cheryl! It was already delivered!!!

In Cheryl's words: "God knows what He is doing!"  Even though we were upset at the change in plans we are all still smiling and laughing ~~ We were even joking about getting a clown car for the ride home or a VW (and yes they did offer a Jetta!)

Thanks to all of Cheryl's fans out there for prayers!  Keep them coming!!

January 19, 2012

What a month can do to ones's perspective on life.

I'm headed back to GJ today to be with the family. Like I've been saying from the start our GOD is an AWESOME GOD, For instance Mom is here and she flew, and Trish is here and she's coming to GJ also.  Due to the medication reactions it is necessary for me to return to GJ for a better quality of life with my family.  Hospice will be coming to help me to achieve that better quality.

We will be flying out tonight on a 7:45 flight arriving in GJ at 9:53pm.  Please pray for our travels and continue to keep us in pray.  ~~Cheryl~~

Trish here just wanted to add a praise the Lord for CTCA and all they have done for Cheryl.  They have been amazing!  And as always our Cheryl remains as amazing as ever!!

January 17th late night!

Trish here blogging for Cheryl!  Sorry I didn't blog earlier, I know you are all waiting to know what's going on!  After I blogged this morning God gave us a small miracle!  Cheryl woke up and stayed up for several hours!!  She was awake, alert and talking!!  She still was slightly drowsy, but was able to have conversations and her pain level is down to a 3 or 4!! The doctors here have been working very hard to achieve this goal of better pain control with the ability to be awake.  So she is no longer on the Morphine for pain, they changed it to Dilaudid.  While she is not consider allergic to the Morphine they think she does not metabolize the end products of Morphine, meaning that the Morphine is lingering.  The Dilaudid seems to be working better.  Her levels have not been checked again yet (they usually do that in the mornings), but they are watching her levels closely.  Since she did get 2 units of blood yesterday she looks much better.  She has her coloring back again (it's amazing what a little blood will do!).  Anyway just wanted to make sure I got this Praise report out to you all who are fervently praying!  I really enjoyed Cheryl today as she was more like herself.  Her oxygen levels are still dropping when she is active and at night, but she is holding her own! Her cousin Andy was here tonight too.  It was really nice to have company and conversation!  As Cheryl says always, "God knows what He is doing" and boy am I praising Him for a better day, with better pain control and better wakefulness! Till tomorrow!  ~ Trish ~

PS pray for her Mom who flies in tomorrow! (See you soon Mrs. Dearing!)