Salute Jeanette

Last night I got a phone call from a neighbor about my downstairs neighbor who is terminally ill. It's the cancer you know. It's affecting her liver. Tomorrow she'll be hospitalized in a so called hospice. She is at the end of her life. 13 Months after the final operation to remove the tumor she trows the towel. It's busy in her house, people come and go. Care isn't garantueed during the x-mas long holiday weekend. She fell in her house and is a little scared.

So, at noon tomorrow she will driven in an ambulance to the house where she will receive the attention and care she needs. It will be very emotional for her. It will probably her in her final descent in the house she lived in for more than 30 years. A descent on a stretcher, not even walking.

Salute Jeanette, you're a brave lady. Hopefully you don't suffer and have a fine X-mas and New Year's eve.

Hopefully everyone is okay

Since November/December 07 I didn't write about my downstairs-neighbor. She'd a huge tumor in her oesophagus. The surgeons removed her oesophagus and due to complications she literally lost her voice. She could only whisper. In the weeks after she had to recover by gaining weight. But how? She cannot eat like we do. Her stomach is used for a new oesophagus so food was nothing more than bouillon or a very light soup. The intestines couldn't bear the food. But now she's improving however still fears the dumping-syndrome. She doesn't gain weight so the doctors fear that her body might affect her muscles. She must gain weight by eating and not using energy. (no walking, no household, keeping temperature in the house comfortable, try to eat every hour some bouillon)

At work I asked a colleague of mine who dealt with my neighbors case if he heard something about her new application to get some extra support for several weeks.

A few hours later this colleague told my roommates and me the terrifying news that he has a tumor in his head and possibly cancer in his liver. Last week he had a MRI-scan which made that obvious.

Hopefully everybody else I know is fine...