Kathleen Brown Obituary, Dayton, OR | Obituaries | Macy & Son Funeral Directors, McMinnville, Oregon

Kathleen Brown Obituary, Dayton, OR | Obituaries | Macy & Son Funeral Directors, McMinnville, Oregon

Easter Sunday

Yesterday morning the kids woke up to a yard full of suprises left by the Easter Bunny, aka, Kathy Krake and my amazing nephew Jake. It was a very kind gesture and brightened the little one's day. While Kami, Aunt Carrie, Anthony, Stephanie and Nick took Grandma to church, I stayed with Mom. Since she wasn't able to go to church I read to her from her bible. Luke and John, specificly Jesus' resurrection. I then played one of her favorite songs from a Bill Gaither CD. She seemed to enjoy it, relaxing her brow as I spoke of the empty tomb. Kami worked hard in the kitchen and made us a wonderful Easter dinner. At times, while we ate, talked and laughed, I thought of my Mom. Even though she was in the other room sleeping I felt her absence. It was hard but I knew she'd want me to have fun and celebrate. Since she was diagnosed with cancer her main concern was not herself, it was all of us. This experience is definitely bringing us closer as a family, bonding us in such an intimate way. Its nice to be able to find something positive from a difficult situation.

Another day...

Yesterday we had a good day as a family hanging out watching X Files, we kept going through trying to find Mom's favorite ones. Its nice to have family, to have stories, to share laughter. As hard as this experience is, it would be much worse if we didn't have each other. At times, this house is utter chaos...all the dogs, kids, people, laundry and dishes but we all just work together with some help from very good friends. I'm sure Mom enjoys hearing everything. Enjoys, at any moment, having one of us wander in just to hold her hand, kiss her forehead or say how much we love her. She sleeps most of the day and seems to be comfortable which is our main concern. Mornings and evenings are when she's the most responsive, so we tend to linger, holding on to these moments. This is such an odd experience emotionally. My grief, along with everyone else's is very deep. I'm constantly processing what's happening and although its hard I'm so glad I'm here, taking care of her. After all my Mom has done for me, its the least I can do for her. Again, I'd like to thank everyone. The visits, food, prayers...we appreciate everything and I know Mom does as well.

Update

Every time I've spoken with someone about how we are doing as a family my answer is, we're coping. Its all we can do. Its not easy to see Mom go through this, its a constant struggle. My mind keeps traveling back to all the many memories I have with her. Going to work at OMI after school, hanging out with her and Kelly, watching the X Files together, having her tickle my back to sleep, our many trips to the coast to hunt for rocks and all of the great times we've had since Maggie and Garrett have come along. I feel blessed to have all these memories and I'm sad there will come a time very soon when all I will have of Mom are memories. She's been sleeping a lot lately. Not really able to say more than a few words at a time. Every time I go in her room I tell her I love her and each time she tells me she loves me too, I love being able to hear it. We're still having visitors come, even though Mom's very weak and not alert, she recognizes when someone's here. I'd like to thank all who have been able to visit or have offered to help us out, we truly appreciate it. As always, please continue to pray for Mom and our family. Thank you all so much.

Mom's fight...

I hate to share this news after my last update but this is what cancer is all about…ups and downs, it's a fight. Mom had a day or two of feeling a touch better before she started experiencing more pain as well as nausea and vomiting. A trip to the ER confirmed that the cancer in her liver had progressed and her gallbladder was obstructed. Today Kami took Mom to her appointment at the Cancer Center where Dr. O'Brien confirmed that in the last three weeks all of the tumors had doubled in size once again. Unfortunately chemotherapy is no longer an option and today hospice will take over Mom's care at home, making her as comfortable as possible. At this point she has 4-6 weeks left. This, of course, is extremely difficult for us. Even in the face of it being terminal, we thought we had more time. If anyone would like to see Mom before she passes please do so, we know how much she means to all of her many friends and what you all mean to her. I ask that you just call the house first and talk with one of us, (503) 864-3531. I also want to say, never take anyone for granted. Make each day count. It seems cliche to say that but you never really know how much time you have left with your loved ones. I never thought I'd lose my Mom this young. I thought I'd have grandkids of my own. She has always meant the world to me, to our entire family. She has always been there for us, fought for us, loved us. Please continue to pray for Mom, that she can be comfortable and at peace. Pray for our family especially for Carter and Maggie and again, please don't be afraid to visit. Thanks again, we appreciate all of you just as Mom does.

Progress Report

Since being discharged from the hospital a little over 2 weeks ago Mom has continued to improve. She's had 3 chemo appointments now, they are every Friday, and yesterday she called to say that for the first time in over a month, the pain she's been experiencing in her ribs is almost gone. This is great news because it means she's not having to take all the pain medication and that the tumors must be shrinking. Her mental health has improved which I think has a great deal to do with all of the prayers and well wishes from her many good friends and family. I'd like to thank all of you for loving my mother so much as I know all of you are aware she deserves it. She truly is the most amazing and selfless woman I know and I am so blessed that she's mine. Right now Kami, Nathan and Axl are in Utah finishing up some things and will be heading back to Oregon Tuesday or Wednesday. Aunt Carrie, who we are so thankful to have, is staying in Dayton with Mom and Carter is in Newport with me. He and Maggie, whether they'd admit it or not, have been having a blast. I will continue updating everyone as often as I can and again, thank you for caring. ~Wendy

Small Update...

Mom was able to go home today! She called me and I must say, it was so nice to talk with her...which I hadn't done since Tuesday afternoon. She sounded well and was very happy to be home in her own bed. She's still experiencing pain due to what Dr. O'Brien believes are the tumors pressing against the rib cage but if she lays down she's alright. Tomorrow she will begin chemo again, Dr. O'Brien wants to start shrinking those tumors so that Mom's pain will go away. Again, I ask that you all keep praying for her and our family and I will keep everyone updated as often as possible.
~Wendy

It's been a while...

Hello everyone, I’ll start by apologizing for the lack of updates. Kami (this is Wendy) has been very busy and a lot has happened over the past few months. After Mom finished her first 6 rounds of chemo her scan showed that the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes of her spleen. With this discovery came the news we really didn’t want to hear, the cancer is terminal. Some know this and some may not. With that, surgery is no longer in the cards so we continued with chemo. My Mom did amazingly well throughout her treatment, however, she did suffer some pain due to an ulcer caused by one of the chemo drugs that they eventually stopped giving her and she also had neuropathy of the hands and feet which she still has now although not as bad. She made it through 6 more rounds of chemo amazingly well but not long after she started experiencing some pain in her chest. Luckily her Oncologist is very proactive and had Mom go to the ER where they discovered she had blood clots in her lungs. She was admitted to the hospital the weekend of February 22nd where they began treatment and after a couple days she was able to go home. A couple weeks later she was still experiencing pain in her chest so during one of her regular scans her P.C. had them check for clots once again, the test came back negative so it was assumed that she was just experiencing residual pain from the original clots. By this time the pain was so severe that her pain medication dose was increased per her request so that she could make it to her niece Stephanie’s wedding, which was this past Saturday. She was able to watch 3 of her grandchildren (Jake, Carter and Maggie) walk down the aisle as well as her 2 beautiful nieces Stephanie and Emily. It was a great weekend for all of us especially since we now realize how precious each moment we have together is. Most of the weekend Mom was pretty tired and still experiencing pain but by Sunday she couldn’t walk on her own, was extremely pale and barely able to talk. This, of course, worried all of us so Kami drove Mom back home and stopped off at the ER in McMinnville just in case. There we learned that Mom was over medicated as well as dehydrated and had high pro time levels (which meant that her once thick blood was too thin). The Doctor then read her latest scan, which revealed some bad news concerning the cancer. The tumors in her liver and lungs have doubled in size and all of the pain she’s been experiencing is related to them pressing against nerves. We really didn’t want to hear this and after such a joyous weekend we were all in a state of great sadness. Monday morning Mom’s color was back and she was up talking with us, which was so nice after the scare we had Sunday. In the afternoon Dr. O’Brien came to see Mom and discussed a new round of chemo treatment with different drugs of which she will hopefully begin by the end of the week. She also started Mom on a new pain regimen and some vitamin k to bring her pro time back down. This morning she looked even better, was continuing to eat well, gain more strength and had a normal pro time. With this new round of chemo she will definitely lose her hair but she shouldn’t experience any neuropathy or ulcers. Even during hard times we still experience lots of love and laughter in our family. While Mom was out of it Sunday night Kami fed her mashed potatoes and applesauce…together…on the same spoon, in the same bite. Anyone who knows my Mom knows how crazy she is about her food being mixed or touching so when Kami told her about this Monday morning she was so disgusted of which we found very funny. Carter, all on his own, found a bandaid and when he went to see his Nana Sunday evening he placed it on her bed to make her all better. There is no better medicine then the love of a child and Mom is blessed with 5 beautiful grandchildren who all love her very much. Some more healing came in the form of Garrett learning a new word, “Nana” of which he hollered out as he strained to get to her. The joy on her face was so refreshing to see. I also failed to mention before that Nathan, Kami and the boys have moved back to Oregon for a while. I am so thankful for them and their commitment to Mom and our time as a family. Our focus now is to make as many memories as we can. I ask that everyone keep Mom in your prayers as she continues her journey and I thank all of you for caring so much about her. She is such a special person and we are all so lucky to have her. ~Wendy