A Quiet Moment

By Mike

While Alicia was with Charlotte a couple weeks ago, she snapped this poignant photo. I saw it after downloading the pictures from her phone and this one stood out to me. I thought I would share it.

A Visit from Mike's Parents

By Mike

Earlier this week, my parents made a trip to visit Charlotte.  Dad had some business in town nearby and mom came along.  They then stopped by afterwards.  Sheelagh was at home to let them in.

Sheelagh said they were there for about 10 minutes or so.  Mom wrote me an email and noted:

We went up to Lafeyette yesterday so that your dad could interview a Senior at the high school there.  We found Sheilagh's & Dave's house and had a short visit with Charlotte.  Charlotte said she was eating better and keeps busy using the computer & talking to her Utah friends and family that call.  We brought her some flowers & a card.

It doesn't sound like it was much of a conversation . . . which isn't a surprise.  The steroids have helped a lot, but Charlotte hasn't been very talkative for quite a while.

So you think you can dance?

Last night as we were making our way from the bathroom to the bed we had a little dance off:)
(I usually walk backwards holding on to moms hands as she shuffles forward)

So I said alright mom 1-2 cha cha cha and with her next few shuffles she did a few cha chas :)

The last few days have been pretty good, she has gotten out of bed everyday. It has been a little too chilly to go outside for a walk but it is nice to have her back at the dinner table.

Sent from my iPhone

A crochet cape

This picture makes me smile because it looks like her "cape" is flying behind her:)
The last few days have been pretty good. As you can see she is out of bed. Saturday she came with us to the church and watched the kids practice their primary program. Sunday she wanted to come to church--It was a pretty eventful hour. Probably a little too much movement from the car to the chapel, she lost all of her breakfast and then some. She ended up going home after sacrament meeting.
Yesterday she was up and out of bed again and ate dinner with us at the table. This morning she opted to breakfast in bed:)
Everyday is different. We never know what we are going to get--it keeps us on our toes:)

Early to Mid-October Update

By Mike

I thought it a good idea to add a little narrative to the recent events in Charlotte's life followed by a current status report. Sorry if this runs a little long.

On Tuesday afternoon, the 8th of October, Alicia flew out to be with Charlotte for several days. To be honest, the reports we were getting from Sheelagh seemed to indicate that Charlotte was going downhill, seemingly near the end. When Alicia arrived on Wednesday morning, Charlotte was very weak and lethargic and Alicia described to me how Charlotte would pick at Alicia's clothes. Charlotte wasn't eating, nor was there any output. It seemed very grim.

Friday morning, Charlotte took a dose of steroids and showed little change all day. Graham drove down several hours to be there too.

By Saturday, Charlotte was much more awake, active, and eating. It was good for everyone to see her more active, but Alicia wondered to me if this was the "last burst" of energy before the end. Several weeks previous, Alicia found a list of symptoms that indicate how much time someone might have left with this sort of cancer. The exact process and indications are different for everyone, but there are some signs that tend to occur for most people. One of the symptoms is a state of alertness and interactivity only a few days before the end. Was this it?

As you can gather from the recent posts, Charlotte felt well enough to actually get out of bed and eat and output! They celebrated her birthday and enjoyed some time outside away from bed.

We're not sure exactly the cause of the turn around, save for the steroids she has taken. From the first dose, she had another each day and has gained strength enough to stay with us a while longer.

As of this past weekend, Charlotte felt well enough to go to church - although she didn't stay the whole time. Unfortunately, she became very nauseous and vomited before the meeting was over.

I've included a picture of Charlotte watching a movie in bed while Graham was there. I think they were watching "Unicorn City" at the time. I think it's safe to say Charlotte is surrounded by loved ones - even if no one in the picture gets the joke about "Warlocks of the Beach" (I had to explain it to Alicia).

Mom and Alicia

By Alicia

Thanks to my wonderful husband, I was able to go out and spend a week with mom.
This is the morning I flew back home. Mom felt well enough to get up and enjoy some time out of bed.

Mom's Early Birthday

By Graham

It probably helps if I attach the photo, too.

Re: Mom's Early Birthday

By Graham

I went down to visit mom again. We celebrated her birthday a bit early. She requested bread pudding which Sheelagh excellently made (and chocolate cake for those that didn't like bread pudding). It was great to see her again and spend some more time with her.

An Great Photo with a Big Smile

By Mike

I just got this photo today.  Many thanks to one of Charlotte's oldest and dearest friends, Gea.  Gea found this wonderful photo and sent it to me and I couldn't keep from sharing it.  What strikes me about this picture is Charlotte's happy and carefree aura.

Out for a stroll in Unicorn City

By Dave

After a week of Charlotte being confined to the bed, Sheelagh was able to capture this rare photo.  The three Mitchell girls went for a short stroll in the woods/hood and then sat on the porch swing for a spell.  It was a good day for Charlotte, energy-wise.  We celebrated Charlotte's birthday since both Alicia and Graham are here.  The day ended with everyone packed into Charlotte's room watching Unicorn City.  A low budget film about a group of role playing gamers.  

Hanging out

We are just hanging out with mom tonight.
Her oxygen levels were a little low , so she got hooked up with an oxygen machine today.

Murray School District Pinnacle Award

By Mike

I finally got a hold of a digital copy of this picture of Charlotte taken as part of receiving the Murray School District Pinnacle Award.  It was a very auspicious occasion to honor Charlotte's dedication and service with the district; and I can't think of anyone else who deserved it more.

 

 

A battle of wills

By Sheelagh

Mom needs to take an anti nausea pill twice a day and this morning she refused to take it...Alicia is here now so this morning was a battle of Mitchell girl wills. We are all ridiculously stubborn so it was kind of like the standoff at the OK corral:).
In the end mom won. She put the pill back into Alicia's hand and closed her fingers around it...cased closed.
Mom:1 Daughters:0

So we will have to grind it up and put it into some soft food...even up the score:)

Sent from my iPhone

She's got the mooooooves like....Liberace:)

By Sheelagh 

I was thumbing through my pictures and found this one I took a few weeks ago. I came home to find mom tinkering at the piano. She played around for about 30 minutes before she needed to lay back down. 

It is disheartening to think that just a few weeks ago she was up and moving around by herself. She is completely bedridden now although she agreed to try to sit in her wheelchair tomorrow to get some fresh air. I will try to remember to take a picture. 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q9nO9Ro_kd4&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dq9nO9Ro_kd4

On a funny note.  She doesn't talk very much anymore but the other day I was helping her get ready for the day and when I was putting her deodorant on she said "time to swab the deck!" --still makes me smile. I think that will be code in our family now for "whew! Better go put on some deodorant!":)

Sent from my iPhone

Let them eat cake!

By Sheelagh

Last night we had some friends over for dinner. We had a yummy fiesta with homemade flour tortillas and all the necessary yumminess...beans, zucchini's, meat, rice etc. (Growing up mom always made us homemade tortillas, we became so spoiled that there was a point that we wouldn't eat the store bought variety.) ANYWAY, I assumed that she just wasn't very hungry because she didn't eat anything, as is often the case lately--BUT I guess she just did not have an appetite for mexican cuisine. I brought her some dessert later that evening- our friend brought her famous coffee cake- and mom had no problem eating her cake! I guess she has earned the right to not even touch her dinner, but still get dessert :)

Sent from my iPhone

Nana's Manicure

By Dave

Grace painted her fingernails a pink color. I told her she looked like she was headed out to a Beatles concert which spurred a fun conversation about an actual Beatles concert that she attended in Portland with some of her girlfriends from her home ward.

FaceTime with the Black's

By Dave

Supplement by Mike:

Here's what it looked like on the other end.  Still amazing to me.  For this, I will say "Thank you Steve Jobs."

In bed

By Sheelagh

The last few days have brought a lot of changes in our routine. Starting on Friday mom has been unable to get out of bed. She can stand but not without a lot of assistance and cannot walk more than a few inches one way or the other --the upside is I get a big hug whenever we need to get her up and out of bed:)
We will be seeing a hospice aide everyday now so that I can have a little more help with her daily care.

She has difficulty reading but still enjoys having her emails read to her, please continue to send them!
Thank you all for your loving cards, emails, prayers and kind words:)

Amazing Sight to Share

By Mike

A month or so after Charlotte's surgery, she came to visit Alicia and the rest of us for several weeks. We sampled from some of the beautiful sites around the area. During one of these outings, we saw something which none of us had seen before known as a "sun dog" or parhelion. The parhelion we saw was nearly straight overhead and completely round. It was much larger than Charlotte nor I could get into a full frame on the camera, although we tried.

It was a very neat experience to share with Charlotte.

The pictures were taken with the camera very near to the ground pointing almost straight up and as wide angle as we could make it. You can see Charlotte's silhouette in the corner. This was taken June 15th.

Sleeping beauty

By Sheelagh

Mom spends a lot of her time sleeping these days. She gets a wake up call before I leave for my classes and I help her up to the bathroom and back to bed. Breakfast is always in bed now she is rarely feeling good enough to venture out to the kitchen or living room until late afternoon.
I usually set her up with a movie before I leave but more often than not she sleeps while I am gone. Today she slept through lunch which is happening more and more often.
On the upside she is not in any pain and from what we understand of this type of cancer she most likely will not ever be in much pain.



Sent from my iPhone