memorial of 
    jacquEline fernandes

 

On Saturday September 6th, 12:00pm with son (Jay) and daughter (Kathy) holding her hand, and with no discomfort, she peacefully passed away.  See ceremony leaflet below.

 

Update 9/6/2014   12:00pm,  Passing Away

On Thursday 9/4/2014 7:00am morning she woke up with severe breathing distress.  Immediately 911 was called and she was admitted to Overlake Hospital Emergency Room. At this point her lungs were filled with infected material and nothing could be done to heal her while respecting her DNR.   She was then brought to Evergreen Hospice Care Center in Kirkland Washington where all family members spent many hours watching over her day and night.  She remained sleeping throughout her stay up to her passing.

6/13/2014  Hospice care begins

Hospice has been engaged and visiting Mom at the house twice weekly.  There engagement is NOT because she is showing life threatening symptoms but she is experiencing symptoms that are causing her great discomfort.  To combat these symptoms she is on a blend of prescriptions that is helping her be more comfortable.

5/15/2014  The dreaded meeting

What we learned; She has a soft tissue mass in her left lung.  It is right up against the wall of her lung and very close to her heart.  It is about 1.6" x 2" in size.  There doesn't appear to be cancer tissue in other parts of her body that they can see from the tests they have performed.

What will be the effect?  So far she doesn't appear to be feeling any great discomfort at this point. However, we were informed that she could begin to experience mild discomfort in about 3 - 6 months. From that point on her health would likely get worse shortly after. However it has been diagnosed as a slow growth tissue and her symptoms would likely not be severe for some time   The preliminary symptoms she could experience are  A) Shortness of breath,  B) Chest pain, C) Coughing,  D) Weight loss.  The life threatening symptoms will follow.

Future:  Her future is hard to determine at this time but when she begins experiencing symptoms the doctors will have more details to determine exactly how this will impact her quality of life and her Life Time Line.  To date here are her treatment options: 

1) Surgery; is an option but not a good one due to the location of the mass and her current health status. The doctor stated the complications of location and her current health status would make it a very risky option. 

2) Radiation; is a better option than surgery but due to its size it may make her quality of life worse.  This is because it would not remove the mass but only slow its growth. However the side effects could cause a lot of pain and discomfort and thus greatly lower her quality of life.  

3)  Medication; The final test analysis will be on Friday 5/16 there may be a medical treatment.  Update 5/23 3:30pm: the final results found that her cancer is not the type that can be treated with medication.

4) Do nothing:  with this option we simply do everything we can to help her feel comfortable and help add joy to her life while she is still with us.  As of this writing the doctors don't see her life time line going beyond 1 year - 2 years.

What will the family do? We have had some basic discussion on our Mothers long term living arrangements but haven't had to make a decision.  However, this new event will force us to begin to make some decisions and her treatment options will play a vital part.  Throughout this event in her life she will be closely watched by her family, her family doctor, and her oncologist. We will do everything we can to ensure our mom has a joyful life through these times.

5/8/2014 The  Biopsy

Update 5/9;  Everything went OK.  No problems or severe pain.  Ken (her other son) and Judy (his wife) spent most of the day in the recovery room helping Mom feel comfortable and safe. She is back home resting. They stayed the night at the house to spend more time with her and to help me with house chores.  It is good to have family.

4/21/2014;     It started with a fall

It all started with my Mom being admitted to the Overlake Medical Center emergency center for severe pain due to a fall.  Various X-rays and CT Scans was done on her lower and upper back to help diagnose the problem.  Fortunately nothing urgent was found and the treatment advice was to rest and use a walker to walk as much as possible. At her age such falls can take time to heal.

However, during the visit the doctors found a lump in her lung and was concerned.  Jackie was assigned to a Hematology and Oncology doctor which suggested to perform a 2nd CT Scan  to focus on the lung mass.  However, my mom was in severe back pain and crying.  She was asking me to take her home so I decided to get her home and schedule the scan in a few weeks when she was in less pain.

I emailed my family members of the event which helped me because they quickly responded with supportive discussions.  It was good to see that my family was circling the  wagons around our mother.

Note: Don't hesitate to leave a comment or contact me or any other family member if you have any questions, concerns, or simply want to share your experiences with similar FAMILY LIFE CHANGING EVENTS.

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  Here is Jackie's leaflet handed out during her ceremony