Service

The arrangements have been made for Jackie's service.

The funeral services will be held
on Wednesday, April 23rd at 1:30pm at

First Baptist Church
204 W. Fulton Street
DeKalb, TX
75559

Viewing of the body will be from 11:00 - 1:30 in the same location.

Immediately following the graveside service at New Hope Cemetery, coffee and dessert will be served at Jackie and Vivian's home. Directions will be provided.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the New Hope Cemetery would be appreciated and can be sent to:

New Hope Cemetery Fund
703 CR 4311
DeKalb, TX
75559

A Peaceful End

We are saddened to let you all know that Jackie passed away Sunday evening around 5:50. He went very peacefully with no pain surrounded by his family and friends.

We are working to determine the day and time for the service and will post again tomorrow to let you all know. Thanks to all of you for your thoughts, prayers and continued support.

Down to Days

The doctor told us this afternoon that we are down to days. Jackie had a seizure last night, and they put in a catheter and hooked him up to oxygen. We are going to be in in-house hospice here at the hospital in Texarkana (Wadley). They moved us down the hall to a suite which is much more conducive to visiting (rooms 588 and 589). If you wish to come and visit, feel free to.

Jackie's mother and brother are here with us tonight. The hospital staff has been wonderful, and we have a wealth of extended family and friends who have been here for us throughout. We are blessed!

Condition Worsens

Jackie is still sleeping a lot, and his ability to communicate has not improved. It is very frustrating for him. His medical oncologist finally returned, and we saw him last night. It was a sad night. He said his condition has deteriorated to the point that chemo is no longer feasible. He is so weak and shows no signs of improving. The doctor says the disease is taking over and that our goal should be to make him commfortable. He started to show signs of pain yesterday (headache), and that worsened today. They put him on a morphine pump and put a pain patch on him. Hopefully, he will rest well tonight.

Jackie's brother and family came to the hospital last night. They live in Seattle. His brother is at the hospital with him tonight, so I came home a short while ago for a night of rest in an actual bed.

The doctor recommended that we consider hospice when we are released from the hospital. We don't know when that will be at the present time. I expect it will be soon though. This is all happening so fast that it just doesn't seem real.

Neurosurgeon's Visit

I spoke with my Mother this evening and she asked me to post an update again. They are still in the hospital.

The Neurosurgeon came by today on his rounds. He indicated that the blood in Jackie's brain would gradually be absorbed into his system and that surgery was not recommended. As far as his speech is concerned, he said that it may slowly improve over a few weeks.

Jackie is sleeping a large part of the day and night right now. As I understand it, this is due to the bleeding in his brain. Tomorrow, the medical oncologist is supposed to come by during his rounds. He will, hopefully, be able to advise on further treatment.

More tomorrow.....

More Developments

Hi, it's Jana again. I spoke with my Mother a couple of times today. After she returned to the hospital yesterday, she noticed that Jackie's speech was unusual. They immediately took him off of the blood thinner and did a catscan of his brain.

Today, the doctor on call said that the catscan revealed that there was some slight bleeding in Jackie's brain from the tumors. Jackie is now to see a neuro-surgeon tomorrow. The doctor on call over the weekend did not think that any surgery would be necessary but also indicated that "this was not his area of expertise."

This recent development will probably rule out his ability to begin taking the Thalidomide. Thalidomide was to help interrupt the blood supply to the tumors but also can cause blood clots. Since Jackie had a blood clot already and can no longer take blood thinners this treatment is too risky.

Hopefully we will know more tomorrow. It seems like when you get one answer you have five more questions though.

Hospital Update

I have run home to take care of a few things and will head back to the hospital soon. I don't expect Jackie to get out today, maybe not until the beginning of the week. He is "fit to be tied"! He is not in any pain, and everything seems to be OK. It's just hard to get the doctors very involved over the weekend, especially since the one who admitted Jackie and is in charge of him over the weekend is not his regular oncologist.

Thanks to Jana and Lee for filling in here while I was out of pocket! Hopefully, we will be back at home soon.

One of his meds is at the pharmacy. One problem is that it can cause bloodclots. The other one should arrive by mail soon.