The Summer/Autumn Karuna Newsletter is now available. Download the Karuna News Summer/Autumn 2008 in pdf format. The following is just one article from the newsletter.
My mother, Gienia, was diagnosed with Lymphoma when my youngest son was 6 months old. We called her Ba. She had been Ba for the last 17 years and got the name from my nephew who called her that because Grandma was such a big word when he was very little.The name stuck. Ba coped really well with the first round of chemotherapy. She lost her hair but was still driving and getting around. But the cancer was still there so a second round was scheduled to begin on Boxing Day 2006.
Ba with grandsons Ryan and Josh
We had a lovely Christmas with Mum making her usual enormous plum pudding that we struggled to carry to the table. Mum knew what lay ahead but was upbeat and positive because she had already coped extremely well with one round of treatment and she was determined that she could manage another.We did not realise that this would be our last Christmas together. The second round of chemotherapy was very strong and she spent most of the year in and out of hospital. She was very weak and frustrated by her condition. Mum had always been very active and would fill her days helping others. She wanted to play with her small grandsons but it was all a little too much. A course of radiation followed the chemotherapy. Unbelievably, the cancer was still growing.The doctors sent her home to live the rest of her life. There was no timeframe - she could have years. As it turned out, it was less than 2 months.
My mother was frightened of dying alone and wanted to stay with me for as long as she could. My sister arrived from Mackay to help and that is when we first heard about Karuna.
We were asked, “What do you need”? We really did not know. The lovely Alice arrived the next day. She was so capable and reassuring and instantly we knew that we could do this. A bed arrived later in the day and my sister and I were relieved we had a 24 hour number for assistance.
Ba was deteriorating; she could no longer get out of bed and was barely eating. One Tuesday, Alice said that she was slipping faster than expected and she estimated Ba had less than a week. Alice or Lynda were there every day providing much needed advice and support, along with practical help with bathing, bed changing and pain management.
Our Ba lost her brave battle with cancer at 3.30am Monday 3rd September. She passed with one hand in my sister’s hand and the other in mine.
Ba’s calm and peaceful passing would not have been possible without the fantastic support from Karuna. I know that Ba really appreciated the assistance my sister and I received. She knew that without Karuna she would not have been able to stay at home listening to her grandsons play and giggle.
By Carol Ferris
