It is with a great deal of sadness that we say goodbye to our wife, mom, grandmother, and friend today. Jolene passed away at four o'clock this morning.

Viewing will be held at
Russon Brothers Mortuary
295 N Main street
Bountiful , Utah
on Thursday, March 12 from 6-8 pm

Funeral Information:

Friday, March 13, 2009
9:30-10:30 am Viewing
11:00 am Funeral Service
Woods Cross Stake House
2064 South 800 West
Woods Cross, Utah

We had the hospice doctor come by today and he said he thought her passing was eminent. He asked us to increase her pain medication to keep her comfortable and sleeping as much as possible. She has not been able to remember very much the last few days. She seems somewhat confused and unable to communicate most of the time. I would ask that she not have any visitors as she most likely will not be able to recognize anyone. We appreciate all your love and support and we are glad that she was able to visit with everyone who came by to see her.
Thanks again for all the kind gestures and help from everyone.

Dick Potter

Another update on Jolene's condition. She has been home for 3 weeks now and for quite a while she got better almost everyday. The last few days she seems to be going down hill fairly rapidly but the nurse said that could change and her condition will probably be like a physical roller coaster with her getting better one day and worse the next. Today has not been a good day for her. She is getting forgetful and confused. She sometimes forgets people's names and she can't remember the name of things.
I would ask everyone who comes to visit to keep the visits short in order to let her rest because she seems to need more rest than in the recent past.
Pray for a miracle because that is what she needs.

Dick Potter

An update to Jolene's condition. When she came home the doctor told me she had 2-3 days at most. After she came home she became more coherent and responsive every day for about a week and has been at the same level of responsiveness since then. Lately, Jolene has been very communicative and recognizes everyone who comes to visit. She seems to be a little bit weaker each day and is eating very little. She only eats about one Popsicle per day along with a rice drink and lots of water. Sometimes she wants something else other than the Popsicle and drink and the nurse told us to give her what she wants. A PRN from hospice comes in every day to clean her and we try and reposition her every few hours so she will be comfortable. A RN comes to visit twice a week. She sleeps quite a bit and is only awake for 4-6 hours every day. If she has any pain we give her some pain medication and that makes her sleep even more. At this point it is a day to day thing and we are just trying to keep her as comfortable and without pain as possible. She has a massage therapist that comes over a couple of times a week and she really enjoys that. If anything else develops we will put it on the blog.

Dick Potter

2/10/09

Well what to say in this situation. Jolene was brought home from the hospital on Monday...she had organ failure and there wasn't much the hospital could do. Her family has been able to come and say good-bye as her earthly journey is quickly coming to an end. We appreciate all the love and support that friends and neighbors have shown us these last few months. It is hard to put into words what we are all feeling at this time but we are comforted by the plan of salvation that we all have a testimony of. We know that she will be welcomed by loving arms by those who have passed before her. We will keep you posted as further events unfold.

The Latest Update - 2/4/09

We just wanted to let everyone who has been following Jolene's progress that last night she was admitted to LDS Hospital. Dick took her in last night and the doctors found that she was quite dehydrated and that she had in infection throughout her body. She will be in the hospital for a few days but her doctor has said that he does not want her around flowers. So if you would like to send her something to show your support and love, please send her a card at her home address. We are not sure how long the 'no flower' rule will last but we will certainly let you know when she will be able to receive them again. Jolene has really enjoyed receiving flowers and they have brought her much joy through this difficult time.

Please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers, we know that they are working. We know that Jolene will pull through this latest bump in her road to recovery. She is a strong woman that we all love and adore and are anxious for her to come home. Thank you!

Hi, this is an update on what has happened this week. Tuesday I went to Salt Lake Clinic and had fluid removed from by abdomen. For some reason my Liver is swollen and is producing fluid into the abdomen. They pulled almost 4 liters of fluid off my abdomen and I can now bend over and much of the pain is gone. Wednesday I went to the Salt Lake Clinic for my chemo treatment. We left about 10 in the morning and returned home at 5:30. That is a long day for me. That included going up to LDS hospital to have the dressing changed on my pic line. Today I went into the Clinic to get my neulasta shot to bring my platelets and white-cell count up. Time for me to rest. If this chemo follows the past, I will feel pretty good today and tomorrow and then will have a difficult weekend. I just get feeling pretty good and then it is time for another chemo treatment. I have had 7 teatments and have 5 to go. I have them every 2 weeks. I appreciate all the help and prayers in my behalf. We also appreciate all the meals that have been brought into us. Thanks so very much
Love, Jolene

Just an update to what is happening with the cancer. On the 21st I went in to get a CT scan to evaluate how the cancer therapy is progressing. I have had a great deal of swelling in my abdomen and in my legs and feet and the doctor was concerned that perhaps the cancer in the liver was not responding to the chemo like the cancer in the lung. Dick and I had a consultation with the doctor today at 2:30pm. He said he had good news!! the CT scan showed that the tumors in the lungs and liver had shunk significantly both in size and in number. He was very encouraged with the therapy results. Apparently the liver is simply reacting to trying to rid the body of all the toxic material from the chemo and is not being able to handle the overload very well. I will go in on Monday and have the abdomen drained like I did a few weeks ago. He instructed me to put pillows under my legs at night so the fluids in the legs will drain back into the abdomen so the lymph nodes can get rid of the fluids in the legs. If I can get past the swelling I think I would feel pretty good. The swelling makes it hard to eat and drink because it pushes on my stomach and intestines. I am not sure you really wanted to know all of that but thats where I am at. I will continue with my chemo treatments on next wednesday.
Love, Jolene

A Message From Jolene's (out-of-state) Family

First of all I would like to thank all those who have been concerned and who have helped Jolene in the past few months. Being out of state for this ordeal has been hard on us as we wish we could be closer to her. However we cannot change where we are at the moment and so it has brought us much peace knowing that she is surrounded by such loving and caring friends. Jolene talks frequently about how much has been done for her from all of you so I know it has meant a lot to her as it has meant a lot to us. Isn't it so true that a ward becomes your family; I feel very fortunate that Jolene is in such a ward.
We were all so glad that we could be together as a family this Christmas season and I am still marveling at how full Jolene's counters were with treats and goodies, by how many people stopped by to see if she needed anything, and to hear a neighbor's snow blower clearing Jolene's driveway. These acts may seem little to some but enormously appreciated by those served. Again thank you from her family...the prayers and thoughts that you all are giving her also comforts her family members.
Second of all, I wanted to share some fun memories that were had while being together this past Christmas. Like I said on my blog: the Christmas tree has been put away, the Christmas lights have come down but the Christmas memories will never fade.

Lexi (granddaughter) and Connor (grandson)

Caleb (grandson) and Ashley (granddaughter)

Jessica (granddaughter)

Alli (granddaughter)

Josh (grandson) and Sam (grandson)

The Grandkids singing for Nana and Papa

Steve (boyfriend) and Sandi (daughter)

Shelly (daughter) and Steve (son-in-law)

Ann (daughter-in-law) and Jim (son) and Jolene

Jolene and Marianne (daughter-in-law)

Jolene and Dick - Christmas Eve 08

Trevor (son-in-law) and Mari (daughter) Kidd

Ann (daughter-in-law) and Haley (granddaughter)

Katie (granddaughter) Alyssa (granddaughter) and Jessica (granddaughter)

Marianne (daughter-in-law) Dave (son) Caleb (grandson)

My latest treatment

Yesterday Jan 14, 2009, I had my latest chemo treatment. It turned out to be an eventful day. I thought I was going there to have only a chemo treatment but before they started the chemo treatment I was sent down to radiology so that they could get water off of my liver. apparently the chemo is not being as effective with the liver and there is water building up around my liver in my abdomen. Then back to onchology to get my full chemo treatment, abraxane, avastin, and ny bone strengthing treatment that I get once a month which is zometa. Then back on thursday morning for the newlastin shot to improve my white cells and platelets.
On January 21st I will go in to onchology and they are going to do a CT scan on the chest abdomen, and pelvic areas to see how effective the treatments have been. On January 23rd Dick and I will have a consoltation with the onchologist to see if the plan we have been on is working or if there are any changes needed. On January 28th I will go back in for a chemo treatment of some sort. On every Wednesday whether I have a treatment or not, I go up to LDS hospital to the infusion services to have the dressings changed on the double pic line.
I have my good days and my bad days but all in all I think things are going well. The prayers and loving support of family, friends, and ward members has been very comforting. I am a fighter and am going to keep on fighting and hope for the best.

Welcome to my blog!

I had my last treatment on December 31st. My whole family was here for New Years and we were able to have our traditional family celebration with finger foods and lots of fun and games. I even made it to midnight! I have been fighting fatigue for the last couple of weeks, but I am looking forward to my next treatment on January 14th. I am hoping that soon after that I will feel well. Hopefully after the next treatment, they will do a body scan to see how well the treatment is working, and that will give us an idea of what to do next.

I just want to thank everybody for their support and prayers. They mean so much to me. I figure we can never have too many prayers!