Donations

We prefer that instead of flowers, we would like people to make a donation in memory of my Mother to one of the many causes she supported with all her heart. These are just a few of the many causes my mom supported, so please do not feel obligated only to donate to the ones I post here.

My Mom was a member of the IBM bike team for the BP MS150
A no kill animal shelter that my Mom loved Second Chance Pets
Our family's congregation Temple Beth Tikvah

Funeral Arrangements

Tuesday, March 2nd will be the day we celebrate my Mom's life. A Jewish service will be held in the sanctuary of Temple Beth Tikvah at 11AM, following the service there will be a funeral procession to Forest Park East Cemetery. The celebration of her life will be at 2PM in the Seabrook Community House. These are the addresses:

Temple Beth Tikvah - 12411 Park Shadows Trail, Houston, TX 77598
Forest Park East Cemetery - 21620 Gulf Freeway, Webster, TX‎ 77058
Seabrook Community House - 1786 1st St, Seabrook, TX 77586

She Won

My Mom is a fighter. She knows what she wants and goes for it. Tonight she wanted to be with her maker. My Mom passed away this evening. She left this world peacefully and surrounded by her family. These past three weeks have been the hardest weeks of our lives. Remember the good times my Mom brought to everyone around her and find comfort knowing that she is now in a better place. We will post information about final arrangements very soon. Thanks for loving my Mom.

Rememberance and Celebration

We want to begin to celebrate my Mom's life. Please share your stories about my Mom, how you met her, how she changed your life, who she was to you, no matter how long or short. We just want to know what she did to put a smile on your face because she always had one on hers. To post a comment you need to sign up for an account by going to www.google.com, then click "Create an account now" at the bottom right of the next page, then fill out your account information and use that same info to sign into this blog webpage. To actually comment on a post after you have signed in just click the "Comments" link at the bottom of any post you want to comment on or you can click on the name of the post you want to comment on in the list of posts on the right side of the page.

Hardest Days

The past few days have been the hardest days of our lives. The neurologist informed us that my Mom will not be coming back to us. His reccomendation was to take her off life support and let her be with God. We struggled with this for days. We asked for more tests and a second opinion, but the answer remained unchanged. Last night my Mom was taken off life support. She is breathing peacefully on her own and is comfortable. We welcome friends to come and visit her. Call my Dad at 281-216-3639 to arrange a time to come and visit. I will continue posting information about my Mom on this site.

Day 19

My Mom had a rough day today. The doctors have kept her on medication to keep her blood pressure up, and her heart rate has been high all day long. Due to her low blood pressure they were not able to perform dialysis today. She is still running a temperature of around 101. She needs everyone's prayers right now.

Day 18

The surgery went well tonight. The surgeon was able to clear out the fluid that had built up, and my Mom tolerated the operation nicely. Our family would like to say thank you to everyone for your kind words and much needed prayers, please keep them coming.

Visitation Update

We found out today that my Mom must go back into surgery tonight in order to deal with fluid that has been accumulating in her abdomen. Because of this we are going to have to limit visitation over the next few days. I will continue posting and keep everyone updated with how the surgery goes tonight.

Visiting Information

My family is more than happy to have my Mom's friends come to the hospital and visit. We want everyone to consider and understand a few things before you decide to come.

Please keep in mind that my Mom is in very critical condition still.

Call my Dad and let him know when you would like to come, because only 2 people are allowed in the room at a time. If you do not reach him just leave your contact info and he or I will get back to you.

She has a lot of medical equipment attached to her and bodily fluids visible. For her protection and your own, you must wear gloves and a gown if you would like to hold her hand or touch anything else in the room.

She is in a coma and has not been responsive since she has been in the hospital. She sometimes will open her eyes or move parts of her body, but these movements are not conscious responses. Please do talk to her while you are there.

If any of this is going to disturb you, we ask that you please wait for her to become more stable before coming to visit. My Mom is in ICU room 2 at Bayshore Medical Center in Pasadena. The visiting hours are everyday from 9-11 AM, 2-5 PM, and 8-9 PM. The only gifts allowed in the room are cards and photographs. If you would like more information please leave a comment on this post.

Day 17

My Mom had a good breathing day compared to the last couple of days. She did not have to rely so heavily on the ventilator nor did she receive any sedation. Her breathing was relaxed all day long. Her temperature has been staying between 99 and 101. No real improvement with regards to her liver and kidneys, and we are still praying that she wakes up soon.

Day 16

Another slow day today. My Mom did not have big changes in her condition. Her breathing was laborered early in the day. The doctor gave her some sedatives and that made her breathing much smoother and more relaxed. Her temperature was down around 99 tonight. Pray for her.

Day 15

Today was not a good day, but it also was not a bad one. My Mom is not much different than she was yesterday. Her fever has dropped down to 99, which is at least one good thing we can hold on to for today. She is still fighting. Keep the prayers coming.

Day 14

Today brought about some good news. My Mom's liver function improved slightly, her breathing is easier and deeper than yesterday, and her arms are a lot less swollen. Keep hoping and praying that she just keeps getting better.

Day 13

Today did not bring about any good changes in my Mom's condition. She had her oxygen level increased slightly because her breathing appeared to be more labored. She has had a temperature of 102 all day long. She continues to fight, while we all continue to pray.

Day 12

Today my Mom's blood tests showed some minor improvements in her liver. She had dialysis again today and her kidneys are still not showing any signs of improvement. They did another CT scan on her abdomen, but we won't know the results until tomorrow. There were no other changes in her condition. Small improvements are definitely better than none. Please keep up the prayers, I know that they will be heard.

Day 11

The Infectious Disease doctor had some good news today, he said my Mom's blood test showed some improvement in fighting the sepsis. That is a good change from yesterday. The doctors want to try and start weening her off the ventilator, hopefully she can begin breathing on her own soon. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Day 10

Some bad news this morning. Her blood test showed that her liver has gotten worse. The Infectious Disease doctor told us that her sepsis is not responding well to the antibiotics. Keep praying for her, she needs it now more than ever.

Day 9

My Mom had a CT scan done this morning on her abdomen. We are waiting for the doctor to come and give us the results. No real changes from yesterday. Her vitals look good, but her temperature is just under 100F. Please pray for her to wake up.

Day 8 2215

This evening they turned reduced the oxygen content in my Mom's ventilator to 40%. No other changes or good news besides that. She is scheduled for a CT scan on her abdomen tomorrow morning which will hopefully give us a better idea on how well she is recovering. Keep up the prayers.

Day 8 1155

This morning marks one week of my Mom being in the hospital. The Nephrologist decided to not do dialysis today, but her kidneys still are not showing signs of improvement. Her blood test showed a small improvement in her liver for a second day in a row, which we are hoping is a start of an upward trend. She is still unconscious, please keep praying for her.

Day 7 2035

A little bit of more good news tonight. The doctors reduced my Mom's oxygen content in her ventilator from 60% to 50%. The oxygen content in the normal air around us is about 21%. She underwent dialysis again today. There were no other big changes. Pray for her.

Day 7 1100

Good news from the doctor this morning. Results from a blood test showed an improvement in her liver, which is the first time we have seen an improvement in that organ since she has been hospitalized. The blood test also showed that her white blood cell count dropped which indicates that her wound infection is healing. Please keep praying for her, she still has a long way to go.

Day 6 2100

Today has not brought any great strides. The doctors decided to do dialysis for a 4th day in a row. The expert Neurologist came and read the EEG from yesterday and basically confirmed yesterdays results. Her temperature was between 99 and 100 all day which is a small improvement from yesterday. On the bad news side, she developed a wound infection today. Her surgeon has treated it and told us that it will clear up easily. We are continuing to wait for the sepsis to subside, her kidneys and liver to restart, and most importantly for her to wake up. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Here, Not There.

I want to clear up some confusion. I have read and heard information from different sources and I am sure everyone reading this site has as well. If you want true and correct information I ask everyone to please stick to this blog. I would also like to say that our family is only interested in helping my Mom get better. At this time all we care about is the process that is going to get my Mom well and not the events leading up to her hospitalization. There will be a time for that, but that time is not right now. Keep my Mom in your hearts and your prayers.

Day 6 0938

This morning her temperature is 99.3, which is some good news. The swelling in her arms are down quite a lot from yesterday. No other changes in her condition. We are waiting for the doctors to come by and make their rounds to give us more information.

Gravely Concerned

We spoke with the Neurologist tonight and to quote him, he is "gravely concerned". He described the EEG results as showing dispersed brain activity. He also told us that since she has not shown any clear signs of waking up, if she wakes up we may be looking at weeks of waiting as opposed to days like we were expecting before tonight. He admitted that he is not an expert at reading EEG's, so he has called in an expert at reading EEG's to come in tomorrow and look at the results. He expects that this expert will not discern any information that he did not already glean from the results....... Besides the bad news from the Neurologist, there have been no other changes in my Mom's condition. We are still waiting for her kidneys to begin working again and for the septic infection to subside. Today they took another blood culture to check for any signs of new infection and started her on a new kind of antibiotic. Please keep her in your prayers.

Day 5 0950

This morning my Mom had an EEG done and is undergoing Dialysis until 1 PM. We are waiting for the Neurologist to come and give us the EEG results. Her heart rate is fluctuating less and has settled at around 105 BPM (beats per minute). Her temperature is still rising and falling and was at 38.5 degrees C. If you want more info on what an EEG is you can read about it here.