Pocatello Dance Comp

On March 11th the girls had their Idaho State dance competition in Pocatello. Our studio was assigned a time slot and we came and danced back to back for the 5+ hours. It worked out fairly well other then going later then our assigned time and having to sometimes wait for costume changes. It was so good to be able to dance again! I LOVE watching these two girls dance! They did great at the competition. Laiklie came home with several high golds!! Wahoo!! Oakley only did her individual events and scored well, except the solo that she bombed! HAHAHA! We laughed and laughed at how bad she messed it up. Hilarious! Glad it was just our studio there to see it!:) Sure love these two girls! and.....Logan got a little taste of what a dance competition feels like. We are breaking him in slowly. 

 

Mom & Her Siblings

The day we signed mom up for hospice we knew it was important to let her siblings know about the sudden turn in her health. It took them a few days to get from Washington, California and Utah to get here, but they came! It was SO GOOD for mom to see them and spend several days with them visiting. They loved being together and had a lot of giggles. Just what mom needed! What a blessing family is! 

 

Being a Caretaker is HARD

 On the morning of March 8th I got a call from Jenny. She was the one out at mom and dads that day/night. Dad had a really rough night. Being the lone caretaker finally caught up to him and his body had become weak and shaky. Dad has hypoglycemia and has to be very careful to stay hydrated. Jenny thought he was able to drive himself towards town but wanted me to meet him and take him over to their family doctor for an IV.

Mom and dad have become very good friends with Dr. Harper over the years. As we met with him that morning to try to help dad feel better he said to dad, "Now Quinn, don't crap me! How are YOU doing?" Dad's response made us all cry. He said, "This is the HARDEST thing I've ever had to do." Watching cancer take his beautiful wife has been extreme for my dad. I was so grateful for a good doctor who loves my dad and shows it in more ways then just getting him the IV he needed that day. 

Finally a Better Day!

Mom was only on hospice just a couple days before we started to notice a huge difference. Tina (her nurse) put her on a water pill because her body had been retaining water. She was still so weak, but getting that water off her organs and out of her legs/ankles was making a HUGE difference. She started to feel not only stronger, but better. It was good for Travis and Cody especially to see improvement before they headed the long hours home. Yay for a good day! 

 

Another Rough Day

Dad called again the morning of March 4, 2021 and asked, "What next sis?" Mom was still so weak and he wasn't sure what he was suppose to do. He just couldn't do it alone. So we decided it was time for hospice. So heartbreaking to have to make that kind of decision, but we knew mom needed good care and we didn't know how to best provide it. Dad made the phone call to get her signed up and I sent the message out to my siblings. By a little miracle we were all able to drop what we were doing that day.....even the boys at work and Travis 6 hours away, and get home. Most of us were there as the hospice ladies explained the way things would work and helped mom sign the papers. It was a very blue day for all of us, but especially for mom. I remember hearing her say to dad, "I didn't want to die in March." So heartbreaking! It was a long day, but better because we were able to be together. We decided that day that dad wasn't going to be alone anymore, night or day. It was just too hard and too scary for both of them. Travis and Cody were able to stay the weekend with dad as they made all the adjustments needed to help mom be comfortable at home.  We were blessed to meet Tina (her nurse) and Brenda (her CNA) that day. What awesome ladies! We knew mom would be in good care! 

 

Rough Day

On the morning of March 2, 2021 I got a call from my dad. He was in tears....the kind of tears you can't breathe while you cry. He and mom had had a very scary night. She was weak enough in the night she couldn't get up after going to the bathroom. They struggled for a very, very long time in the bathroom trying to get her legs and arms strong enough to get her up. It really scared them. Dad thought it was time to take her to the hospital. I told him to call the cancer doctor to see which hospital to take her to and told him I would head out. Jenny and Nate were home and headed out too.

When we got there dad said the cancer doctor said to bring her to his office instead for an IV hoping that would help. So dad and Nate helped her get to the car. After we got her comfortable at the cancer center with Jenny, dad and I ran over to a medical supply store. We were able to get her a walker, a pull bar for the bathroom and a toilet extender. Dad was feeling SO MUCH better about life by the time we got her home that night. 

 

District Champs

It's always a great day to be a Bee! It's an even better day when you are DISTRICT CHAMPS!! So excited for Rhett and his team. They work SO HARD and deserve the chance to represent at state! Congrats kids! We are STATE BOUND!!