Mom got a full 10 hour sleep last night with no interruptions! Usually she is up a couple of times a night going to the bathroom and wanting something to eat and drink and pretty confused most of the time, so the hospice nurse prescribed some sleeping pills and she slept good!

Yesterday mom was pretty lively. She drank lemon slushes, peach goup (a family dessert), ate oranges, and had a little appetite. She even told us to leave! She needed some time alone. Her thoughts were clear and she was having conversations with us. It has really thrown us for a loop to have her this way. Compared to what she has been we can definitely say she had a good day yesterday!

Please write a memory of mom.

Dad would love for all of you to write a memory you have of mom. It will be a wonderful keepsake for him. You can write a comment on the blog or if you don't have a blogger account you can email them to sntvd@yahoo.com or mail them to Stan Natividad, P.O. box 7 pima az 85543

Thanks

Music

Mom has always been real passionate about music. It has been an important part of her life. She has sang in countless musicals and in choirs. She has taught piano and lead many different youth and adult choir shows. At Dan Hinton she wrote and had her students perform many Christmas productions and other productions that were performed at schools around the valley. She always did a fabulous job with these productions! They were enjoyed by all.

Yesterday Kanani and I (Lehua) were home with her while Malia, Leilani, and Kuliana ran to wal-mart. She woke up and was quite confused. Kanani was by her side at the moment and was trying to understand what mom needed. It was difficult to understand mom. I came down and we tried several things to settle her down. Nothing seemed to be working. I asked mom if she wanted to listen to some music. She agreed that might be nice. We found 2 tabernacle choir CDs, we chose the one with familiar hymns on it. As the CD started playing she instantly became relaxed. Before you know it mom started singing along with the Tabernacle Choir. Kelby, Kanani, and I sat mesmerized with tears running down our faces as mom sang with perfect pitch. She was harmonizing and sounded beautiful. Although she didn't make any sense a few minutes before she sang every word to "How Great Thou Art."

Dad walked in on the first song and we sent Kelby to find Marc on the second song. The second song was more upbeat. She started conducting the music and sang during the chorus. Music works wonders, it brought the spirit into the room so strongly.

Later that night we wanted to hear her sing again. We put the music on. She wanted to sing with Aunt Leora. We hurried and called her down. She was here within minutes. We gave mom a couple of choices of songs to sing. She chose "I Know that my Redeemer Lives" We pushed play and she started singing. By the middle of the song Aunt Leora was able to compose her self a little to be able to join in. It was such a spiritual experience.

We are having so many neat experiences with mom during these times. She has been saying some pretty funny things that we just laugh about and she apologizes for. She is quite blunt and still puts us in our place. She is very polite in her talking. . .she never fails to say please and thank-you, and always asks how we are doing. Her favorite phrase is "that is good". When Aunt Leora is around and is telling stories mom has to correct her and make sure she is telling the story right.

Thank-you everyone for all your love and support. For the food, your phone calls, your thoughts and concern, your visits, the cards, and especially for your prayers. Continue to pray, pray for dad that he can have strength and understanding. Thank-you all.

Where do I begin?

A lot has taken place these last couple of days. We aren't doing chemo. The order for Hospice has been placed. She has been waiting for the rest of her kids to get here so she can get the show on the road. She is anxious to leave to go back "home." She says all those who are waiting for her on the other side are getting impatient. . .tired of waiting. She knows her work here on earth is complete and wants to start her assignments on the other side.

She will be home Friday.

Thanks

My cousin Philis is a nurse. I want to thank her for all her help she has been at the hospital with mom. She hasn't been mom's nurse, but she checks up on her and puts in her words of concern to the doctor. She also has been a secret agent finding us out information from mom's charts! She has been there to answer questions and to explain what is going on to people on the phone. Overall we feel much better having her around! Thanks Philis :)

Acceptance.

Mom is in very poor condition. Since being admitted into the hospital 2 days ago she has become very weak. It has become very difficult for her to breath due to the liquid in the lining of her lungs. She is no longer a candidate for the enhanced chemo treatment. She is very unstable on her feet. She needs not only help getting out of bed, but also walking to the bathroom. Her health is deteriorating. Dad feels it is time to get some help in the home. Today Mom, Dad, Aunt Leora, Uncle Doug,Phyllis Jean and I were all there when the lady came to talk about home health care. They explained the options of home health care or hospice. What we go with is determined by if we do chemotherapy or not.

Home Health Care would include nurses coming into the home helping do whatever is needed. Hospice is similar, but the lady said the philosophies behind hospice are different than health care. It is a celebration of life. It's more of a spiritual care along with the physical. They focus on keeping their patients comfortable at home surrounded by loved ones and family.

So what are we going to do? Dad wants to start chemo and mom wants to do whatever dad wants to do. Us kids want to know if the chemo is going to prolong her life or just prolong the pain? Mom received steroids and then a chemo treatment. It was a very low dosage of chemo. Monday they will be able to evaluate her blood and see if the chemo is working. The doctor doesn't have a set schedule of chemo treatment, but is going to take it one week at a time.

Conclusion: For now we will go with the home health care when she is released from the hospital and while we see if the chemo is making a difference. If we decide the chemo is not working than we will do hospice.

Mom is at peace with this cancer. She has never been in denial or never been angry at getting cancer. She doesn't complain about the agonizing pain she is in. She has accepted her sickness and is prepared for whatever Heavenly Father has planned for her even if it's not what we want. It is now our turn to accept the Lord's will and prepare for what her future holds. May we all live our lives in harmony with the teachings of the gospel so that we too can be ready to meet our Savior.

Hospital again

Yesterday, Sunday, Mom was admitted to the hospital. She wasn't feeling quite right so Dad took her to the E.R. where they took x-rays. They said it looked like pneumonia. They admitted her right away. Later that afternoon Dr. Wright said it wasn't full out pneumonia, but they were going to treat it like it was. The radiologist is suppose to read the x-rays today and determine what it is for sure. I haven't heard back yet.

Mom had lots of visitors yesterday. Aunt Leora, Aunt Marja and Phyllis Jean were among them. If any of you want a good laugh just talk to my Aunt Leora. . .she is a crack up. We all love when she comes to visit. She always has a good story to tell! Kanani, Blain, and I also went. I (Lehua) don't have a built in babysitter like Kanani so Aaron stayed home with the kids. While we were there Dad said something that made us laugh, even mom. Dad was talking about how he was trying to get Mom a change of scenery. He tried helping her walk to the kitchen, but after a short distance she had to turn back around. Then he tried taking her for a car ride, but she wasn't up to it. He said he wondered where he would take her if they did go on a ride. Maybe to the cemetery he thought. . .uh no that wouldn't be a good idea. It was funny! Yesterday, in sacrament we learned that sometimes it is good to laugh when you have adversities. Indeed it did feel good to laugh. Another funny was when the nurse came in to give mom a shot of Levanox sp? (blood thinner). Before she gave it Dad asked what it was, she told him and he said I already gave her 100 mm of that this morning. She was instructed to give her 70 mm. 100 mm is all that she is suppose to get a day. After she left the room Dad said "see Norma good thing I'm here." Her reply was "I knew you were good for something!" I'm glad they can still joke around in such hard times.