Video Posted

The Celebration of Life on 23 November was beautiful. Thank you to everyone that came - we had about 70 people at the celebration, including friends and family from Virginia and New York.

The place looked absolutely beautiful, thanks to our event host at the Glen Lakes Country Club. She hooked us up with the most spectacular flowers and bling! Aunt Joyce made a beautiful memory book "Big Sister" that was filled with old photos and memories. It was absolutely stunning. She also brought some school photos that we put out with the album and some gorgeous red roses that Bill brought to the celebration.

My sisters and I did a "top ten" list of mom's quirks, and we ended the ceremony with a beautiful video slideshow. We posted the slideshow to youtube. The slideshow originally contained the "Love Grows" video by Edison Lighthouse (also on youtube) - it came in after the "Celebration of Life" words. The video was too long for youtube, so we had to leave that part out. You'll also need to forgive the resolution - when you post to youtube, you don't have the quality of the original.

Here it is, for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLTyZedWAak

Enjoy! Have a great Thanksgiving.

A Celebration of Life

There will be two ceremonies to honor mom's life. One will take place this Sunday, November 23, 2008, here in Florida. The other will take place on July 4th, 2009, in New York.

The Celebration in Florida will be a light-hearted tribute to mom, followed by an elegant brunch. Details follow.

The Celebration in New York will be a traditional 4th of July picnic, followed by a fireworks display by Grucci. This was mom's request....to celebrate her birthday and her life. Details are still being worked; we will post the information over the course of the next month as they are being worked so that families can make plans to attend.

The 'Celebration of Life' will take place at the Glen Lakes Country Club in Weeki Wachee on November 23, 2008.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Hernando Pasco Hospice at the following address:

Hernando-Pasco Hospice
Donations Department
12107 Majestic Blvd
Hudson, FL 34667
or via the internet at: http://www.donatetohph.com/donations/

Please include a note requesting that the donations be used for nurse training in honor of RoseMary Saposnick.

Cards can be sent to our family at the following address:

The Saposnick Residence
New Port Richey, FL 34655

Thank you again for all of your prayers and caring support during this difficult time.

Gina
Toni
Dina

Final Good-bye

Mommy found peace at 9:22 am this morning. We were with her. Bill brought over a rose this morning....from a rose bush that Bill planted for mom. A perfect rose blossomed this morning and Bill brought it to mom. We took a picture of the rose before we gave it to mom. After we said our good-byes, we glanced out the door, and we saw two angels on the lawn, waiting to escort mom home. I guess in Florida, the stork brings you, and the Sandhill cranes carry you home.

If You Pray....

Say an extra prayer for mom...she has experienced a lot these past few days. If you do not pray, light a candle....for peace and comfort for mom.

Achievements

We have two achievements to report:

First Achievement: On Tuesday, November 11th, Trystan (Toni and Jim's son) had his first game of the Springstead High School soccer season. Trystan is one of the captains of the JV soccer team. His team won the game against Ridgewood High School with a score of 5-0. The 5 goals were all scored by 5 different players - one of them Trystan! Way to go Springstead Soccer Eagles.

Second Achievement: The tadpoles have legs! I have attached a pic of what they are looking like. There are 6 in the tank.

Stolen Moments

I wrote the following yesterday in my journal...it's a capsule of the past few days. Today was quiet, mom slept quite a bit, and is very agitated...her anxiety meds weren't given for very long period yesterday, and it caught up with her today. Mom's vitals are still doing OK...but she's slipping more every day. The nurses are adjusting the dosages, she should be back to a more "at peace" mom tomorrow. What I wrote yesterday:

Mom is sleeping right now and I'm sitting bedside writing this. We have mom's favorite CDs playing very softly right now, Frank Sinatra is singing "One for My Baby"....and every lyric to every happy and sad love song that comes on that CD player applies. The tears are just streaming down my face...she looks so peaceful right now......

I'd like to share with you the few stolen moments we've had with mom in the past few days.

* Mom smiled big when Bill came in to the room. I said to her, "Mom, you know when Bill comes into the room, don't you? He smells soooo good, you can smell him, right?" Mom said "stinky"

* Michael and Carol (my step-brother and his wife) came in and Michael was sharing with mom about a dance he had with her years ago....mom remembered that dance and started humming the tune.

* When Carol, Michael & Lily (their beautiful daughter) were in the room with mom this morning, Lily gave mom a hug and then mom even asked for one more. When Carol leaned in for her hug, mom said to her " you were so scared when she was in the bassinet".....when Michael leaned in for a hug, she whispered, "you were so scared to be a mother" to which he replied, "Yeah, but I got the sex part wrong"....and she laughed.

* This morning when Aunt Charlene and I came in to the room, she said "I love you"....

* When Aunt Joyce went in this morning with Dina, she kissed mom and mom said "you're a good kisser". Joyce said "well, I'll have to give you more kisses then"....afterwords, mom said, "they felt good from 'here to here', pointing at her mouth and her belly. *smile* Joyce came out and said, "I think she thought I was Bill".....

* The teachers will enjoy this. Last night, mom was having a lucid moment, so the nurse called me to the room. There were a few of us in there. I sat down next to mom and held her hand. She was talking in a fairly normal tone (she's been whispering a lot lately) and she said, "Gina....I had the weirdest dream.......what is happening to me? I went out...I left the house..." (there are times that you can ask questions when someone is in this state and times when you shouldn't...but since she addressed me specifically, I asked questions. We were all in anticipation of an 'other world' experience mom may have had.) I asked her, "where did you go mom?" She said "I went out. I went to school." I said, "cool beans". In her best sarcastic tone, she said, "what cool beans, what's so cool about it?"......I asked if there were people there. She said "yeah". She was confused, so I asked her if Eltonia was there, she said 'yeah'......she said that she got up, got dressed and went out. I asked her if she drove the Jaguar. She said 'yeah'.....I said, "how did it look?"...she said "shiny" and she started drifting..... So...if it was an "other world" experience, it seems like teachers will always be working and teaching, even in the afterlife. *smile*

*Toni and I went into the room...Bill was already in there, playing his Randy Travis CD...the song, "Forever and Ever, Amen" was playing. Mom had her eyes closed, we were all softly singing the song to her.....

* OK..to lighten up the mood a little....Courtney is an angel. Courtney is Bill's daughter, whom mom loves very much. We had all met Courtney, but didn't really get to know her the way mom did until October 1st, when mom was first diagnosed. We are so glad to have another sister in the family. Courtney felt that we all needed a laugh, so she took the pictures from the blog and sent the following two links. Courtney is the one with the very dark hair...the others at the link are me, Toni (no bangs), and Dina (bangs). Samantha is the addition (she has dimples) in the second link. Today is Courtney's birthday - happy birthday kiddo! We love you!

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/7GJGsUvv3zdmyr2F

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/NZQsHVVlQhojp3Ia

Flowers and Pajamas

Another beautiful red and white bouquet came about a week ago, they seem to be the 'everlasting' flowers...they are as fresh as the day that they came....and they are in mom's room right now, in her view....we knew that she would love them because they match her decor....again, one of those 'if you knew my mom stories'....

The nightgowns are beautful. Mom's was wearing one when her brother Louie visited the other day, she threw a yellow sweater/bed jacket over it, threw on the Versace glasses, and she looked and felt great.

For Mom's Comfort

Thank you all for your well wishes and support, but this is now a time for immediate family only. We now have full time hospice care and mom requested immediate family only when she got to this point.

Mom is "here" about 15% of the day, and we are taking advantage of every moment. She is pain free. This morning mom was looking right at me (Gina) and whispered something about the ugly woman. This delighted my sister Dina. One of the few beautiful, light moments that we are sharing.

We will continue to keep you posted on her status.

A Final Stage of Living - Traveling

Mom is slipping away from us. At 2:30 am she was 'unconscious talking' with Dina and she was talking about traveling and not finding the road. In the early afternoon she was semi-conscious asking me where she had to go. She had to go somewhere, and she couldn't remember where. She was talking to and about a few people who are no longer with us. There were moments of stress and moments of concentration. There was even some whisper-talk about frogs escaping. She was surrounded tonight by friends and family who love her. Tonight she is sleeping peacefully. Hospice will be coming first thing tomorrow for an evaluation for full time care. We are feeling all of your warmth and well wishes.

Thank you, thank you, thank you

We had a very busy day today. Our Uncle and Aunt visited from New York and we had a great visit. My mom is the oldest of 5 children, next in line is her brother Louie. There is a story that we have been hearing since we were all kids...that when they were tweens, some sort of fight started, and my uncle took my mom's Harry Belafonte record, "Momma look at Bubu" and smashed it/threw it out a window, and mom smashed a jewelry box that my uncle made for her. One day someone will remember that story exactly how it happened. : ) My aunt who visited a few weeks ago brought the record...it was nice to see mom and her brother reminisce.

Angels also descended upon us today. School angels. The most amazing, supportive group of women that we have ever met. Ever. Knowing that we are having company this weekend, they brought a truckload of food and an army of volunteers to carry it in. Mom (who isn't having the best week) lit up when you came to visit. I've said it before, but it bears repeating...thank you so very much for caring for us during this difficult time. Good things happen to good people...and you are all saints in our book.

Mom woke up in the middle of the night stressing about what visitors were coming when. Mom's short-term memory is failing. For this reason, we are not telling her about future visitors/visits. We have decided as a family to tell mom about visitors only on the day that they are arriving. We hope that you understand.

Frog Blog

We've been frogged. Yes ladies and gentleman...this little box of cutie patootie tadpoles along with the gecko (who is attached to a bag which contains "frog lunch") was left on our doorstep. At least it wasn't a flaming bag of poo. : )

Mom was up for a short while this evening...so we brought her the tadpoles and the gecko. She said right away who it was that she thought left them. You know who you are - I hope you stop by to visit with mom and the tadpoles soon!

Mom had a sleepy day today. She was lucid for a while when a friend from school visited, but was "snowed" after taking her medication. The extra sleeping is sad...... But mom is pain free, which is what counts the most. Hospice said that mom will have her good days and her sleepy days.

Pain-Free Day

I just got back to Florida. Heard that mom had a pain-free day yesterday....and she seems to be pain-free today. She was awake, and we had a little lunch together. She's very incoherent and is hallucinating due to the meds. She still recognizes us and is glad to see us...we shared a few giggles earlier. Not sure what we were giggling at, but I was happy she was happy. : )

What a Difference a Day Makes

After the photo of mom and the birthday cake was taken (photo in previous blog), mom was feeling nauseous (only happened one other time). She was also experiencing some breakthrough pain, so we gave her more meds, and Toni was sitting with her when I left. When she woke up the next day, she was at pain scale of 10, and was given meds every hour to keep it under control. The hospice nurse came by, and based on a few things, she told our family that we are close. She gave us instructions not to feed mom if she isn't hungry and said that we are close to having a hospice nurse full time. She said we have one to two weeks.

Mom is very heavily medicated right now, and there is no going back. She's sleeping most of the day, and when she is awake, she is mostly incoherent.

Bill and Toni stayed over last night...mom woke between her meds and they had some conversations with mom, so she knows what is happening.

This is a time for close family and friends only to visit. We hope that no one is offended by that statement. If you were very close with mom and a confidant with mom (someone that she wouldn't mind if you saw her in hair curlers, or who she would have a pajama party with *smile*), then we know she wouldn't mind you stopping by at this time (at your discretion). If you would like to say goodbye to mom over the phone, or try to talk with her over the phone, we'd be happy to do that for you when she's awake. Dina's phone number is 352-428-5585 and my cell is 703-731-3464.

Those of you who really knew my mom will appreciate this story. On Saturday, it was mom and me for the entire day. Bill came by a few times and we all had dinner together. While we were getting mom washed up and ready for the day, she asked to get on the scale. (She has the home health aide put her on the scale as well.) Mom loved that she was losing weight. *smirk* You have to take the bath scale, (and it can't be teetering on the grout lines either)...it has to be fully in one square. She was down 4 more pounds, and she had me guard her while she stood sideways in the mirror and she said...see, if I was wearing pants right now, I would be tucking in my shirts again. *SMILE*

If you have a story that you'd like to share about mom, please send it to us at the following email addresses. We'd like to share them with everyone when the time is right.

Dina: dkundrat@tampabay.rr.com

Toni: talese@tampabay.rr.com

Gina: nationalgi@hotmail.com

Sunday Update

More flowers arrived a few days ago– with gorgeous Stargazer lilies and sunflowers, the colors are absolutely beautiful – mom loves them and noticed that they stuck a few buds in with the flowers that are starting to open today. And the angels… a special angel from school had sent one to my mom when she was in the hospital…they looked so pretty, I had to take a picture of them and post them.

We also had a visitor last night,who brought mom a puppy that she could take care of (from her children) and another gift from her. Unfortunately it was a later visit, and mom was already behind closed doors...and mom was upset with me for not knocking on the door...so if you could come back soon, mom is really looking forward to your visit.

We were graced by “the Queen” Samantha today and my nephews were over for brunch…Trystan’s birthday was yesterday (the same night as the homecoming dance), and we celebrated today with two cakes and ice cream. Aunt Gina (who never spends her birthdays with her neice or nephews) was so excited that she bought shield shaped superman plates and napkins. They were COOL. This is an awesome picture of mom at the table with us. Tried to get Trystan to wear a cape, but THAT wasn’t happening. When I left for the airport, Sam was putting a roast chicken in the oven…the boys were watching football, Dina and Jared were playing cards on the screened-in porch, and Toni was laying on the bed next to mom holding her hand and trying to help her fall asleep. *smile* Quality family time.

Mom is taking oxygen more and sleeping more in the mornings. She's eating well, but still dropping weight. Her medication schedule is pretty aggressive, but it’s working to control the pain. She’s basically sleeping until 1:30ish. She has two sets of morning meds with a quick breakfast, so it’s to be expected. On that note, any visits or phone calls are appreciated after 2pm. Mornings are not a good time to try to talk to mom - too many meds. If she adjusts to the point where she can take morning calls again, we will post it. Monday and Tuesday visits from friends are great (all visits are great), because it gives mom /Dina a break when I’m not there.

Mom is still confused, especially about dates and times and is having difficulty with reading comprehension. This is not due to medication. And, she's still lucid, except for dates/times, etc. So…if you could leave that out of topics, your visits/phone calls will be great!

Thank you for the constant outpouring of love and support you have been giving our family. We are truly blessed. There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t get a call or a visit from someone asking if they can help in any way. It’s your support that is helping us all through this difficult time. We love you all!!