I've been thinking for some time about how fast Clive's life is going by, and our lives for that matter. I've decided to be more conscious about writing down events and special moments so that I can look back and remember them. I originally started this blog over a year ago, but never was motivated to post anything. Then my mother got sick, so I used it as an avenue to update family and friends on her status.
I miss her more than anything and I'm glad that I could write about her last days with us here. She was an amazing person with so much strength and courage. I am still amazed that she went through so much suffering and still remained so much at peace through it all. I know if I was in her situation, I would have fallen apart. I'm glad that I can look back and tell Clive and his brother what an amazing, Godly, grandmother they had.
So now this is going to be my space to share things that are going on in our lives. It's not necessarily meant to be our lives on display for everyone to see, but a chance to keep track and share the different things going on in our lives, especially our children's lives. I feel like i'm forgetting so many little things already, and I want to save some of those precious memories.
So I'm going to start with today. We went to the library this morning for our first story time. I wasn't sure what to expect when we got there and Clive doesn't like to sit still for long, so I was ready to be leaving if things didn't work out. I met a few of my friends who came with their children. The class mostly consisted of sing along songs with hand motions, they passed out instruments, and there was a short board book reading time. Clive was in and out of being interested in what was happening but he was interested in one thing. There was a small table nearby with some name tags and markers so I let him proceed to decorate a name tag while I wrote his name on it. He was having so much fun and would say "help" whenever he wanted to open a new marker. I started to become preoccupied with the songs while he was coloring and as soon as I glanced back at him, he had blue marker all over his face. I felt like a bad mother, especially considering I was right next to him "supervising". Oh well, my friend Laura gave me a baby wipe and it was gone in no time. We checked out three books. I'm hoping to get him acquainted to the library. I want him to learn to enjoy reading and I think if he becomes comfortable there, it will be a great place to go on days that we need to get out of the house.
As i said before, i've been thinking about how fast children grow up. I came across this poem and it made me think about enjoying whats important a little more because babies don't keep.
Mother, O' Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth.
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due,
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek - peekaboo.
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew,
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo.
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo.
The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow,
But children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
~ Ruth Hulbert Hamilton
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Into the arms of my Savior
Today at 12:36 pm Joanne McGuckin went home to be with the Lord. She died peacefully in her home surrounded by family. She was a loving mother of two daughters, a faithful wife, and the youngest of four siblings. She was an aunt, a sister, a daughter, a grandmother, a niece, and a friend to many people.
There will be a memorial service at Calvary Chapel North Phoenix on Saturday, January 29th at 10:00am.
14201 N. 32nd St.
Phoenix, AZ 85032
602-992-6922
Several people have asked if they can donate to help the family cover burial expenses. Please use the donate button below or make checks payable to:
Richard McGuckin
5126 E. Monte Cristo Ave.
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Thank you in advance for your contribution. Please give us time as we grieve this enormous loss. Thank you for your prayers.
There will be a memorial service at Calvary Chapel North Phoenix on Saturday, January 29th at 10:00am.
14201 N. 32nd St.
Phoenix, AZ 85032
602-992-6922
Several people have asked if they can donate to help the family cover burial expenses. Please use the donate button below or make checks payable to:
Richard McGuckin
5126 E. Monte Cristo Ave.
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Thank you in advance for your contribution. Please give us time as we grieve this enormous loss. Thank you for your prayers.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Respect
As you know, this has been a very difficult time for our family.
We have had many friends and family showing up at my parents home, with out calling first. We ask that you do not put us in such a position. I know you are well meaning, but we are not allowing visitors at this time. We will contact you if we need anything (ie: food, support). We appreciate your prayers from afar.
We need to spend time with my mother, holding her hand, praying with her, and enjoying the time that we have.
Thank you for understanding.
Audra
We have had many friends and family showing up at my parents home, with out calling first. We ask that you do not put us in such a position. I know you are well meaning, but we are not allowing visitors at this time. We will contact you if we need anything (ie: food, support). We appreciate your prayers from afar.
We need to spend time with my mother, holding her hand, praying with her, and enjoying the time that we have.
Thank you for understanding.
Audra
Friday, January 21, 2011
This doesn't seem real
The kidney doctor came in yesterday with not so good news. Mom's kidney's are functioning at about 5% and are steadily getting worse. This is not a good thing. This is due to her cancer which is spreading. We are truly devastated by this news, and spent most of the morning praying, crying, and hugging.
Her oncologist informed her that she is not a candidate for chemotherapy. We are all saddened by this news. I still can't believe this is happening as I write this.
We contacted hospice yesterday and today we spent most of the day, working out all the details. My mom wants to be at home so thats where we plan for her to be; surrounded by all of us, her pets, and a view of her beautiful backyard.
If you saw my mom, you wouldn't know she has a terminal illness. She had 26 people visit her at the hospital yesterday. She was enjoying being the center of attention. It was a wonderful time with lots of family around, talking, laughing, and just hanging out. If any of you know my mom, her favorite thing to do is hang around her family and friends, and just talk. Add in a cup of coffee and some biscotti, and her Italian blood is pumping.
Right now, she's just made it home. She's snug in her bed, getting to know her new nurse, and enjoying some time with Dad and I. She's so sweet. Her puppy Athena, whom she absolutely loves, is sitting on her lap asleep.
My mom has so much faith, and fight in her. Her body has been through so much in the last 6 months, and she's taking all of this so gracefully. I know she's scared of the future, as we all are, but she has always been a pillar of strength. Please pray that she would let us carry as much of this burden as we can. We want to be able to walk her through her fears of dying. There is so much grief wrapped up in all of this.
We ask that you please be praying for the following;
That her pain would be managed
That her anxiety and fears would be given over to the Lord
That we would all speak encouraging and supportive words to her
That we would have strength through this time of grief
We know we serve a loving God who walks with us through joys and trials. We are not alone in this.
In Jesus,
Audra
Her oncologist informed her that she is not a candidate for chemotherapy. We are all saddened by this news. I still can't believe this is happening as I write this.
We contacted hospice yesterday and today we spent most of the day, working out all the details. My mom wants to be at home so thats where we plan for her to be; surrounded by all of us, her pets, and a view of her beautiful backyard.
If you saw my mom, you wouldn't know she has a terminal illness. She had 26 people visit her at the hospital yesterday. She was enjoying being the center of attention. It was a wonderful time with lots of family around, talking, laughing, and just hanging out. If any of you know my mom, her favorite thing to do is hang around her family and friends, and just talk. Add in a cup of coffee and some biscotti, and her Italian blood is pumping.
Right now, she's just made it home. She's snug in her bed, getting to know her new nurse, and enjoying some time with Dad and I. She's so sweet. Her puppy Athena, whom she absolutely loves, is sitting on her lap asleep.
My mom has so much faith, and fight in her. Her body has been through so much in the last 6 months, and she's taking all of this so gracefully. I know she's scared of the future, as we all are, but she has always been a pillar of strength. Please pray that she would let us carry as much of this burden as we can. We want to be able to walk her through her fears of dying. There is so much grief wrapped up in all of this.
We ask that you please be praying for the following;
That her pain would be managed
That her anxiety and fears would be given over to the Lord
That we would all speak encouraging and supportive words to her
That we would have strength through this time of grief
We know we serve a loving God who walks with us through joys and trials. We are not alone in this.
In Jesus,
Audra
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Mom just had two rounds of lasiks ( a diuretic) to help eliminate the fluid building up all over her body. Her potassium level was over five yesterday. That is too high of a number, and they gave her something to make it go down. Praise God it's at a 4.7 and we'll find out more when she get's her labs drawn today.
We will update you on anything else when we know more.
Please pray for these things according to God's will:
Her kidney function would go back up
Her nausea would subside
Her eliminations would return to normal
Her anxiety would subside
Her kidney's would function so she can start chemotherapy
I know a few of you have asked if you can give financially. I've placed a donate button at the bottom of the page. You have to have a paypal account to give money this way. If you have any questions or concerns about that, please feel free to e-mail me. The money will be distributed to me and I will give it directly to my parents. If you want to give without using this button please contact me at audra.garbinski@gmail.com and we can work something out.
Thank you for all your support and prayers.
With love,
Audra
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Update on Joanne McGuckin
Hello Everyone,
Here is the first post of a Blog I've created in honor of my mom, Joanne McGuckin. I've always wanted to start a blog, but I guess I was hoping it would be under different circumstances. We've used caring bridge in the past to update you on the events going on with my mom, but we feels that this will be a better way to communicate with you all. Please feel free to reply to these posts, and I will do my best to keep everyone updated on the latest.
As most of you know , mom's cancer has aggressively spread and is now in the 4th stage. This came as a big shock to all of us. Just to give you a bit of perspective, every cancer is staged differently and Adrenal Cortical Cancer (ACC) only has 4 stages.
Adrenal Cancer is rare. It affects one patient per 1 million in the population worldwide. If you happen to Google this disease you will not find promising outcomes or much hope. The best site I have found to answer my questions is the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org.
Mom went into the E.R. Sunday night with strong abdominal pains and was admitted shortly after. She is extremely uncomfortable and has a hard time resting and sleeping due to the pain in her abdomen. She is also having shoulder pain, which we think is related to muscle tightness. We met with the chemotherapy nurse this morning and found out that Mom is having a problem with her kidneys. In order to administer the chemotherapy, her kidneys need to be functioning properly. The renal (kidney) doctor is trying to get her kidneys up and running but things are not looking good.
I know many of you have asked how you can help. We truly believe that God is in control of this situation and we ask that you would pray that mom’s kidneys would heal so that she can get this chemotherapy. We’ve all been praying for God’s will in this situation because we know He knows what’s best for her body. He created it.
I know many of you want to see her, and at this time, I think she wants visitors. If that changes, I will let you know, but before you decide to visit her, please keep these things below in mind.
1. Most of her doctor’s see her in the mornings so we ask that you don’t come until the afternoon or evenings.
2. If she is resting or sleeping please do not disturb her. She is very weak and she NEEDS every bit of rest that she can get.
3. Please don’t require conversations with her. Just being next to her and maybe holding her hand is all she needs.
4. Please be respectful of our family and wait for us to update you on all that is going on. This is an extremely difficult time for us, and although text messages, and phone calls are meant only out of love and concern, please keep in mind that we have too many people wanting to know what is going on right now.
Mom is having a hard time eating solid foods; so if you feel inclined to do so, pick up a jamba juice gift card for her if you think of it. We will update you with more information as soon as we have it.
Blessing,
Audra
Here is the first post of a Blog I've created in honor of my mom, Joanne McGuckin. I've always wanted to start a blog, but I guess I was hoping it would be under different circumstances. We've used caring bridge in the past to update you on the events going on with my mom, but we feels that this will be a better way to communicate with you all. Please feel free to reply to these posts, and I will do my best to keep everyone updated on the latest.
As most of you know , mom's cancer has aggressively spread and is now in the 4th stage. This came as a big shock to all of us. Just to give you a bit of perspective, every cancer is staged differently and Adrenal Cortical Cancer (ACC) only has 4 stages.
Adrenal Cancer is rare. It affects one patient per 1 million in the population worldwide. If you happen to Google this disease you will not find promising outcomes or much hope. The best site I have found to answer my questions is the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org.
Mom went into the E.R. Sunday night with strong abdominal pains and was admitted shortly after. She is extremely uncomfortable and has a hard time resting and sleeping due to the pain in her abdomen. She is also having shoulder pain, which we think is related to muscle tightness. We met with the chemotherapy nurse this morning and found out that Mom is having a problem with her kidneys. In order to administer the chemotherapy, her kidneys need to be functioning properly. The renal (kidney) doctor is trying to get her kidneys up and running but things are not looking good.
I know many of you have asked how you can help. We truly believe that God is in control of this situation and we ask that you would pray that mom’s kidneys would heal so that she can get this chemotherapy. We’ve all been praying for God’s will in this situation because we know He knows what’s best for her body. He created it.
I know many of you want to see her, and at this time, I think she wants visitors. If that changes, I will let you know, but before you decide to visit her, please keep these things below in mind.
1. Most of her doctor’s see her in the mornings so we ask that you don’t come until the afternoon or evenings.
2. If she is resting or sleeping please do not disturb her. She is very weak and she NEEDS every bit of rest that she can get.
3. Please don’t require conversations with her. Just being next to her and maybe holding her hand is all she needs.
4. Please be respectful of our family and wait for us to update you on all that is going on. This is an extremely difficult time for us, and although text messages, and phone calls are meant only out of love and concern, please keep in mind that we have too many people wanting to know what is going on right now.
Mom is having a hard time eating solid foods; so if you feel inclined to do so, pick up a jamba juice gift card for her if you think of it. We will update you with more information as soon as we have it.
Blessing,
Audra
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