Endowment for Liz

We will do temple endowment work for Liz on Tuesday July 6th. I will do her initiatory work earlier then we will be in the 6:00pm session at the Bountiful Temple. Please be there early if possible, and remember rush hour. If you can't get in that session we will linger in the Celestial room for others who follow.



Sorry if comments don't appear right away... I'm having some trouble with that.

Our Angel

Written July 1 Thursday

It's hard to believe that a week ago we were at home. Liz was having minor chest pain, vomiting, and trying to keep down some liquids. Now we have been in Huntsman twice and at the U of U hospital twice. She is not really lucid except for rare moments, likely due to the pain meds she gets by pushing a button. She breathes heavily and sounds like it is difficult, except after getting pain meds when she is deeper asleep. We hate to see her struggle with pain and discomfort.

We are back on the 4th floor here at Huntsman, room 4501. Liz looks mostly normal but gained so much fluid weight in her belly and lower half. We started steroids to see if inflammation of her liver can be corrected.

Written July 3 Saturday

This morning, after a beautiful blessing, our dear Elizabeth has gone Home ahead of us. She was peaceful and relaxed at the end. There are no words.

We are grateful for our time with our precious daughter. We will miss her terribly. We give thanks for temple blessings that offer us eternal families, bound by the holy Priesthood. We take immeasurable comfort in the knowledge that we will see her again, and will strive to be worthy. We invite your good memories and thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts for your support and love through the ordeal of her battle with cancer.

I will try to post pictures sometime soon.

Liz's funeral will be Friday, 11:00 am at the Farmington North Stake Center, 729 W Shepard Lane. Viewing hours are Thursday 6-8pm at Russon Brothers Mortuary, 1941 N Main in Farmington, and from 9:45-10:45 am before the funeral at the church. Interment at Farmington City Cemetery to follow.

It has been my honor to serve as Liz's mother.

Still in SICU

written Th 7/1/10 at 9:30am

I am back here with Liz in the SICU. Yesterday we thought Liz would move to Huntsman, but they were concerned about elevated white blood cell count and continued fluids in her abdomen. Doctors kept her here in SICU. I wasn't here after 9am so I was not as helpful or informative. I slept a few hours at home to try to make up for the long night before. (I was with Liz from 9pm Tues to 6:30 am Wed, then slept till 9am, then home.)

Today they are doing more blood work, and her WBC is up again. Liver numbers are also still a concern. A team tried for blood cultures but couldn't get a vein to work. (It has to be a new stick for those; they want fresh area so any existing line's possible contamination is ruled out, so her port and IV aren't good for this.) Liz is still very sleepy from pain meds. Last night we let nurses take care of her and got some sleep. I heard she tried a couple more times to get out of bed, and to pull on lines. They restrained her so she won't hurt herself. She has gotten more fluids and they watch urine output too. On a positive note, she has passed some gas, so her bowels are getting more active again. She is more likely to drink, eat, or leave this unit. It may be up to us to decide if she stays here or moves to Huntsman on the fifth floor.

Phil said she has metabolic acidosis yesterday. Ann, the nurse, explained it that her pH is lower than normal: it is 7.2 instead of 7.4 or 7.5. Correcting it is usually done by giving fluids, which in Liz's case is not easy to handle. Giving her any antacids won't help... yes, I asked. :) Her body is trying to compensate, which throws off other elements.

At this point we don't know if or when she will be up to either a wedding, a temple experience, or a reception. We hope in the next few days she will progress and be able to help us decide how to proceed. We thank all of you for your expressions of love and support and offers to help. If we figure out any way we will let you know.

Tracy