I do not know if this is the proper place to post this, but it seems right.
My beautiful wife Katie lost her twenty-nine year battle with C.F. a month ago today. She and I are both new to these forums, but after finding them my wife would spend hours reading through everybody's posts and feel encouraged that so many people were going through the same ordeals that she was. She only posted a few times as dying2live.
Around the middle of May she picked up a cold that one of the kids brought home from school that she couldn't beat. She was admitted into the local hospital and instead of having another PICC placed we decided to try a MediPort. The surgery went fine, but the anesthesia messed up her lungs and she crashed. Her CF doctor had no idea that her lungs were that bad because she always fought so hard. The proceedings for a transplant were started, but the doctors wanted her to be home before doing the evaluation. That horrible standard that you have to be sick enough to require a transplant, but be healthy enough to survive it. On July 12 we packed up all her machines and medications and drove up to Denver for a 2 day eval. The first day went well, but before we could start testing on the second day Katie's lungs had a setback and she was admitted at University Hospital. The doctors kept trying everything they could but her infections had grown too resilient. After a little more than a week she was so exhausted just from breathing so she and I decided it was time for a ventilator. I was in the room when they put her under and put her on the machine. I learned just how much force of will she had over her body when the ventilator, the machine supposed to breath for her, could not get her O2 sats as high as she was doing on her own. Even on the ventilator she continued to get worse. On July 29, at 7:50 in the morning I held my wife's hand as she passed away.
I love my beautiful Katie. I am so blessed that I can see her everyday in the faces of my wonderful children. All that Katie wanted to do in this life was be a mother. She was the best mother any child could ask for.
<img src="http://www.enchantedbeings.com/phillip/cabfam.jpg">
My beautiful wife Katie lost her twenty-nine year battle with C.F. a month ago today. She and I are both new to these forums, but after finding them my wife would spend hours reading through everybody's posts and feel encouraged that so many people were going through the same ordeals that she was. She only posted a few times as dying2live.
Around the middle of May she picked up a cold that one of the kids brought home from school that she couldn't beat. She was admitted into the local hospital and instead of having another PICC placed we decided to try a MediPort. The surgery went fine, but the anesthesia messed up her lungs and she crashed. Her CF doctor had no idea that her lungs were that bad because she always fought so hard. The proceedings for a transplant were started, but the doctors wanted her to be home before doing the evaluation. That horrible standard that you have to be sick enough to require a transplant, but be healthy enough to survive it. On July 12 we packed up all her machines and medications and drove up to Denver for a 2 day eval. The first day went well, but before we could start testing on the second day Katie's lungs had a setback and she was admitted at University Hospital. The doctors kept trying everything they could but her infections had grown too resilient. After a little more than a week she was so exhausted just from breathing so she and I decided it was time for a ventilator. I was in the room when they put her under and put her on the machine. I learned just how much force of will she had over her body when the ventilator, the machine supposed to breath for her, could not get her O2 sats as high as she was doing on her own. Even on the ventilator she continued to get worse. On July 29, at 7:50 in the morning I held my wife's hand as she passed away.
I love my beautiful Katie. I am so blessed that I can see her everyday in the faces of my wonderful children. All that Katie wanted to do in this life was be a mother. She was the best mother any child could ask for.
<img src="http://www.enchantedbeings.com/phillip/cabfam.jpg">