Once again I'm sitting in Moms room by her side. She is resting comfortably now asleep and out of pain. Last night after my post Mom sat up on the side of her bed and was able to eat a few pieces of fruit and had some water as well. At times she is able to focus on who is in front of her and speak with them. At other times she just glances off into space. It's hard for us to know what she is thinking when she does this but it never seems to be frightening for her.
After we got her back down in bed she slept right through the night. I think just knowing that Bart was sleeping in her room with her helped her a great deal. We have been giving her a anti-anxiety medication before she goes down for the night and it seems to help. Her nurse Julie has suggested that we give this to her 3 times a day so she wont get wound up. It seems her pain spikes when she starts to have anxiety so this is what we are going to do from now on.
This morning when i arrived Misty was sitting up with her on the side of the bed and she was drinking quite a bit of water which is always good because she is becoming quite dehydrated since we discontinued her IV. Her line in her arm that is delivering the Morphine is still stable for now but it may not be for long. At that point we will try and get her a new one but this may not be possible because of the dehydration. If this occurs we then will have to begin giving the pain meds by mouth. It's in a liquid form and should work as well or better than the pump it just has to be done by hand ever couple of hours.
Her wonderful CNA was in this morning to give her a sponge bath and get her cleaned up a bit. Forgive me if I'm wrong but i believe her name is Sally. I cannot express in words how thankful we all are for the care they have giving to my mom. Without Julie and Sally's help and the great people at Rocky Mountain Health Care it would not be possible for mom to be home. At some point Tamra may need around the clock care and we have already spoken with her hospice team about this and it doesn't seem to be a problem.
After he bath she was up for just a minute and then we got her back down in bed. She has been resting since and seems to be quite comfortable. When Misty was saying goodbye she did say something interesting without even opening her eyes. She very quietly said "happy days are coming" at least 3 or 4 times. I hope she can see just a little of whats in store for her.
One last thing. I want to thank you all for the messages you have left. We hope that Tamra is able to grasp what we are trying to relay to her but beyond that it really is helping us as we struggle through this. It is so wonderful to know that we are not the only ones that are able to see what a truly amazing wife, mother, sister, daughter and friend she has been to us all!
I love you mom...Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle, meow, meow, meow.
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Tamra Juretich Tapp
Tamra Juretich Tapp
Our loving, wife, mother & grandmother age 67 passed away on Thursday, February 19, 2009 at home after a brief battle with Pancreatic Cancer.
She was born July 16th, 1941 in Murray Utah to Matt & Claudia Juretich and later married Jackie Thomas Tapp February 20th, 1960 in Coalville Utah.
Tamra began high school at West High and later graduated from Jordan High in 1959.
She started dancing at the age of 3, was a member of the Jordan High Dance Company with her best friend Penny Walker and later preformed on the Ted Mack show as a beautiful gifted young woman. As a young mother she taught ballet, tap, jazz and modern dance in the basement of her home on Coventry Lane and had a positive influence on the children she taught.
Tamra loved her time serving in the Young Women’s program of the Church. Her greatest joy was teaching and laughing with the Young Women she served. She especially had fond memories as Stake camp director while living in Silver Reef, Utah.
Tamra enjoyed working with her friends at Sunfirst Bank in Hurricane and St. George Utah, where she was always the life of the party. She especially enjoyed working alongside Mont Humphries who she considered one of her closest friends.
Most of all Tamra loved her children, grand children and her husband Jack of 48 years and will miss them dearly!
Tamra’s catch phrase throughout her life was “have a nice day and smile all the way” and loved anything that was bright and sparkly. She was always thinking of others and had the innate ability to make others feel comfortable around her.
Instead of flowers Tamra has requested that you provide an act of kindness for someone in need.
Thank you to the staff at Intermountain Healthcare and Rocky Mountain Healthcare who assisted with her care. Specifically we would like to thank her nurse Julie and CNA Sally who took such good care of her during the end of her earthly life.
Our loving, wife, mother & grandmother age 67 passed away on Thursday, February 19, 2009 at home after a brief battle with Pancreatic Cancer.
She was born July 16th, 1941 in Murray Utah to Matt & Claudia Juretich and later married Jackie Thomas Tapp February 20th, 1960 in Coalville Utah.
Tamra began high school at West High and later graduated from Jordan High in 1959.
She started dancing at the age of 3, was a member of the Jordan High Dance Company with her best friend Penny Walker and later preformed on the Ted Mack show as a beautiful gifted young woman. As a young mother she taught ballet, tap, jazz and modern dance in the basement of her home on Coventry Lane and had a positive influence on the children she taught.
Tamra loved her time serving in the Young Women’s program of the Church. Her greatest joy was teaching and laughing with the Young Women she served. She especially had fond memories as Stake camp director while living in Silver Reef, Utah.
Tamra enjoyed working with her friends at Sunfirst Bank in Hurricane and St. George Utah, where she was always the life of the party. She especially enjoyed working alongside Mont Humphries who she considered one of her closest friends.
Most of all Tamra loved her children, grand children and her husband Jack of 48 years and will miss them dearly!
Tamra’s catch phrase throughout her life was “have a nice day and smile all the way” and loved anything that was bright and sparkly. She was always thinking of others and had the innate ability to make others feel comfortable around her.
Instead of flowers Tamra has requested that you provide an act of kindness for someone in need.
Thank you to the staff at Intermountain Healthcare and Rocky Mountain Healthcare who assisted with her care. Specifically we would like to thank her nurse Julie and CNA Sally who took such good care of her during the end of her earthly life.
Up to date information for friends and family of Tamra Tapp
1/12/09
About a month ago Tamra had a recurrence of some back pain which she has had on and off for years. She had some physical therapy done but it had little effect. Over the following weeks she was very tired and sleepy. The pain had progressed over time and so she had Misty take her into the St George hospital on December 31 to get at CT scan to see if the liver was the issue of her pain. The nurses at the hospital sent her home and said they would send the scans to the doctors for review.
The doctors called on the January 5th to check on here pain and suggested that she come in for a biopsy her liver on the January 6th. She had this done and had to wait until January 8th for the results. Upon receiving the results of the biopsy the family doctor suggested we meet a hospital oncologist because he had concerns about what he was seeing on the CT scan and what showed up in the biopsy results.
An appointment was set up with the Oncologist today at the Huntsman Cancer wing here in St George. Without knowing fully all the medical lingo here is what we learned today. Apparently as some point (nobody knows exactly when) a cancer started at the bottom head of her pancreas. It has traveled from it starting point to just outside the pancreas and has since spread to the liver. Unfortunately there is not a specific treatment for where this cancer started. This is not to say that there are not treatments that can be done because there are but there is no chance of a complete cure.
Tamra has decided on a course of treatment as suggested by the oncologist. Her pain is being managed at the moment and will be modified as needed. It is her and our wish that she be kept pain free even at the cost maybe losing a few months of her life. We will be exploring all treatments as some may work and others may not. We all have agreed on this course and just want what is best for Tamra.
As her treatments and her condition changes I hope either myself, Bart, Misty or Shane will update you all with any new information. Jack is obviously very distressed by this news and I would hope you would all keep him in your prayers as well as he loves Tamra dearly!
On a personal note I would like to ask one favor of all of you. We are creating this blog mainly for Tamra to be able to log in and read messages from her loved ones and be able to send her feelings back to them when she is feeling up to it. So if you could, please do not use this board to leave messages for other family members. Misty and I have found many of our relatives on Face book and love catching up with them there. And just so you know this is also one of Tamra’s biggest wishes as she expressed to us today. She has always wanted the family to stay together and to keep in touch!
Finally, my thanks to all my family for making a bad situation bearable. To my older brother Bart and his wife Pennie. Thank you for being the strong ones and helping organize all that you have. To my little brother Shane and his wife Jamie. Thank you for taking such good care of both Tamra and Jack now and for being there for them over the years while Bart and I have been in Salt Lake. Also thank you to my little sister Misty and her husband Doug for always doing what you can to do help and helping Tamra and Jack whenever they needed you. I love you all!
Chet
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