Friday, November 21, 2008

The funeral will not be broadcast over the internet. Grant Funeral Home has apologized for the
inconvenience.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Phil is walking and talking again!!!! He's with Jesus and his Mom and Dad, both of whom he's been missing for a long time. He left us at 11:50 this morning. Before he left, he opened his eyes
sooo wide as though he was seeing something wonderful. I only wish I could have seen what he was seeing.

Visitation will be 5:00 to 8:00 PM Friday evening at Grant's Funeral Home in Estill Springs. It's located on Hwy 41-A between Winchester and Estill Springs (just outside of Estill Springs). The
funeral will be Saturday morning at 10:00 AM at the funeral home with burial in Willow Brook Cemetery in Shelbyville. I will post details about the service on the internet when I receive them.

Donations may be given to The Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation
2410 Patterson St
Suite 110
Nashville, TN 37203

or to any other cancer foundation.

This isn't the end of Phil's Page, he's starting a brand new book today. And he has instructions from me to make sure God has cats in heaven.

The Lord is MY Shepard
I SHALL NOT want.

Thank you Lord, for this wonderful man of yours who has touched so many lives and blessed so many people. Take good care of him for us because we really love him a lot.
We've had a quiet night, Phil hasn't awakened again since we first got home. Respirations are fairly regular and unlabored. So good to be home.

Phillip, Micah and Missy (his girlfriend) and Christy are all here. Blessings.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

WE ARE HOME!!!!!! After posting the last blog message I said to my friend Cindy, " I just wish we could go home". And she told me to just do it and that's what I did. I'd been so afraid we wouldn't be able to make it home, but hanging around the hospital so long made it worth the gamble. I called Dr. Gammada myself on his personal cell phone (a number Phil has) and then apologized to our nurse, because I get really furious when MY patients call the doctor themselves. Then I told her we were leaving right away, not waiting for any details to be taken care of. Christy took care of getting an ambulance quickly because I was threatening to load Phil in the back of Christy's SUV. We got home quickly and safely and Phil came to life and kissed me about 20 times, hugged the boys,
and insisted on getting up, so we put him in his wheel chair for awhile. It's so great to be home!
Our Hospice nurse has just been here, so we're safely set up with them again. Phil is in a hospital bed and is peacefully sleeping at this time. Whew! What a day.

The picture above was taken in Dickson Sunday. We thought we were on the road to several good months. What a difference a day can make.
I had a moment of sanity and came out to the nurse's station to post an update. It's great to be here in the hospital (though I'd so much rather not be in the hospital), but because I've worked here so long, EVERYONE is a friend and they've been so great. And I'm at home here, and take advantage of using whatever I need.

Phil is hanging on. Christy and I just bathed him and when I came out, Phillip was holding him up in a sitting position because that's how he'd like to be (with his legs folded up under him as always). He opens his eyes occasionally and recognizes us, but can't keep them open long. He's very comfortable, smiles as soon as he opens his eyes.

I don't know what else to say. My heart is broken. For those of you who live away, I wanted to tell you that the funeral will be on the internet. I don't know how that works, but we'll send details later after we get details from the funeral home.

We had such a wonderful weekend, I was anxious to write about it Sunday night, but never got to the computer. We went to Dickson Saturday, had lunch with Dad and Joyce, then spent the night at Montgomery Bell State Park. It was cold, but we enjoyed being there so much. The inn is right on the lake, coming in there were wild turkeys across the road, and we watched ducks fly over and land on the lake later. Phil was so happy. He just kept saying, "This is so beautiful, I'm so glad we came here". The inn has a great restaurant, and Phil suggested we eat, then take a nap, then eat, then take a nap...... Our room was so quiet and peaceful with a great view of the lake, it was just perfect. Sunday morning we went to the Dickson CP Church with Dad and Joyce and my sister-in-lay Vicki. Enjoyed being there again. Then we all had a great lunch and we drove home. Phil never complained of feeling badly until we were home, he ate well and was so happy. I'm so thankful we had that time.

The doctor thinks the tumor has grown into the respiratory area of his brain, we started with pneumonia but just kept going downhill. Our beloved Dr. Gammada is with us again now that we're back at our "home" hospital. He loves Phil also.

I know lots of prayers are going out for us. I've always told Phil he has more friends than anyone I know. More later, Phil's Page is close to the end, but not quite finished yet. My love to you......

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Pa is slipping away very peacefully.............Christy
Pa is not good. He's gone downhill very quickly. He's not waking up. Micah is here and we are calling the rest of the family............Christy