September 2011
2 posts
Pamela Leaves Us A Message
Last week I was at Pamela’s desk and I noticed for the first time a bright purple folder. Inside I found three photo copies of poems. These were obviously intended for us to see after she passed…..
TO THOSE I HAVE LOVED
SAFELY HOME
A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE
Audio from Pamela’s second Memorial. She...
August 2011
9 posts
AA Memorial / Roast for Pamela
Pamela asked that a month after her church service that another memorial, or a “roast”, be held in Seal Beach at the location of her Monday night AA meeting. Members of AA, family and close friends will have the opportunity to share memories of Pamela followed by a short reception at the church.
I think her hope was that after four weeks everyone would be more comfortable and willing...
Audio from Pamela’s Celebration Of Life...
WatchVideo from Pamela’s Celebration Of Life: A Pfizer video produced for Pamela when she became a Senior District Manager.
WatchVideo from Pamela’s Celebration Of Life: My Tribute
AA Memorial / Roast
Pamela was a sober member of Alcoholics Anonymous for 31 years.
A second memorial service is being planned for members of AA, family, and close friends. This will be a “roast”, open mike, unstructured event. Pamela asked for this so that people could share stories about her. So that they might find comfort, strength and hope within this group that was the most important part of...
Pamela Ford Celebration of Life and Taco Bar
August 11, 2011 at 10am SeaCoast Grace Church, West Auditorium, 5100 Cerritos Ave, Cypress CA 90630
A reception / TACO BAR will immediately follow the memorial.
Flower Deliveries: SeaCoast Grace, 5100 Cerritos Ave, Cypress CA 90630
Dontations: Women’s Cancer Research Foundation (WCRF), 351 Hospital Road, Suite 506, Newport Beach CA 92663 - A 501(c)3 that ran two of the clinical trials...
Thank You
I want to thank all of you who have been sending messages. We will read them all. Bette Jo, Victoria and my self all appreciate your kind word, thoughts and prayers. Bruce
July 2011
21 posts
Pamela Ford, 1960-2011
Last night I gave my girl three goodbye kisses before leaving her side. One kiss from all of you who have sent your love and prayers. One kiss from Victoria. And a big one from me.
At 12:26am Pamela died quietly with her mother Bette Jo holding one hand and her cousin Marcella holding the other. They dressed her in her favorite fancy white cotton nightgown and she made her exit.
Pamela wanted us...
Peace Be With You
Nurse says that Pamela should pass tonight.
Peace be with you. And with Pamela.
Her body is still here.
It appears now that Pamela’s spirit has left us but her body is still here. Her vital signs are very low. Her breathing is labored and her heartbeat is slow. Her reactions show all the signs of being in a coma.
We Love Pamela
Pray For Victoria
Pamela is resting easy.
Pray for Vic. As you all can imagine she is in great pain. But the loving spirit of her Mother is simmering inside of her, giving her more and more strength each day.
Also pray for Pamela’s friend who needs help, she is suffering and missing her so much.
I read to her this morning ”Giving Back” from Daily Reflections, a book given to her by Ginny.
...
Uneventful Day
Pamela had an uneventful day. Her vital signs are very low. She is sleeping comfortably.
Still hanging around with us.
A very quiet night for Pamela. Her vital signs have slowly fallen again.
Seems Pamela and her higher power think that she needs more time with us before going to that big meeting in the sky.
Pamela still looks beautiful. Face is round and healthy looking. She is downstairs in the family room in a hospice bed. Victoria painted her nails with pink glitter. Her Mom has cleaned and pressed her...
Hmm... What is that girl of mine up to...
Midday Pamela was showing all the signs of being ready to start her new journey. But that girl is full of suprises….her vital signs improved. Thats one of the reasons we all love her so much. You never know what she will do next!
Pray For Pamela
Again…. Please pray that Pamela goes quickly and in peace.
Peace be with you. And with Pamela.
A Peaceful Night
Pamela had a peaceful night.
The surf is very loud today. Pounding in on the beach. Over the past few months Pamela would often lay in bed in the morning, listening to the surf and watching the birds in the tree outside our bedroom window. She loves Seal Beach and she loves all of you who are thinking of her.
Looking Beautiful
Pamela is looking very beautiful and peaceful. We have discovered that she didn’t have a problem breathing, but an issue with her throat. The nurse was able to correct it and she is breathing easier.
Pamela is asleep most of the time. We can wake her up for a few minutes. She will then open her eyes a little. She looks asleep but she reacts to things you say.
Several of Pamela’s...
Breathing Issues
Over the night Pamela has developed some breathing problems. During her brief periods of being awake she is calm and appears to understand she is safe and in her home in Seal Beach. In the past Pamela has felt the prayers and positive energy coming from friends and family.
Please pray that Pamela goes quickly. We all know that she will go in peace.
Peace be with you. And with Pamela.
Not much change
Pamela is stable. For a hour or so she was alert and did her best to speak. But most of the day she was sleeping. Her case nurse suspects her brain is working hard to recover from yesterdays strokes.
We have been unable to feed her due to a choking risk. She has lost control of her tongue. The nurses say that even if we gave her nourishment her stomach would be unable to process it and...
No Visitors
No Visitors till she is stable. I am reading her your text messages you send to her phone and email.
Comfortable Night
Pamela slept all night. No signs of additional strokes. She is able to swallow so she had a few sips of Ensure last night. I suspect she will spend the rest of today sleeping.
Resting
Pamela is resting easy. She has a pain pump delivering pain medication at a steady rate directly into her. Good since she can’t swallow pills. A full-time nurse is here taking good care of here. We Love Pamela
Stroke
Pamela has had a stroke. She has lost control of her left side. She is breathing well but it is difficult for her to swallow and cannot speak clearly. This may be temporary. We will know in 24-48 hours. This evening she starts 24hr hospice care here in the house. She is pain free, and when not sleeping, aware of her situation. Bette Jo and Victoria are here.
Pray For Pamela
Pamela needs your prayers…. Positive effects of the blood transfusion have worn off. We went to the theater yesterday. The show was great but Pamela was pretty tired and it was a struggle. Today she is having difficulty speaking. We Love Pamela.
Great Weekend
Pamela had a great weekend. We had a small family reunion on Saturday and Sunday we went to a fun summer movie Monte Carlo. Sunday was also the big Lion’s Club fish fry here at the pier. Every year they raffle off a car, and again we didn’t win. :-(
Some Extra Blood
Pamela had a transfusion to see if it would help her by increasing her red blood cell count. Took about four hours to add two pints of blood. So far it hasn’t seemed to have much of an effect on Pamela.
Her arm is doing much better. We are still able to get out and do at least one thing per day.
Arm Pain
Pamela has had a very painful arm over the past few days. It has been so bad it has kept her in bed. It finally appears to be improving.
June 2011
8 posts
Daily Routine
We have settled into a nice daily routine. Pamela wakes between 9-10am. She gets her morning medication and then some breakfast in bed. Usually cereal, but sometimes she sends me around the corner for a fresh pastry and a cup of “professionally” made Cafe Latte. She then sleeps till around noon.
We usually try and go out for lunch each day. Pamela gets dressed on her own and...
What to do with bad news...
When all the Doctors have for you is bad news what should you do? VEGAS BABY! Pamela took her Mom and Victoria to Vegas to see the musical LION KING. We stayed at the beautiful Bellagio hotel, one of Pamela’s favorites. We didn’t gamble much, but the show was great and we had a wonderful fancy dinner at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant.
Video: History of Cancer
An interesting discussion of cancer on the Charlie Rose show: http://www.hulu.com/watch/197857/charlie-rose-siddhartha-mukherjee
A Little Better...
We have discovered that the changes the Doc made in Pamela’s nausea medications were a bit overdone. As a result she wasn’t getting sick but she was very fatigued. We have cut back the meds a little and she is now getting her energy back and her nausea is in check.
If you sent an email she most likely has seen it but didn’t have the energy to reply. Maybe over the next few...
Stable
Things are stable for Pamela. We saw her Doctor last week and he made some changes in her nausea medication and she has been feeling better in that respect. Her blood tests have not shown that she needs a blood transfusion even though her blood counts are very very low. She spends most of the day sleeping. Her pain is under control. She is able to walk around the house and use the stairs but...
May 2011
12 posts
The Same
Pamela is still pretty much the same. Some fatigue and with certain foods some nausea but her spirit is in pretty good shape. We are trying to get out of the house and do something each day around Old Town Seal Beach.
Stable
Pamela is very fatigued but stable she has also lost much of her appetite. Her blood tests show her red blood cell count is very low, but not low enough for a transfusion. We are talking with the Doctor on Monday about her blood counts and if we can some way get that transfusion.
Better
Pamela is beginning to feel better so I guess she didn’t break her rib, maybe just brused it. She still has trouble breathing now and then but her energy and attitude have improved. She even went to a Monday matinee movie, Something Borrowed, with her mom who is visiting from Sun Lakes for a few days.
Pain Continues
I suspect Pamela might have broken a rib rather than just bruised it. It is hard for her to get comfortable. Deep breaths and talking are painful.
Bad Night
After a great weekend and a few excellent days Pamela had a difficult night. It started with some severe vomiting yesterday. After that a pain started to develop in her chest. We suspect that she either broke or bruised a rib while vomiting. We are keeping her very still today and have a compression bandage round the painful area.
Pamela’s progressive cancer has most likely weakened...
WatchShopping in Beverly Hills with Victoria.
WatchPamela at the Royal Wedding???
