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Services for Sonja Jean Cole, 54, of Shallowater will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 3, 2007, at First United Methodist Church in Shallowater, with Brooks Morton officiating and Richard Wootonn assisting. Burial will follow at the City of Lubbock Cemetery. She died on Friday, June 29, 2007.
She was born on April 6, 1953, in Tahoka and married Jim Cole on May 2, 1975. She was a loving wife, mother, nana and now angel. She was a nurse for over 30 years before retiring in 2005. Survivors include her husband; her children, Jennifer Cole, Stacy and Jeremy Wenzel, all of Lubbock, and Michael and Kristie Cole of Shallowater; her mother and stepfather, Katherine and Newman Lusk of Shallowater; four siblings, Denise Underwood of Jackson, Wyo., Ronnie Wootonn of Richardson, Renee Frehulfer of Lubbock, and Richard Wootonn of Iowa City, Iowa; and two grandchildren, Austin and Houston Wenzel. She was preceded in death by her father, Gene Wootonn. The family suggests memorials to the Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Foundation. They will receive friends at Agape Funeral Chapel on Monday, July 2, 2007, from 6-8 p.m.
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hospitalization, and cancer update
Current mood:  determined
Hey
everyone. I'm Jen, Sonja's oldest daughter. Mom wanted to to write a
blog to give everyone an update on everything. Mom was admitted to the
hospital last Thursday with complications with her lungs. Here's a copy
of my blog with the details of what's been going on the past few days.
This
is what I had written on Friday - yesterday was not a good day. I
called Mom around 12 and she was just leaving the Dr's office after
having blood work done to see if she could have the lung surgery
today. I could tell she was extremely tired but said she was doing
great. Well, the blood work came back and she still wasn't clotting
blood like she should. She called her physician back and told them
that she wasn't well and we needed to do something about this. They
decided to admit her to the hospital yesterday evening. When
I got to the hospital, I just happened to catch the same elevator as
her oncologists and so I was able to talk to him about how tired she
was and loopy sounding. Well, he thought that the reason her blood
work was wack was b/c they took the blood from the port, which had been
flushed out with heparin a few days earlier. So they drew more blood.
And I left the hospital to go to bed and get some rest thinking
everything was fine. Well I got a phone call about 30 minutes later
from my sister. The oncologist came back with some bad news. The
blood work still was bad. And her organs were starting to fail. The
oncologist was starting to talk about hospice care. He said he didn't
know if it was going to have 6 days, 6 weeks or 6 months left. They
were going to watch her overnight for observations and then decide what
to do next. They were planning on doing the surgery some time this
afternoon. She's had a few plasma and blood transfusions throughout
the day. And
as I started to write this blog, things were actually normal. They
gave her some meds and her kidneys are working well, well as well as
they can at this point I think. But, she just requested about 30' ago
to get out of bed. And she was worried about how her hair looked. So
I fixed her hair and she sat in the chair next to her bed for about 30
minutes. Talk about a trooper. She's so strong. She's such a role
model!
Now,
her breathing is a little wack, her o2 sats are around 85, but they've
been as good as 100 at some points. They're going to giver her some
more drugs for her kidneys and more blood, and they're planning on
doing the surgery sometime this weekend. I just wanted to give you all
an update on Mom. Please keep praying for her and my Dad too. I know how hard this is on me, I can't even imagine what it's like for him.
That was this weekend. Today is Monday and Mom is 100% better. The
dr's are starting to talk about moving her out of ICU. She is doing so
great! She's so strong. And such a fighter. I really do think her new
cardiologists saved her life. I will keep you all posted though. And
please keep praying for Mom. They're still planning on doing the lung
procedure, but they're still waiting on her blood work to look a little
more normal. Again, thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.
Jen | | |
| This week, I have three doctor appointments. Monday, I saw my lung doctor and he said everything was looking good. He did a chest x-ray and my lungs are clear. My heart is very enlarged, but lungs are clear. He checked my oxygen level because I have been a little smothery and it registered at 99% (which is excellent). He also said that I had enough doctors taking care of me, so he would see me in a year. There never was a truer statement. Prayers were answered with doc #1....Yeah! Tuesday, I saw my oncologist. He gave me the results of my scans from last week. Everything is basically stable and unchanged as far as the scans are concerned. I still have multiple spots in my liver and bones(spine, femur, pelvic area, shoulder & trochanter bone) but, apparently these areas are stable. It did show a right pleural effusion in my lung, but this must have cleared because my lung doctor didn't see it. Also, my cancer markers continue to elevate so we will keep an eye on that. He also indicated that he was glad the scans are stable at this point in time because he said he would not be inclined to give me any IV chemo due to my heart. He said that my heart was still recovering and he wanted it to rest and not tax it anymore than necessary. I am still taking my daily oral chemo, my avastin and my aredia. I had the aredia and avastin today. As you can see prayers were also answered with Doc #2. So far, I'm batting a thousand. Yeah! Keep those prayers coming! Hopefully Doc #3 will give me good results on Friday. I will keep you posted. My fighting spirit is definitely back! Sonja | | |
| God answers prayers
Current mood:  tired
Category: Life I haven't posted very much on either of my websites these past few months. I have been ill...I haven't had much energy to write anything. I kept thinking that I would feel better soon, but it just didn't happen. I have been battling an upper respiratory illness since December (among other things). I haven't felt well since October, but I just put it down to the radiation and chemo...well evidently, I was developing congestive heart failure. The last chemo that I took was very hard on the heart, but it was a risk that we had to take. This chemo was controlling the cancer very well. I was checked out by my cardiologist and had an angiogram to check the arteries and heart muscle and was cleared for the chemo. The doctor that did the cardiac ablation told us that Congestive heart failure doesn't develop over night....hindsight indicates that it probably started in October. I always pass out the candy on Halloween, but that night I told Jim that I just wasn't up to it. Enclosed is an e-mail that I sent to friends and family a few days ago. I am feeling much better, although still a little weak. I will try to keep my blogs more current. My e-mail...I just wanted to touch base with everyone. Many prayers were made these 2 past weeks and I want to let everyone know how much I deeply appreciate you. God does answer prayer. I also appreciate the cards, flowers and visits from everyone. Rick, the broccoli cheese soup and fruit were wonderful. It truly made me feel better. As most of you know, I was admitted to the Lubbock Heart hospital on Friday, February 16th with severe congestive heart failure and atrial flutter with heart rate of 140-160. Atrial flutter basically means my heart was not pumping effectively (just quivering). I was scheduled for a cardiac ablation on Monday, but Sunday things started going downhill. I knew something was wrong...the blood pressure alarms kept going off and it wasn't able to read my BP. About 4:30 pm, I told Jim to get the nurse and things were in a frenzy after that. They transferred me to CCU/ICU and finally stabilized me about 10 pm. I think that I scared my entire family, including me. I had about 10 nurses working on me while I was on the floor and about that many in CCU. I thoroughly recommend this hospital to anyone with heart problems. The nursing care, lab, respiratory therapists and dietician were outstanding. They truly go above and beyond. Out of all the people I met, there was only 1 nurse that I didn't think was very good. On Monday afternoon, I had the cardiac ablation. The doctor runs a catheter to my heart and burns the area causing the arrhythmia. Jim said that it took 1 hour. I was totally out and I remember nothing about that evening. Jim said that every time I woke up, I said "Did it work?" Yes, it did work! Prayers were answered! They kept me in CCU until Thursday and was released on Friday. I have had to make some lifestyle changes. I am on a restricted sodium diet and also need to limit my caffeine intake. I didn't think that I used that much salt, but all processed foods have high content of sodium. The good news is that they told me that I can eat out once a week. I was surprised, I thought maybe they would allow me to eat out once a month. I am able to walk short distances, but will use a wheelchair as needed. I will be having my cancer scans this Friday and I see 3 doctors next week. I will get the results of my scans on Tuesday. Please continue to keep me on your prayer list. Please feel free to pass this e-mail to all concerned in your group. I don't have everyone's e-mail address. I still tire easily so this will help me out...I'm being a little lazy. Let everyone know that I am doing well, my positive attitude is good for the most part. I am determine and willing to fight each little stumbling block as they develop. Love, Sonja | | |
| I felt in my heart that I needed to sit down and list all of my blessings and things/people that I am thankful for. These past three years have been a challenging experience. I have learned many new things about me and the people around me. I am thankful for my positive attitude. I never realized that I had one until I was diagnosed with cancer. I have learned that You are in control of how You react to each situation. I am thankful for my Family. What would I do without each and every one of you? My husband, children and mother have been my caregivers. My caregivers and extended family have been a source of encouragement and hope. My grandsons and future grandchildren give me the strength to fight this cancer. I may not always show it, but I love each and every one of you. I am thankful for God and all that he has given me. I am thankful to God for sending me my prayer warriors. I am thankful that God does answer prayers. I am so blessed to live in this great country of ours…that we have the privilege and right to be able to worship God without any repercussions. I am thankful for all the men and women in the military that have fought for our rights and privileges. I am thankful for all of my doctors and my medical care team. I am blessed that they have the knowledge and experience to help me fight this horrible disease. I am thankful for all of my friends, co workers, my online friends at myspace and xanga. I am truly blessed. I am also thankful for all of the people that have made my life difficult. This is a weird blessing, but without you, I would not be the person that I am today. Here’s another weird blessing. I am thankful for my experience with cancer. Cancer is a horrible disease, but through all of the trials and tribulations, I have met some wonderful people, I am closer to my family and I am closer to God. I’ve always been told that God doesn’t give you any more than you can handle, but I’ve also learned that with his help and with the encouragement of my family, that I am able to have hope, peace and strength to continue this battle. I will try to add more blessings throughout the month. I hope that everyone has a great day. Remember to count your blessings. Sonja | | |
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