Mom and Dad Hospitalized Same Week
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My parents, Dave and Mary Beth Pohlmeier, are incredible people. Married for 40 years, devoted to each other and their children. Dad has never met a stranger. Mom smiled even on hard days.
On December 17, 2016, my dad went to the hospital with stomach pains. They found lesions on his liver. This turned into a cancer diagnosis of the stomach that metastasized in his liver. We had no idea he had cancer a week earlier. He worked just the day before.
Christmas Eve we received the news that it was stage 4 stomach cancer. The diagnosis was 6 months to live without chemotherapy; 12 months with chemotherapy. This was all very shocking. My dad is one of the strongest, kindest men you’ll ever meet, a fighter. When we asked dad if he wanted to have chemotherapy, he said yes because he wanted to take care of my mom.
See, my mom has had such hard medical problems. Diabetes, her kidneys stopped working, foot ulcers, surgeries….but Dad has comforted her and cared for her through all of that. On hospital stays with my mom, he would go and rub her legs, spending the night because she didn’t want to be alone.
We celebrated Christmas at the hospital this year. Santa even came to the hospital to bring gifts to our kids. This was the first time our family was together in a long time. It was a very special day.
The day after Christmas my husband, children, and I were to say goodbye to my mom at 4:30 am. She was leaving for dialysis, we to our home in Kentucky.
At 4:30, she was not downstairs. I went up to her room to say goodbye, heard her alarm going off, opened her door and found her laying on the floor in her bedroom, the smell of vomit and my mom mumbling.
911 was called. They brought her to the same hospital as my dad. Scans performed. My mom suffered from a significant stroke. She is currently paralyzed on her right side. They moved her to critical care and we began going from critical care to oncology to spend time with both our parents.
A day later my dad began to have severe stomach pains again; different from the ones he had a week earlier. More tests were done. More pain medicine given, nothing was working.
We learned that Dad’s liver was more cancer tissues than liver that day. What we thought was 6 months to a year to live turned into days. We made the hard choice to start hospice.
Dad’s nurse helped us bring him down to see my mom. We, my brothers and I and our spouses, stood in the room as mom and dad held hands. Mom mumbling I love you. Dad saying it back. Their hands shaking with weakness as their palms clung to one another. It was one of the most beautiful, holy moments, I think I have ever witnessed. Marriage truly is a beautiful bond.
This week, I have no words to describe what has happened. But I know that there are some major decisions still to be made. My mom will need to be moved into a facility that can take care of her.
My dad worked for a missions organization for over 30 years and made very little money. Now, there is little to draw from to care for them. We are raising funds to take care of the many needs ahead. We would also love your prayers in this difficult time.
On December 17, 2016, my dad went to the hospital with stomach pains. They found lesions on his liver. This turned into a cancer diagnosis of the stomach that metastasized in his liver. We had no idea he had cancer a week earlier. He worked just the day before.
Christmas Eve we received the news that it was stage 4 stomach cancer. The diagnosis was 6 months to live without chemotherapy; 12 months with chemotherapy. This was all very shocking. My dad is one of the strongest, kindest men you’ll ever meet, a fighter. When we asked dad if he wanted to have chemotherapy, he said yes because he wanted to take care of my mom.
See, my mom has had such hard medical problems. Diabetes, her kidneys stopped working, foot ulcers, surgeries….but Dad has comforted her and cared for her through all of that. On hospital stays with my mom, he would go and rub her legs, spending the night because she didn’t want to be alone.
We celebrated Christmas at the hospital this year. Santa even came to the hospital to bring gifts to our kids. This was the first time our family was together in a long time. It was a very special day.
The day after Christmas my husband, children, and I were to say goodbye to my mom at 4:30 am. She was leaving for dialysis, we to our home in Kentucky.
At 4:30, she was not downstairs. I went up to her room to say goodbye, heard her alarm going off, opened her door and found her laying on the floor in her bedroom, the smell of vomit and my mom mumbling.
911 was called. They brought her to the same hospital as my dad. Scans performed. My mom suffered from a significant stroke. She is currently paralyzed on her right side. They moved her to critical care and we began going from critical care to oncology to spend time with both our parents.
A day later my dad began to have severe stomach pains again; different from the ones he had a week earlier. More tests were done. More pain medicine given, nothing was working.
We learned that Dad’s liver was more cancer tissues than liver that day. What we thought was 6 months to a year to live turned into days. We made the hard choice to start hospice.
Dad’s nurse helped us bring him down to see my mom. We, my brothers and I and our spouses, stood in the room as mom and dad held hands. Mom mumbling I love you. Dad saying it back. Their hands shaking with weakness as their palms clung to one another. It was one of the most beautiful, holy moments, I think I have ever witnessed. Marriage truly is a beautiful bond.
This week, I have no words to describe what has happened. But I know that there are some major decisions still to be made. My mom will need to be moved into a facility that can take care of her.
My dad worked for a missions organization for over 30 years and made very little money. Now, there is little to draw from to care for them. We are raising funds to take care of the many needs ahead. We would also love your prayers in this difficult time.
Organizer and beneficiary
JasonandAllie Smith
Organizer
Elgin, IL
David Pohlmeier
Beneficiary
