"I just got a call from Mary Margaret this afternoon when I got back in the office. Her dad, Harry Jacobs, was at a doctor’s appointment this afternoon and the doctor did an ultrasound I believe and said that his Aorta did not look right. He has an aneurysm on his Aorta or near his aorta. Mary Margaret did not have all the details. I believe he is still in Dothan. They are going to send him home and want him to come back Thursday and will determine whether he will require a stint or surgery. Please keep him and our family in your prayers. He is going through a lot right now between caring for his wife, having Mary Margaret sick and one of his son’s is having some problems as well. It all weighs very heavy on him and is taking a toll.
I am assuming since they sent him home, that it must not be a large aneurysm or too serious, but I don’t know much about those things and Mary Margaret was a little upset on the phone so I didn’t get all the details. He will be in the hospital either way with the stint or surgery and I am not sure how we will care for her mom while he is there and recovers and get Mary Margaret to treatment and therapy. We will probably stay in Elba while he is in the hospital so that we can help with her mom at night. Mary Margaret’s mom has to be given a lot of medication every few hours and Mary Margaret’s dad usually fixes it and feeds it to her. They have a sitter during the day that helps out with changing, bathing, moving around, etc but from 4:00pm to 7:30am it is just Mary Margaret’s dad. If he is in the hospital, someone will have to care for her and make sure she gets all of her medications.
Mary Margaret is also having a much harder time with her chemo treatments than she did at first. She has been sick for a few weeks with cold, headaches and some nausea that just want go away. Nothing serious, but just nagging things that I can tell slow her down and make her feel bad. She won’t admit to it and tries very hard to not to let it show, but it is catching up to her. She only has one long chemo treatment left before she starts radiation, so we are thankful for that.
After radiation she will only go once a week for the herceptin and therapy on her hand and arm which will not make her sick anymore. She is still doing much better than the majority of people we see at treatment each week, so we are blessed in that regards.
I would like to thank everyone for their encouragement during the last two weeks as my grandfather was ill and passed away last Wednesday. I am very fortunate to work where I was able to go and spend a few days with him before he passed away. He is at peace now, but he will be greatly missed. The funeral was hard on everyone but much easier than watching him suffer over the last few months. For all my life he was more of a father than a grandfather and whenever I needed something or needed to talk to someone, I could always call him and he was there for me and for everyone else in our family with whatever we needed. I would ask that you remember his wife Maxine Boyd in your prayers as well.
They were married for over 63 years I believe. I never heard either one say a negative thing about the other one or speak an angry word about the other unless it was my grandmother telling him he was stubborn.
Please continue to keep our family in your prayers. It has been a rough few months but I have faith that things will turn around. "
Mary Margaret is definitely stronger than I could ever be. She is truly amazing...to be around her, you wouldn't even know she was fighting a battle of her own. She is definitely a source of encouragement to me.
Please keep my brother in your prayers as well. He is pretty amazing to me as well. His faith has not wavered through all the trials our family has faced. He is a source of encouragement and strength.
As for my grandfather, I am so thankful that he is not suffering. It has been so hard to watch him struggle for every breath...unable to sit up or walk...unable to feed himself...he has always been such a strong man. This loss is hard on all of us, but especially my mom.
