4/14/14 Today the roommates and I took a drive to eastern mass for a workshop and found ourselves with hours to spare upon our arrival. As we followed the GPS to our destination Ashley noticed a sprawling cemetery that surrounded us on either side of the road and suggested we take a walk through to kill… Continue reading A chance encounter
Re-blogging from the Courageous Parents Network. http://courageousparentsnetwork.org/post-4-this-is-not-a-choice-we-need-to-fund-medical-research-and-palliative-care/ By Blyth and Kerri We are both moms who have parented and loved children who have died from pediatric illness. One child died from a brain tumor that did not respond to multiple therapies and one child died from a genetic illness for which there was no treatment… Continue reading Medical Research and Palliative Care
A few months after Kai died I was invited to a round table discussion for parents of terminally ill children, hosted by the Pediatric Palliative Care program we were involved with. I was not exactly sure what this meeting would entail but I jump at any chance to talk about Kai, even if the focus… Continue reading Couragous Parents Network
Several months ago I was asked to write a short piece for the Parent column for the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Hospice and Palliative Medicine. I jumped at the opportunity but I hadn’t been writing much and was actually in a pretty bad place at the time and for weeks I struggled with what to… Continue reading Published: American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Hospice and Palliative Medicine
The bitter cold finally settled in over Massachusetts this week. I really don’t care for the cold but the past few weeks of mild winter weather were starting to get to me. All I could think was This time last year the world was frozen. This time last year I was in a daze. I was… Continue reading Getting out of bed
This is the story of Kai’s death. I wrote it the day after he died and thought about posting it many times before today but was just not ready. Today, a year later, I want to share the last moments I spend with him. Kai’s departure from this world was as labored and long… Continue reading the last breath
{ Chateau Frontenac – Quebec City } After an overnight pit stop in VT (due to weather) we made it to Quebec City. Our Hotel is absolutely beautiful, a giant old Chateau right in the heart of the old city. The entire place is decked out with tasteful holiday decor, soft warm light, complimentary hot… Continue reading travel log: Canada
Kai’s service was pretty amazing. While it was short notice, I am happy we were able to hold it on Friday so Marks mom and sister could be there with us. I was comforted by the many people who came to hold us up and honor Kai. People I had not seen in years. People… Continue reading Kai’s Service
This morning we had about 5 minutes of open eyes. His hands were cold and his fingers were blue yet his breaths and heart were steady. By midmorning his head was feeling warm to me and I noticed the color came back into his hands and feet. We decided to do some suctioning to try… Continue reading Saturday -fever
***monday Today was totally nonstop! We went from doing fairly well this morning to being rushed into a string of tests and procedures and surgery the rest of the day. After Kai’s morning meds his blood pressure began to drop. I wasn’t too worried about this as he is on some pretty heavy pain meds… Continue reading Tests, tests and more tests
Keikikai 