14 Nov

Posted at 22:43h in Uncategorized by
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Imagine a loved one going into the doctors office and learning that he or she has colo-rectal cancer. Now imagine that they are told it has already spread to other areas inside of their body. Can you imagine the scene, the conversation? Can you even fathom understanding or remembering the rest of the conversation after you heard the words, "You have metastatic cool-rectal cancer." I know I can't, and I work in this crazy world of...

13 Nov

Posted at 21:58h in Uncategorized by
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Recently I had the privilege of speaking to a colleague and catching up on  a former project we had collaborated on regarding Multidisciplinary Care, or MDC's for oncology service lines. During the conversation we got on the topic of Nurse Navigators and Care Coordination in Oncology/Cancer Care. During our discussion, we touched on some of the variations of the nurse navigators amongst the 30-45 programs. My colleague has a ton of experience, and she was an...

10 Nov

Posted at 18:35h in Uncategorized by
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Yesterday, Saturday, November 9th, was the funeral services and visitation for my father. Between the hours of 11-1 many people from the various chapters of my father's life stopped to pay their respect, share their stories, and to say their final good-byes to my father. Then at 1pm, everyone congregated, and the ceremony started. We proceeded up to the front of the church. My father was placed front and center of the alter, baptismal candle lit,...

07 Nov

Posted at 15:01h in Uncategorized by
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I awake this morning and begin it as any other day. I turn the clock on my phone off and set it to silent. I begin to get ready. I check the news, twitter, and what my calendar looks like for the day. I go back to check my phone and notice that I have a missed call. It is from my mother. Time stamp: 6:35 am. I call my mother and she answers. Her voice is...

06 Nov

Posted at 00:42h in Uncategorized by
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Today I received a call around 8:55am from my mother. I was driving on my way to work. I had just finished saying my morning Rosary for my father. I could feel my heart begin to race. I answer the phone. My mother says, "How are you?" I answer, "Fine. How's dad?" My mother responds, "After you left last night dad stopped being restless. He slept the entire night. He was calm. He's been calm all morning long....

05 Nov

Posted at 20:06h in Uncategorized by
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I spent half of Monday at work and then I spent the rest of the day working from my parents home. My mother was able to leave the home, go to a few appointments, and run and errand or two. I stayed and worked remotely, taking calls, emails, and working on a few ideas for an up coming meeting. As 3:30pm approached I went into the kitchen and open the cabinet where all of my fathers medication...

04 Nov

Posted at 11:43h in Uncategorized by
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This past weekend I spent parts of Saturday and Sunday with my mother and father. My mother had specifically asked me to come over on Saturday due to a few of my fathers relatives coming to visit. She just needed the additional emotional support. During the visit, my mothers sister, husband, and her four children and their significant others all stopped over as well. As soon as my Godmother (mom's sister) entered the house she was...

02 Nov

Posted at 12:55h in Uncategorized by
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My phone went off at 12:01 pm today as I was in the middle of a virtual business review. It was from my mother and it simply read: CALL ME. My heart began to race, my mind went dark, and all I could think about was getting off the damn review and calling my mother. The clock seemed to tick away for the next 29 minutes. I hopped off and called my mother immediately. When she answered her...

19 Oct

Posted at 21:06h in Uncategorized by
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Spoke to my father today to get an update on his appointment. The healthcare system punted my fathers care back to his primary care physician.  The appointment went pretty well. They physician told my father that his sweats are probably related to his cancer, the enormity of all the information he was just hit with, the amount of change his mind and body are going through, and the fact that he is just not eating and...