Jan and Ana

Jan and Ana Visit During Hospice

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Home for Hospice

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes, 53 seconds

Jan Runs Out of Options

“Your mom was very frustrated today,” I told Jon as we set the table for dinner after I visited with his mom on Monday. “I had hoped she would have been as vibrant as she was when I saw her in the ICU on Saturday after the emergency stent surgery. I remain optimistic and want to focus on getting her home and keeping her here.”

Jon looked pensive as he queried me, “What can we do?”

“Well, from what I had seen when she was home, she was weak, and I could not always help her. We may need to look into rehab or more intensive physical therapy at home.”

While we ate dinner, we left those suggestions on the sideboard. They were thoughts that might be easier to discuss on a full stomach. 

We were sitting on the couch after cleaning the dinner dishes. 

“Those are the only options I can see,” said Jon. 

“We should talk to both of the oncologists. They might have ideas.”

Can you reach out to them to set up a call so Mike and I can discuss the next steps?

“Yes, I will text Dr. Strair in the morning and schedule a call.”

“Is the physical therapist downstairs the one Mom used?”

I said yes. “I will reach out to Karyn in the morning.”

Next Steps Planning

“Jon, let’s see if we can chat with Karyn for a few minutes before getting Mom her milkshake.” I pulled my mask up and stepped into the office of Keating Physical Therapy. As soon as she saw me, Karyn came over to me.

“Do you have a minute to chat with my two sons about the next steps for Jan?”

“Yes, how is she?”

As we walked outside, I gave her a quick update on Jan’s recent hospitalization and surgery. 

After introducing my sons, Jon asked, “We are trying to make the best plans for Mom’s return home. Is there a time we could talk to you about rehab or more physical therapy?

Yes, I would be happy to help with discharge plans,” said Karyn. Your Mom is wonderful, and I would be happy to do what I can to help.

Thanks; let us know the best time for you.

We stopped to get Jan a chocolate milkshake, and the mood was upbeat and optimistic. 

While they prepared the shake, I texted Dr. Strair. 

Both of our sons are in NJ this week. They are concerned, and if it is OK, they might appreciate a brief call to understand the next steps better.

April 6, 2021, 10:13 am

Dr. Strair responded and said we could talk this evening. 

“I will be at Mike’s for dinner,” said Jon.

I nodded as I got into the car and drove to visit Jan. 

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Funny Story

Read: November 2024

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Funny Story: A Novel

by Emily Henry

Today, I began reading Emily Henry‘s Funny Story, a delightful new novel about a pair of opposites connected by an unexpected bond. It was featured in The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2024. The narrator, Daphne, finds herself single after being dumped following her fiancé’s bachelor party, and she ends up moving in with her ex-fiancé’s former boyfriend.

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The Fire and the Ore

Read: September 2022

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The Fire and the Ore

by Olivia Hawker

The Fire and the Ore by Olivia Hawker is a novel set in 1856 when three women—once strangers—come together in unpredictable Utah Territory. Hopeful, desperate, and willful, they’ll allow nothing on earth or Heaven to stand in their way. I have always enjoyed the history of the movement of people across the plains. Tamar, Jane, and Tabitha, along with their shared husband, Thomas Ricks, were real people, and Olivia Hawker compellingly describes them as people living in difficult times.

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Reading a compelling historical fiction novel about family, sisterhood, and survival about three women like Jan was an easy choice. It was a page-turner from the first page to the last.

The Washington Post bestselling author of One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow is a compelling novel of family, sisterhood, and survival.

The Goodreads summary provides a good overview,

Following the call of their newfound Mormon faith, Tamar Loader and her family weather a brutal pilgrimage from England to Utah, where Tamar is united with her destined husband, Thomas Ricks. Clinging to a promise for the future, she abides a surprise: Thomas is already wedded to one woman—Tabitha, a local healer—and betrothed to another.

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The Jan Lilien Education Fund sponsors ongoing sustainability and environmental awareness programs. Gifts made this month; I will match dollar-for-dollar. All donations are tax-deductible.

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Read: February 2023

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Mercy Street: A Novel

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The Goodreads summary provides an overview,

Claudia has counseled patients for almost a decade at Mercy Street, a clinic in the city’s heart. The work is consuming the unending dramas of women in crisis. For its patients, Mercy Street offers more than health care; for many, it is a second chance.

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The Jan Lilien Education Fund sponsors ongoing sustainability and environmental awareness programs. Gifts made this month; I will match dollar-for-dollar. All donations are tax-deductible.

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When you purchase a book through one of my links, I earn a small commission that helps support my passion for reading. This contribution allows me to buy even more books to share with you, creating an incredible cycle of discovering great reads together! Your support truly makes a difference!

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Read: May 2023

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by Justin Cronin

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The Jan Lilien Education Fund sponsors ongoing sustainability and environmental awareness programs. Gifts made this month; I will match dollar-for-dollar. All donations are tax-deductible.

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Read: January 2023

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The Lion’s Den

by Anthony Marra

Today, I read The Lion’s Den by Anthony Marra. After a four and one-half Zoom meeting, I was looking for a book I could finish tonight, and the third book in the Inheritance, a collection of five stories about secrets, unspoken desires, and dangerous revelations between loved ones, seemed like the book to read. The Lion’s Den is the story of Michael, a son, his father’s transgressions in a tell-all were the ethical, righteous—and profitable—thing to do. What’s left but to slink back home for a humbling face-to-face with the man whose secrets he sold?

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The Goodreads summary provides an overview,

Exposing his father’s transgressions in a tell-all was the ethical, righteous—and profitable—thing to do. What’s left but to slink back home for a humbling face-to-face with the man whose secrets he sold?

He was a notorious government whistle-blower. Depending on whom you ask, he’s a treasonous felon, a folk hero, a validated patriot, or a national disgrace. To his son, Michael, he’s the father who threw his family into upheaval. Now, having moved back home at thirty-four, Michael is getting to know him as a man and getting nearer to understanding his motivations that have remained a mystery in this darkly humorous short story of sacrifice and betrayal by New York Times bestselling author Anthony Marra.

The Jan Lilien Education Fund sponsors ongoing sustainability and environmental awareness programs. Gifts made this month; I will match dollar-for-dollar. All donations are tax-deductible.

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