Infusion Patient Gift Bags

Hello folks. Well, it’s that time of year again for our “Go Fund Me” fundraiser to supply gift bags to the Cancer Infusion Patients at SSM Health/ Upland Hills Specialty Clinic in Dodgeville. Rose would have been 58 years young on the 4th of October and we would have celebrated 33 years of marriage on the 3rd. She also would have been basking in the glow of being a Grandma to our 1st grandchild. Rose was a very strong person, especially when it came to dealing with her diagnosis and battle with Gallbladder Cancer. In the last month of her life in Hospice care at home she never once broke down and said, “Why me?”.  Not once as we gave her 2 different pain medications in her infusion port, a medicated pain patch on her arm, a tube run down her nose and into her stomach,  with a portable pump because cancer had blocked her intestinal tract. At first, we administered the pain meds every 4 hours and she was able to make it upstairs to our bed. There was a nurse at Dean St Mary’s before we brought her home, and every time she came in to check on Rose she would hum a little “ Hmm Hmm Hmm” and that stuck in I and Rose’s mind. Every time she would wake me to give her the Morphine or Toradol,  we would both go “ Hmm Hmm Hmm “ and a smile would come on both our faces. Hers was mostly from the Toradol. As I pushed that pain-relieving miracle drug into her body you could see the anguish that was pulsing through her instantly melt away and her rigid body would relax. For a brief time, she and I were at peace because she was without pain and I could sense it. But gradually the pain killers lost their ability to ease her suffering. And the frequency of the injections became shorter and less effective. She became too weak to make it up the stairs to our bedroom, so she stayed in our living room with a recliner for a Hospice bed. We would try anything and everything to give her some type of nourishment- but to no avail. Our Hospice Nurses were absolutely wonderful. I would brainstorm and try come up with something that maybe we could try to get her strength back up. Ensure, Jell-O, something she could maybe keep down to bring her energy level back up and maybe some sense of normalcy to this surreal time in our families lives. You see, neither I nor Rose was willing to give up. We both were thinking somewhere down the line we were gonna pull a miracle out of one of our asses and it was gonna be ok. The Hospice Nurses knew this and were there to give us support, but also to remind us of the definition of Hospice care itself. Rose was getting weaker by the day. She could no longer make it to the bathroom by herself. Her Oxygen levels were dropping, and on the final day, we had to have an Oxygen Concentrator brought in. That evening, December 14th 2016, we watched a Wife, Mother, and best friend flicker and go out like a candle in the wind.

I hope after reading this you will consider donating to our cause. We take the gifts bags to the clinic around Christmas time or right around Rose’s passing, and will keep you informed of our progress. These usually consist of but not limited to: Puzzle Books, Throat Lozenges, Lotions, Lip Balms, and a gift card for gas or whatever else they can use  to take some small burden off of their plate. I know times are difficult financially as well as mentally. We must not let our differences in our political beliefs or our ideas on how the pandemic or racial issues are being handled, keep us from reaching out to one another and lending a helping hand in some way, shape, or form. Not too long ago there was an Epidemic going around, all be it a small one. It was called “Pay it forward”. In other words, do something for someone unselfishly without expecting anything in return. What a wonderful virus that we all could stand to catch. We ask that if not our cause that you care to support that you would consider donating to the Grant County Cancer Coalition.  {Depending on if your County has its own chapter}. Recent events have left them without being able to have an Auction/ Fundraiser. This too is such an important organization that needs your support.

                                                Thank you for your consideration,
                                                         Love, The Duncan Family