Hi, all,

Marisa and Grandma Juanita are back; they arrived this afternoon.

The doctor is trying a different medication, to see if it will control the pain and still allow Terrie to be awake and responsive. When I visited her tonight, she was more active than she was last night. She seemed to respond to our voices, especially to people she's known awhile. Sometimes her eyelids fluttered, but she couldn't keep them open. She'd groan and stir, sometimes lifting her arms, and then the movement would stop.

Terrie's looking jaundiced, which means that her liver is shutting down. She's also much more edamatous (bloated) because her kidneys and/or her circulatory system are/is shutting down. 

If you're like me and need a little guidance about what to do if you go visit Terrie, here are some suggestions, gleaned from experience: Talk to her and tell her all the things you want her to know -- say all the things that you want her to hear, because she can still hear you -- even if she does not seem to respond to what you're saying. If you like, you can stroke her arms very gently and lightly; before she returned to the hospital she liked to have someone stroke her arms because that made them hurt less. 

If Marisa or Grandma Juanita are there when you go, be sensitive to their needs and remember that this is their time with Terrie, too. If it seems appropriate you might tell them what you think of Terrie, but be careful to use the present tense, not the past tense -- I know it helped me when my mom died, and people told me how wonderful she was, and how we kids had made her proud.

And remember that Terrie can still hear you, so speak encouragingly, even when you're talking to other people in the room.

God bless you all.

Under His mercy,

Marty