Jayden

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Jayden
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Unusual State Of Being

Life & Events > Rest in Peace
 

Rest in Peace

My grandmother passed away on Monday, July 1. She was taken to the ER by my mother and I on Friday for severe arm pain, along with a week of not eating. We thought the lack of eating was due to her dementia and the arm pain to sleeping on it wrong...boy were we wrong! Once she was at the ER, the nurse began to draw blood and perform a series of tests (X-ray, Ultrasound, CT scan, etc) to see what was the reason behind her pain. The X-ray on her arm showed no break or damage at all. A few hours later we learned through the doctor on staff that she had acute leukemia, a very aggressive form. What a shock! She was admitted and transferred upstairs to a room where she could be observed and receive IV fluids to combat her severe dehydration.

AML(Acute Myeliod Leukemia) is the most common acute leukemia affecting adults. It's characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal white blood cells that accumulate in the bone marrow and interfere with the production of normal blood cells. The symptoms of AML include fatigue, shortness of breath, easy bruising and bleeding, and increased risk of infection. My Grandma experienced all of these symptoms - unfortunately, no one suspected something as serious as AML otherwise we would have gotten her in earlier. As an acute leukemia, AML progresses rapidly and is typically fatal within weeks or months if left untreated. Her kind of cancer (of the blood or bone marrow) was explained to us this way: characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". image /05/51d7133c20bab.PNG' alt='image' />

At first her doctor discussed treatment options - bone marrow test and chemotherapy, but it was decided based on her age (83) and frail health, the chemotherapy would kill her. Then a day later, more blood tests were taken, and they revealed an even higher elevation of bad cells in her blood. The doctor had more bad news for us: her prognosis was days to weeks left to live, not months as first thought. She did receive 2 units of blood to give her a boost of energy for a day.

Four days after being admitted to the hospital she died. I think everyone in my family was shocked how quickly she went, but it was for the best. She was in a lot of pain. I'm thankful her death was fairly quick and pain free.

Her funeral will be held on Monday 7/8, lots of friends and family will come together to celebrate her life and mourn her passing. Grandma Mona was always a generous, loving, patient, and caring person who gave of herself selflessly. She will be missed greatly!

Here's my favorite picture I took of Grandma last summer when we visited Old World Wisconsin together - she loved that place!

Love you Grandma!image

posted on July 5, 2013 11:55 AM ()

Comments:

My grandmother played bridge too! She was very competitive and was president of the local bridge club for quite a while. Did your grandma play duplicate bridge or party bridge? Party is when you just do it with friends. Duplicate is competitive and you play in a club.
comment by catdancer on July 20, 2013 2:52 PM ()
She will never be gone as long as you remember her!
comment by greatmartin on July 19, 2013 8:10 PM ()
What a shock. It is true that cancer treatment is really hard on people, especially the elderly. My 91 year old grandmother had non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and started radiation but it was awful so she stopped it. My brother-in-law had AML and lived about 18 months with some kind of experimental treatment. He was 50 so much stronger.
comment by catdancer on July 14, 2013 11:17 AM ()
Sorry to hear about your grandmother and brother-in-law. My dad tells me that my grandma is probably in heaven beating everyone at Bridge which is probably true.
reply by jaydensblog on July 19, 2013 6:21 PM ()
I am so so sorry for your loss
comment by kristilyn3 on July 10, 2013 10:34 AM ()
Thanks
reply by jaydensblog on July 19, 2013 6:19 PM ()
Jayden, I am so sorry for your loss..but as you said it she is no longer in pain.
comment by redwolftimes on July 6, 2013 6:05 AM ()
Thanks
reply by jaydensblog on July 19, 2013 6:22 PM ()
my condolences
comment by kevinshere on July 6, 2013 1:11 AM ()
It's healthy when we can view death as a natural process that has to happen.
comment by jjoohhnn on July 5, 2013 7:37 PM ()
I agree. Thanks I'm going to miss her a lot.
reply by jaydensblog on July 19, 2013 6:22 PM ()
So sorry to hear about Grandma Mona--she will never be forgotten as long as you remember her--and she'll be watching over your shoulder!
comment by greatmartin on July 5, 2013 3:09 PM ()
Thanks and I agree!
reply by jaydensblog on July 19, 2013 6:23 PM ()
I am sorry for your loss but at least she wasn't made miserable with chemo. She looks lovely in that picture and you cherished her. That meant
everything to her.
comment by elderjane on July 5, 2013 3:07 PM ()
Thank you
reply by jaydensblog on July 19, 2013 6:24 PM ()
so,sorry to hear this.I have a similar one.Myladeplastic.The same disease that Robin Robert has.The good news that I am on border line and this has to be checked every six months.
If it ever dropped will be in trouble.So far so good so to speak.Though my energy is not up to par at times but able to function.This happens a lot in elderly as we age.She seemed like a fine woman there.You gave her all the love and respect for this woman.Believe me she knows this.Rest in Peace.
comment by fredo on July 5, 2013 1:06 PM ()
Thanks, I appreciate it. Hopefully your cancer will stay borderline and not worsen for you. You're a good man and I'd hate to see you suffer more than you probably already do.
reply by jaydensblog on July 19, 2013 6:26 PM ()
If they'd figured out sooner that she had leukemia, they would have tried to treat it, just making her more miserable and prolonging her pain, so in the big spectrum of things, she was lucky. You were so good to her, and I know she appreciated all the love and respect your family gave her.
comment by troutbend on July 5, 2013 12:18 PM ()
Thank you
I also agree that it was best the cancer wasn't found earlier - at least she could die in peace and not have to go through horrible treatments.
reply by jaydensblog on July 19, 2013 6:28 PM ()

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