In Loving Memory, Pauline Cahill

My grandmother, Pauline Ann Slafka Cahill, passed away Tuesday, January 12, 2010. She was moved into a nursing home last August. Her health did not improve much and she actually went to the hospital while at the nursing home. About three weeks ago she was taken to the emergency room after falling out of her bed and the emergency staff said her vital signs were showing her organs were shutting down. She was returned to the nursing home but under hospice care. We knew it would probably not be too long, but when I got the calls from my mom and sister Tuesday morning, I was surprised they were calling about my grandmother. I am glad I was able to visit her numerous times while she was in the nursing home. I guess I was trying to catch up from all the years we were in DC. But I am glad she was in the nursing home receiving all the care she needed and she passed away in her sleep. I will see her again one day with our Father God and Lord Jesus Christ.

Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, January 14, at Hillier Funeral Home, 2301 East 29th Street, Bryan, Texas 77802, (979-822-1571. Rosary will be recited at 6:30 p.m. in the chapel.
A Funeral Mass is set for 12 p.m. Friday, January 15, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 600 East 26th Street, Bryan, Texas 77803, (979) 822-2721. Interment will follow at Mt. Calvary Cemetery.

Finals Are Over!!

Finals are done and the semester will be officially over December 18th when grades are available for continuing students. But we should get our grades for the anthropology exam we took today sometime tomorrow to which I can calculate my grade in the class. It was actually a fairly easy exam. There were a few questions I had concerns about but answered with an educated guess. Hopefully they were the right educated guesses. Now I get to start my list of things to do before Roger gets home next Tuesday like putting up Christmas decorations, taking boxes of garage sale leftovers to Goodwill and many other fun, fun chores. I have a list!

The funeral for Mrs. Fore last Friday was nice. It was like a reunion in Smetana. Every one's lives are so busy these days, that it takes a funeral or wedding for all of us to see each other. Father John gave a very endearing homily about Mrs. Fore during the funeral mass. He used 1 Corinthians 13:13 to describe her which was perfect because faith, hope and love epitomized her life. I have to think about it to realize she's really gone. It's obviously going to be hard for many to imagine her not in our lives.

Roger has been extremely busy lately with the usual stuff like physical and occupational therapy but he's also had a lot of MWR trips, meetings with the VA and shoots for the newspaper lately. He's been meaning to blog about all his adventures of late, but has been too busy to do so. He even got all our Christmas cards out last night. (Don't tell him I said so, but I'm so glad he did those this year.) Hopefully soon he will blog and let you know all about the cool things he's been doing and interesting people he's been meeting. And post some pictures too. Only five more days and a wake up until he's home. I can't wait. This is going to be another memorable Christmas for us this year.

Maybe I'll post some pictures of my red velvet cupcakes from tomorrow night. Check out the post below. Until next time, Au revoir.

Update on Mrs. Fore

Mrs. Fore passed away this morning at 3:02 a.m. I think it's going to take a while for it to sink in that she's not around, ready to help out at a moment's notice. She will truly be missed. Please keep the Fore family and friends in your prayers. I found these great pictures of my mom and Mrs. Fore in June, 2005 participating in a maze at the Prater John Deere County Fair. I know, so Texan and country. My mom drove blindfolded while Mrs. Fore gave her directions. It was a hoot. They tore up the course. Mrs. Fore obviously had no fear.

Funeral arrangements have been made for the dates and locations below. Interment will follow the funeral at Smetana Cemetery with lunch immediately following at the Smetana Community Center.

Rosary: Thursday 6:00 p.m.
Memorial Funeral Chapel
1515 S College Avenue
Bryan, TX 77801
(979) 823-8125

Funeral: Friday 9:30 a.m.
Saint Joseph Catholic Church
600 East 26th Street
Bryan, TX 77803
(979) 822-2721

Sandy Update

It has been a while since I've updated you all on Sandy's battle with breast cancer. She had been fighting hard and still seemed to be fighting hard even a few weeks ago as her husband Mike writes in this email:


From: Mike
Subject: update 9/16/07
Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2007 19:16:30 -0500


Hello to all. It’s been a couple of weeks since I have written an update. This one was hard to write so it took me some extra time.

The last few updates have focused on Sandy’s radiation burns and her fight to recover from those burns and the nausea and fatigue she was experiencing. Well, the burns are still with her, but are getting better ever so slowly. She has more area that is less tender although she still has some setbacks occasionally in areas that I thought were healing. And I think we figured out the biggest culprit in the nausea too. Sandy is on so many medications that she and I figured that something must be causing the nausea. I read through all the possible side effects from all the medications and kept coming back to the antibiotic as the most probable cause. So two Wednesdays ago (on 9/5) we talked to the radiation oncologist and told her we wanted to stop the antibiotic. She agreed that Sandy should stop and see if the nausea got better and if the skin continued to not show signs of infection. Sandy’s nausea has been better and her skin does not show any signs of infection at this point. In fact, on Wednesday 9/12 the doctor told us we could come back in two weeks instead of one week. So we have all good news on the burn healing and nausea fronts. Slow and steady but moving forward.

The fatigue improved after the transfusion which took place on August 29th. Sandy still has more energy than she had before the transfusion, but her energy level has been dropping. The downside to the transfusion was that Sandy did not get her weekly chemo that day and by the next week (9/5) it was obvious that the cancer was spreading. Sandy has been through so many chemos and each one worked for a while and then quit working. We had hoped that this last one she was on would be the answer, but it now seems that it is becoming ineffective.

Last Wednesday Sandy received another dose of the weekly chemo along with a dose of the every third week chemo. The thought is that the combination may still have some effect. At the same time, her blood counts have been dropping since the transfusion so the oncologist is giving her next week off. That gives Sandy’s body a chance to recover a little more and allows the doctor to use a more powerful shot to increase her blood counts. Since Sandy got the shot on Thursday 9/13, she can’t have more chemo until Friday 9/28 so that is the next appointment with the oncologist. We tied the radiation oncologist in to the same day for the next skin check so we only have to go into the cancer center once that week.

The biggest prayer request I have tonight is that Sandy is running out of options and we need a miracle to find a treatment that will work and we need to find it now. I know everyone is doing all you can, but I ask that you don’t give up and continue the effort with Sandy. She is such a fighter it amazes me. Thank you for being a part of Sandy’s prayer warrior team.

Love, Mike


We didn't get any more news until Saturday, and it was not good:


From: Mike
Subject: update 9/29/07
Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2007 14:36:34 -0500


Prayer team,

I am sorry to tell you all that the news isn’t getting any better. We consulted with the doctors last week and determined that there are no other options available for Sandy. We contacted Hospice on Monday (9/24) and the nurse made her first visit on Tuesday. We did not go see the doctor this week – there is no reason to put Sandy through that if there is no treatment that can be given. We expected this to be a slow process over several months but we don’t call the shots.

Sandy was doing pretty well on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Nancee and Wanda visited her on Monday and Jessica visited her on Tuesday. They all would have given good reports if asked. Wednesday morning, things started to go down hill - Sandy got considerable weaker and just plain sicker. By Friday morning, it was obvious that she was not getting better. The nurse came over around noon and verified what I thought. She noted that everyone is different and each case is different, but she suggested that I call the kids and tell them to come over as soon as they could. I called Matt and he got a flight in last night. I told Sandy that all the kids were coming home to see her and it seemed to make her happy. She had been fighting so hard all day on Friday that I feared she would miss them.

Kimberly got home from school around 4:30, Jessica came over around 7:00 and Matt got home around 9:00. Sandy perked up each time she saw one of the kids and seemed happiest when all three of them were around her bed last night. She drifted in and out of sleep while we talked to her.

She actually seemed a little better this morning for a while, but is just worn out and tired of fighting. Although we have no way of knowing, I don’t think it will be long now.

Please continue to pray for her that she can make this last transition of her life at complete peace. Thank you for your support and prayers,

Love, Mike


Finally, yesterday, we got an email that was very hard to read:


From: Mike

Subject: update 9/30/07
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007 21:36:40 -0500


Prayer team,

As many of you know, Sandy died this afternoon at 4:05 pm.

She spent all night last night talking about all kinds of things, most of which I couldn’t understand. I went to bed around 10:00 and she was resting peacefully. She started talking around 11:00 and kept talking until around 8:00 this morning. She would talk for a while saying stuff I couldn’t understand and then say a few words or names as clear as could be. I spent all night hopping up out of bed to figure out what she was telling me. I am not sure I gained much wisdom, but I think she cleared her thoughts.

This morning I called Wanda, Nancee, and Ray to see if they wanted to see Sandy. I told them that the time was short and she was restless. The Hospice nurse told me that she may have someone she still needs to see. Wanda, Nancee and Ray came over around noon and after they left Sandy’s breathing seemed to become more labored.

She stayed true to being a mother first even as she died. Matt, Jessica, Kimberly and I were with her all afternoon – at least one of us all the time. We hooked up a DVD player and started showing some home movies of when the kids were little. Sandy always said that was her favorite time in her life. She labored to breath while we ate lunch up in the bedroom with her and watched home movies. Every once in a while she would smile at what she heard or saw on the movie. Jessica was alone with her for a while before 4:00. Just after 4:00, Jessica went downstairs as Kimberly went into the bedroom. Sandy quit breathing during that time. I believe she was protecting her kids from seeing her die and I believe she died at peace.

We are going to miss her terribly, but we know that she is in a better place. She was in so much pain and fought so hard for so long, that it is comforting to know that she is at peace.

Once again I thank you for your prayers and support during these last 16 months and ask that you continue to pray for us as we struggle with this loss. We will be making final arrangements tomorrow but tentatively we will have a visitation on Wednesday at Baue funeral home in St. Peters and the funeral will be on Thursday at St. Paul’s in Creve Coeur. I’ll try to update you if that changes.

Love to all, Mike


I don't know why, but today I picked up the phone and gave Matt, my good friend, a call. But there just wasn't anything to say. All I could manage was to tell him that I loved him and to let me know if there was anything I could do. And to let me know if there is anything I can do for him when we both get back to DC. I don't want to draw this post out any longer, but please pray for the whole family. Pray for peace and understanding. I'll have more details regarding final arrangements and will post them.















Kimberly,Matt, Jessica and Sandy in late 2003

Sandy encouraged me during my own battle with her strength and courage. At Matt's wedding, I was an usher and we all wore pink ribbons on our lapels to support her. She was a fighter to the end.

We'll miss you Sandy.

Weekend Update

Well, my dad was moved into ICU on Friday evening. My mom was at my grandfather's visitation way out in Cameron, Texas and I guess didn't get a good cellular signal so she did not receive any of the calls from the hospital or my brother. When she returned home and got the news at home, she was very worried and called me. I told her that even though visiting hours were over she should go up to ICU anyway. So she did and found out he was moved into ICU because he was having chest pains and the doctors were worried about his stitches from his heart surgery in February. So they decided to move him into ICU for closer observation and for one on one care. They did perform a sonogram and ruled out their concerns. My mom said my dad looked and sounded so much better than when she saw him at 2:30 p.m. that afternoon and his blood pressure was up. I am glad they moved him into ICU. I might be a little bias, but I think my dad needs special care right now. An infectious disease doctor has been added to his case. Thank the Lord. Last I heard they were still waiting for the culture to grow to rule out a parasite, but he does not have bacteria.

Due to the flooding most of Texas has experienced my grandfather was not able to be buried Saturday. The funeral home said four by four vehicles can't even get to the cemetery which is way out in the country off dirt roads. I've never heard of this happening before so I guess they'll let us know when he can be buried. Maybe I'll be able to attend the funeral after all. I fly home this afternoon.

To add to it, Roger lost his wallet late Saturday night. Although all accounts have been closed, frozen or put on hold, so far, we haven't seen any activity. We are hoping someone is trying to figure out how to contact him. There is emergency contact information in his wallet if it is searched completely. It was very frustrating for Roger. He was so hard on himself for losing it. He expects so much from himself and can't believe he lost his wallet. Thank the Lord Roger cleaned out his wallet recently and removed a lot of unnecessary stuff. We made a list of the contents of his wallet and there wasn't much in there. There will be some cards he will not attempt to replace until he returns to Texas. And he was able to get on post yesterday even without an ID and we were able to have dinner last night without his meal card. There are some really nice people working here at Walter Reed. He has already replaced a few of his military items and will probably have a new military ID in a few days. All the police, credit bureau and such reports will wait a couple days to see if his wallet is returned.

This has been a whirlwind weekend for us full of stresses and struggles. Please pray for healing for my dad's health, peace and joy for my family, safety for my flight today, protection for Roger's identity and the return of his wallet and for God's grace and mercy for our separation. Please pray for me to be able to love, encourage and support Roger from Texas while he's still here in DC. I don't know when I'll be able to return to see him or when he'll be able to come home. Thank you for your prayers and love. Until next time...

Wise Men

My dad, Harvey Wise, is back in the hospital. His stomach was swelling and my mom called Dr. Bond Wednesday to ask what should be done. Dr. Bond made an appointment for that morning and asked my dad to come in. I don't have all the specifics but some how they discovered my dad has some kind of parasite possibly from fruit. Dr. Bond's first suggestion was going to take too long for my dad so he was admitted into the hospital, given an IV and medication for the parasite. My dad has been very weak because he hasn't been consuming any of the food he eats I guess because this parasite is consuming it all. His blood pressure was very low. My dad was hoping an IV would give him some energy and he could get some nutrition in the hospital. I'm quite surprised that he would do that but I'm glad my dad is getting better about doctors and hospitals. Last night he threw up all the dinner he ate at the hospital. I'm trying to find out from my mom what caused him to throw up and what it means. I'm sure this will help him be able to get the nutrients he needs and help him feel and heal better and faster. Please keep him and his health in your prayers. As soon as I have more information on this I will update the blog.

Tuesday my grandfather, William "Buster" Jasper Wise Jr, passed away about 2:30 p.m. My grandfather's health has not been well for quite some time. His diabetes has been worse due to not eating properly nor getting insulin as needed. He had fallen a few times and a couple weeks ago his doctors finally demanded he move into a nursing home. My aunts were starting the process of finding a nursing home for him when his health turned for the worse. He was in ICU at Scott and White Hospital in Temple, Texas when he died. I'm still here in DC and will not be able to attend the funeral this Saturday. My mom is not sure if my dad's health will be improved enough for him to attend either. I know we both wish we could be there. Please pray for our family to stay strong and supportive through all these tough times.

Here's the obituary that will be in the Cameron Herald (weekly newspaper) next week: William J. "Buster" Wise Jr., 84, of Cameron died July 10 in a Temple hospital. Funeral services were held July 14 at Marek-Burns-Laywell Funeral Home in Cameron with the Rev. Jim Lafferty officiating. Burial followed in the Rice Cemetery. Wise was born May 8, 1923 in the Hanover Community of Milam County to William and Bernice (Dodson) Wise. He married Ruby Elizabeth Wise and she preceded him in death in 1995. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II and was a member of the Third Street Church of Christ. A sister, Helen McLane, also preceded him in death.Survivors include sons, Charlie Wise of Cameron; Russell Wise of Rosebud; and Harvey Wise and Clell Wise, both of Bryan; daughters, Sharon Harber of Bryan; Margie Horton of Humble and Theresa Klecka of Buckholts; sisters, Edna Lee Riley of Kansas City, Mo.; Esher Addington of Cedar Springs and Lora Lee Mortimer of Waco; 16 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.