Thank you

Thank you to everyone for praying and supporting our family. It is hard to know what to do at times like this, but you all are doing it!

We are now set for paper goods for quite awhile, which is wonderful! Our dishwashers (and the kids who often moan about being the dishwashers) can take a break! We can feel your love and are very grateful that God used Sandy's life to bless so many.

Many have asked about meals...between Rod's self-admitted "pickiness" with which foods he eats and the dietary restrictions many of the other family members work around, having meals brought in can be tricky. The last thing we want to do is seem ungrateful, so please understand that we absolutely appreciate the willingness to bring meals. Perhaps, instead, you could take a meal to someone who lives alone, or a family in need, and share with them something about Sandy that has been an encouragement to you. In that way, your act of kindness can create a ripple effect through the community.

Service information will be posted soon. It will be in August, so don't worry about finding details for this weekend or anything.

Please pray for safety as Katie and Eric and the kids drive home from Arizona, and especially for the kids as they process this significant loss. Grandma Sandy cannot be replaced. But her love can live on through each of us.

Heavenly home

Sandy entered heaven today around 11:30am.

Details will follow. The service may not be for a few weeks.

Request for pictures and stories

As we have been looking through Sandy's boxes of treasures from the last 30+ years, we have found countless cards, encouraging notes, words of thanks, and lists of people she was lifting up in prayer. Each semester she asked her students to write a math autobiography, detailing their history with math, concerns and hopes, expectations and attitudes. I think she kept every single one. We are not reading them, because they are personal, a trust her students put in her at the start of each class. I imagine each of you have stories and pictures, memories, inside jokes, and ways your life has changed as a result of your relationship with her.

If you would like to share those memories with us, we welcome any and all. There are two easy ways for you to send things our way. You can text (316)247-2139 or email sandy.k.peer@gmail.com - please be sure to include your full name and any contact information you'd like us to have with whatever you send either way.

Sandy continues to be unresponsive but comfortable. Visitors are still welcome to come.

Little change

Sandy continues to rest. She didn't open her eyes today at all, though people continued talking to her as though she can hear - and perhaps she can. She is still having morphine every 4 hours, still snoring from some mild sleep apnea, and still seems comfortable enough.

Visitors are still welcome, though if for any reason seeing her in her present condition is too difficult for you, please don't feel badly about it. There are ways to love and support Sandy besides visiting. Thanks for continued prayers.

"At This Point"

Since the last post, things have declined rather rapidly. The drain exchanges happened on Friday, in addition to the placement of a third drain that takes the place of needing to have a paracentesis every 10 days. Friday evening was rough but not unusual after a procedure. However, things did not improve Saturday or Sunday.  She began struggling to form complete sentences or finish a thought, and the pain was still significant. Both of those are signs of liver failure - the body isn't able to flush out toxins, and a whole host of complications follow. 

Sandy enjoyed having "Second Sunday" lunch at her house, and she surprised us by eating everything on her plate, including ice cream cake for dessert! By the evening, however, she was really struggling. Rod called hospice this morning, and they came out a couple hours later and set everything up. Sandy has a nice hospital-style bed, fresh sheets, and a good dose of morphine helping her remain comfortable.

While we are always hopeful, always looking for the miracle, always keeping eyes open for mighty works of God, we are also looking reality in the face. The hospice nurse who provided great care this morning kept saying "at this point..." - and we didn't like the conclusion each time.

At this point our goal is comfort
At this point move her around as little as possible
At this point it's not necessary to provide those medications anymore
At this point it's good to let friends and family know what's happening
At this point....

So let's change the dialogue a bit.

At this point, we are thankful she is able to rest after months of poor sleep
At this point, we are thankful that she was doing really well on Thursday when Katie and the kids came to visit before leaving for a week-long mission trip.
At this point, we are choosing to remember that good is still all around us
At this point, God is still good, still strong, still in change, still in the business of bringing good out of every situation.

Visitors are welcome at the house. You don't need to call first, though you are welcome to check in if you prefer. In case dad is able to get a good night's sleep, please wait to come until at least 10am each day. We will try to update the blog as there is new information.

Please pray for comfort for mom, family, and friends, for timing to work out with Katie's family coming back to town, for wisdom about medicine types and dosages, and for everyone to strongly feel God's presence. Thank you for continuing to support mom, even at this point.

New Game Plan

Pain has continued to be high, despite a recent change/upgrade in pain medications. Sandy isn't one to complain, but it is often nearly unbearable. Because of this, her doctors have recommended that Sandy bring hospice onto her team for pain management. There are limits to what doctors can prescribe, but those limits are more flexible with hospice. The biggest challenge with making this decision is the feeling like this is giving up or making a "final" decision. However, a number of people have clarified for Sandy the role of hospice, the fact that they can provide somewhat long-term care, and that she has the option of pausing or discontinuing hospice care at any point. 

Are things dire? In some ways, yes. In other ways, Sandy is still planning a trip to the lake, time with family and friends, church and choir, and miscellaneous outings and errands. Due to weakness and medication side effects, she decided to stop driving. While this can at times be frustrating or inconvenient, she is choosing to see it as an opportunity to have time with people in the car as they drive her from place to place. 

Today Sandy will have both drains exchanged and will have a third, different, kind of drain placed in her abdomen. The third drain will take the place of the paracentesis procedure she has been having every 10-14 days by allowing her to drain, at home, excess fluid as it begins to accumulate, rather than waiting until her abdomen is painfully full with significant fluid pressure.

Please pray for peace as she begins this leg of the journey, significant pain reduction, quality sleep each night, favor with each member of the hospice team who will assist with her case, and comfort - not just physically but emotionally as well. We thank God for the option of hospice care, for the ongoing support she receives from her medical team, for moments of laughter, and for faithful friends. 

God already knows the next steps, and His provision is already there, ready for us. 

Psalm 23:4 "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."