THE LAST STAGE

Stage 7 as defined by the Alzheimer's Association

Very severe cognitive decline (Severe or late-stage Alzheimer's disease)

This is the final stage of the disease when individuals lose the ability to respond to their environment, the ability to speak and, ultimately, the ability to control movement. Frequently individuals lose their capacity for recognizable speech, although words or phrases may occasionally be uttered Individuals need help with eating and toileting and there is general incontinence of urine Individuals lose the ability to walk without assistance, then the ability to sit without support, the ability to smile, and the ability to hold their head up. Reflexes become abnormal and muscles grow rigid. Swallowing is impaired. This is the stage that is the hardest for families, or at least it was for me.  I would sit and talk to my Dad and he'd just stare at the TV or the ceiling fan or what ever. It really stunk that I couldn't communicate with him at all.  He'd mumble sometimes  but that was about it.  I've put off this last stage because it's how I remember my Dad the most and I don't want to.  Although I have forced myself to think about times when he wasn't sick to get those images out of my head.  I remember the times when he and I would play basketball and when we'd ride bikes at our beach house and go to my grandmother's for breakfast almost every morning in the summer when he was on vacation.    Okay enough about that.  I do want to ask you all to keep praying for  Stellan, he and his family have had a time of it.  They are currently in Boston being seen by one of the top doctors in this field in the country.   Love & Blessings, Magnolia

ANOTHER YEAR OLDER!

Yes, I am another year older.  I am now labeled "mid to late 30s".  Do I feel older, in some ways yes and in some ways no.  I don't feel like I look any older and I don't feel any older, but my thought process is maturing.  I don't just do things nowadays, I think about what I'm doing and what the results or consequences are.  I also have grown in my walk with God, he has taught me so much in the last few years, I couldn't begin to go through everything.  The biggest thing is patience.  I have become more patient with others, especially with J and his missions with the Army.  I remember when he told me a couple of years ago that he would have to go back on active duty.  The first thing that I did was pray for patience and understanding.  You see the 1st time he was on active duty I was not the most patient person and I was definitely not understanding.  And God has sure answered my prayers.  To date, my pitching fits has been minimal and J and I are more understanding of each others feelings.  So therefore, I have grown in that aspect of my life.  There are a ton more examples that I could give but then I'd be babbling.  So onto the fun part of my birthday, Wednesday was my birthday and was fairly uneventful, but J and I had a nice time yesterday.  I asked to go to the zoo here in town for my birthday outing and of course he being the good husband that he is we went.  Along with everyone else in this city obviously!  But all in all, we had a great time and I got some great photos.  

Blessings,

Magnolia

Easter 2009

Well to tell the truth Easter this year went better than I expected.  I was dreading going to my Mom's since it was the 1st time I had been home since my Dad passed away.  But we had a nice time.  J and I left Friday at lunch and drove down.  We took Mom to the grocery store since she was "wigging out" about not having a ham for Sunday lunch.  So about $100 later we left the store and headed home.  We ended up eating seafood with my my sister and her family that night.  Saturday J, Mom and I headed out to go shopping, we went up to Myrtle Beach and stopped at the new Market Place Commons, which was nice and ate lunch, we shopped a while there and then headed to Coastal Grand Mall where we stayed for a while (thank goodness there was a Starbucks there!).  Then we headed to Lowe's to get Mom a new mailbox since someone backed into her's.  On Sunday we got up, got dressed and went to church and then cooked lunch and my sister and her family came over to eat.  After lunch we all headed outside to erect Mom's new mailbox!  That in itself was an adventure but it got done and about 4:30 yesterday afternoon we headed home from Mom's house.  Needless to say, we stayed busy and that's the way I like it.  I have ants in my pants and can't sit still so keeping busy was great for me.  All in all Easter was nice but I still missed my Dad like crazy and that part of it sucked!  But the meaning was still there and I know because of what happened on that cross so many years ago, I'll see my Dad again one day.  That is the one bright spot over the weekend.  I am so incredibly thankful for that.  So how was your Easter?

Blessings,

Magnolia

HAPPY EASTER!

Happy Easter to you all out there.  I'll update more later about our trip to Mom's this weekend.  Lots of Love!

Magnolia

What I'm Thankful For

There are so many things that I am thankful for, it would be silly for me to even try and list them all.  The top things on my list are Jesus & my family.  So let's talk to the 1st on my list, I'm thankful for his life and the lessons he taught while he was here.  I'm thankful for his death (might sound weird, right), without his death I would not have everlasting life, so I am extremely thankful for that.  I am thankful that my Dad did not suffer his last months & weeks on this Earth.  I have a co-worker who's Dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer a while ago and is now in the hospital after having a massive heart attack.  Please pray for her Dad and she and her family.  I can't imagine seeing my Dad all hooked up like that to machines, so I am thankful for the way he left this Earth.  So when you are having a rotten day, remember the days leading up to Jesus death and be thankful.

With Blessings & Thankfulness,

Magnolia

Why Jesus?

That's the question.  Why did Jesus come to Earth, why didn't God send some angel?  My thoughts are these.  Jesus was proof of God's devotion to us.  The most important person  for the job was sent.  You see, no one else was qualified for what God had to do.  Jesus was the only one that could die and rise again, and pay for the ultimate for our sins.  So when I think about Easter, I think what an important job/mission (or whatever you want to call it) Jesus had.  Thank you to an awesome God.

Also, I need to update on Stellan.  Stellan is still in the PICU with varying bouts of SVT.  The next step seems to be an abolation.  Which is not the best option but the only one that Stellan has at this point.  Please pray for Stellan, his doctors and his family.  

Blessings,

Magnolia

Easter is Near

It's Monday of Easter week and I thought that I would take a cue from my blogger Kelly and try and write something everyday this week.  So I am going to start with...

What Easter means to me?

Easter is a time for renewal, birds, flowers and green grass.  I love seeing the Dogwood trees bloom every Easter here in the south.  If you've never seen one, they are stunningly beautiful trees when in bloom.  But in that theme of renewal, comes a renewal faith.  It reminds me of the sacrifice that was made for me.  Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice so that I would live forever with him in Heaven.  That amazes me every time that I think about Easter.  I could 

never repay Jesus for what's he done, and thank goodness he's not into repayment.  Not to mention, it reminds me that I am not perfect and that God really understands that, and that is why he sent his son, so that we could all live with him in a perfect Heaven.  You see Jesus took all of our past and future sins away so that we could b

e with a perfect God in a perfect home.  How amazing!  So join me

 when you see the spring flowers and think about the sacrifice and the real meaning of that sacrifice.

Love & Spring Flowers,

Magnolia