At Peace

Dad in Utah just a few weeks ago... out on the lake with his nieces.

 

 

I just wanted to update things on my dad's blog.

Dad passed away yesterday a little before 4:40pm.

I have been playing through in my head the past 4-5 days and all the sequences of events leading up to his passing.

He fought hard. His spirit didn't want to stop fighting but his body just wasn't up to the challenge. I feel like he didn't want to go, but he had to.

We haven't set a definite date and time for his services. With Monday being a holiday we might not have that information until Tuesday. Services will be held here in Mesa.

My mom is so strong. She never wanted to leave his side. She communicated with him through her asking him questions and him nodding or shaking his head throughout all of yesterday. She knew what he wanted and honored his wishes. She is amazing.

Love to you all and thank you for all the love and support you have given to us all these long years.

~Jen

I am having a problem with Blogger.

For some reason, there is no "Template" or "Lay Out" tab for me to select to make changes to things in the sidebar of this blog. I have the same problem with my personal blog. I haven't been able to figure out what's wrong.

If anyone has any advice/tips. Let me know!

Thanks!

Pay Pal Button!

Some people have asked if the Pay Pal button on this site still works.

It sure does! (I just tested it out!)

To make a donation through PayPal, you need to have a PayPal account. It's super fast and easy to sign up. (But, just so you know, they do get a percentage of the money donated. About $.33 for every $1)

If you are not interested in signing up for PayPal but you would like to make a monetary donation, you can do that at any Wells Fargo location. Just tell the teller that you'd like to make a donation to the "Murray Barrett Liver Donation Fund". They will look up the account. There's more info. on that in the right side bar->->->

If going into Wells Fargo doesn't sound fun, then you can always mail a donation to:

626 N. 99th St.
Mesa, AZ 85207

You all are awesome! "Thanks" to everyone who is helping to spread the word! :)

** Dennis Pollack! I don't know who are but THANK YOU for your recent donation through PayPal! :) You and everyone else like you are how the Lord blesses us with hope**

Got JUNK?

We are having a yard sale next Saturday (April 19th) at my parents house!

626 N. 99th St
Mesa, AZ 85207

If you have ANY thing you'd like to *donate please bring it to their house on Friday, or Saturday morning at the latest.
  
If you are in the area, be sure to stop by the yard sale next Saturday morning!

Thanks!


*all items that are not sold at the yard sale will be going to the thrift store

~And by the way. I just was looking at the title of this blog. Have we really been "doing this" since Aug. 2011? We are going on 3 years! The miracle is that my dad is still here! Through the grace of God we were able to get him health insurance. He has received excellent medical care at Mayo Clinic. I know that some days he doesn't know if being alive still is a blessing our not. Not feeling good EVER for days and weeks and months and years has got to be so hard. BUT, we still have hope that he will get a transplant...and we are still moving forward! Thank you everyone for every big and little thing you've done these past 2 1/2 years to help lighten my parents burden.

Update

My dad is going back to his second childhood! He just got a three wheel bike. :) I will try to get a picture of him on it. We're hoping this will help him to be able to get out of the house more often. Not being able to drive has been one of the hardest parts of this liver disease for him.

We had a Pampered Chef party as a fundraiser for my dad last Friday evening. It was a lot of fun! Thank you to everyone who came and also to everyone who ordered products online! :)

Tomorrow my aunts and cousins in Utah will be having their annual fundraising yard sale! They work so hard to put these together. We are so grateful to them for their support. They are amazing!

If anyone in AZ has items that they would like to donate, we will be having a yard sale at my parents house the middle of next month!

Hi, It's Jennifer

It's been almost a year since I have posted on my dad's blog! To be honest...I sort of forgot the sign in information...plus I have been a little busy with...moving...birthing a baby...things like that.

Anyhow. I thought I'd do a little bit of an update.

My dad is still waiting for a new liver!

He was also advised by his doctors to stop driving. The levels of ammonia on his brain were causing memory loss and really slow reflexes. (Like a drunk person with dementia)  He is on a medication for that and is doing better...but they told him they will reevaluate him in November and decide if he should start driving again.

Other than that. Things are pretty much the same. He goes in for regular visits and the doctors are keeping him as healthy as they can.

Also, We are looking for some good fundraising ideas. So...if you know of anything...email me @ bjflake00@yahoo.com

Thanks a bunch and hope you are all doing well!

Blood Clot

My dad's procedure went well today. They went in and put bands around the polyps (there's another word for them...but that's basically what they are...) anyhow. They put bands around them and they should fall off in a week or so.

When he is all healed up from this procedure they will start him on blood thinners for the blood clot that they found in a vein (or artery?) between his stomach and liver. Being on the blood thinners and all that will pump him up on the transplant list. That should all happen in the next month or two.

This is the nature of having a failing internal organ and being on a transplant list I guess. You gotta get worse before you can get better.