Tuesday, June 30, 2009

FYI

I've been asked to post information about Dad's funeral.

10:00 a.m. Thursday, July 2nd - Three Fountains Ward Chapel
1852 N. Stapley Drive
Mesa, AZ

(There will be a luncheon following the services at the church. )

Graveside Services will be same day at 5:00 p.m.
Virden Cemetery
Virden, NM
(Luncheon at Duncan Stake Center following graveside service)

We will be having a friends and family gathering on Wed. July 1st at 6:00 -8:30 p.m. for those that would like to come at Max and Jeanie Germaine's.
1753 N. Rico Cr.
Mesa, AZ
480-924-1550

We look forward to seeing you and send our love to all.

FOR THE FULL OBITUARY GO TO bunkerfuneral.com and click on Charles Clouse

Sunday, June 28, 2009

# 11

I'm not sure what to call this post! "Updates" aren't really pertinent anymore. (Dad's doing fine!) We've had some busy days with funeral preparations and getting things in order for that.
Dad had talked about his funeral and what he wanted so it's pretty much planned. It will be Thursday July 2nd here in Mesa at their church on Stapley/Mckellips at 10:00 a.m. The buriel will be in Virden about 5:00 p.m. that evening.
Mom is doing very well. She's at peace and knows Dad is well again. She is VERY appreciative to all those who have shown their love and support.
Thanks to all who have left comments on my blog - I love you too and thank you for them.
We look forward to our families coming this week - we've missed them!All the girls making funeral plans

Saturday, June 27, 2009

# 10

We are quite saddened tonight. Our sweet husband and father passed away quickly tonight with all of his girls and wife around his bedside. It's always hard to say goodbye to a loved one as most know but we know this was meant to be. Heavenly Father answered our family prayer today and we know he is with his loved ones - those gone before - and those preparing to come. Everything went just as it was supposed to. He really never did wake up much for the whole day. We thought maybe they had given him meds to help him sleep but as the day went on we could see him slipping away. We are so greatful for all the tender mercies that a kind wise Heavenly Father blessed us with. There are too many to name and some are too personal to post. We've all shed bucketfulls of tears tonight as we think about Dad and his life he lived.
We are so grateful that next weeks surgery won't be happening!
We know the power of prayer is heard and answered. This was manifested tonight as things fell into place to let Dad slip away. Kent was able to visit with him for a while by himself. Then the rest of us went over later and stayed until 12:00 a.m. He passed away shortly after 10:00 p.m.which was very peaceful although alot of tears shed. We were so, so grateful that Sharin could guide us through the process. What a blessing to have had here there. AC and Shara came as quickly as they could. Grandpa will be giving her little one lots of advice before he makes his appearance on this earth!
Thank you to all who have left sweet comments. I pass them on to my mom and she really appreciates them. She loves dad and misses him already but will be okay. - We love you all.
The gospel is true and we know that "Families Can Be Together Forever" - the greatest blessing of all!

Friday, June 26, 2009

# 9

Jeanie shaving Dad the morning before he passed away
At Dad's bedside with cousin (nurse Sharin) before he passed away that evening

Today has been a fairly quiet day. We went out this morning to see Dad and he was pretty sleepy. He didn't have a very good night. They had to give him some medicine to settle him down and help him relax. He remembered that we weren't there last night when he came back from his treatment.
We tried to visit with him a little bit but he would fall asleep. Kent stopped by this afternoon on his way back from a trip and he said he was still asleep. His blood pressure is quite low so they cancelled his HOT treatment for this afternoon. He's back on Heparin and another med.
We talked to the Dr. today and he's looking at surgery next Wednesday to remove the toes on his left foot. He doesn't seem to concerned about it but we know what Dad does after surgery! Not good stuff! We just keep hoping and praying all will go well and it won't go on and on and on.
Karen left early afternoon to head back to Animas. That was so nice of her to come all that way. Thanks Frank for letting her come. Our families and friends are such great support. We love all the phone calls, visits and food we are receiving. Thank you from the bottom of our toes (no pun intended!)
We're getting ready to head back out to the hospital in a little bit - I'll try to post some pics tomorrow.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

# 8

Kent and Karen visiting right before his HOT
The HOT chamberInside the chamber, they would have him sip water every once in a while.

We waited and waited and waited today for Dad to have his HOT treatment (my name for it) so we could go out and see him. I finally called about 5:00 p.m. and he still had not had it. We decided to just go so we could hopefully see him. We missed him by about 5 minutes so they sent us over to another building where his treatments are. We were able to visit with him about 10 minutes before they shoved him in the "capsule". He was very happy to see Kent and Karen. It was interesting to see exactly what they do. I took some pics of it and will post when I can. The treatments take 130 minutes so he wouldn't be back in his room until 8:30 p.m. We'll see him again in the morning. (They put a good western movie on for him to watch.)
I just called the hospital to see if Dad was back in his room. He's there getting settled back in. We had a little surprise tonight - our cousin- Sharin (Mortensen) - is the clinical director on his floor tonight and she was in his room! It was so nice to talk to her and know she's there taking care of him tonight! What a blessing!
Dad was a little put out with us for not staying and waiting for him to come back to his room but we couldn't. He can get kind of feisty with Mom at times so she handed me the phone and I just visited for a minute with him. Sharin said he's a little confused and she'll take good care of him.
Kent has to travel tomorrow for his job and leaves early in the morning. He'll be back to visit in the afternoon before he heads home.

# 7

Mom, Melanie, Nyla, Jeanie and I went over to see Dad this morning. He was having an ultrasound when we got there so we had to wait a little bit to see him. He was somewhat emotional today - (not unusual for my Dad!). He was so happy to see Melanie! He knew he was going for another Hyperbaric treatment today and was a little confused about that. He thought he could go with us and we'd take him to it. He sure did want to come home with us. We didn't stay too long - Mom had an appointment to get her heart checked (and we want her to stay healthy!) His toes looked a little worse today - he had more bandages on his foot due to some bleeding. His pain is minimal still for which we are so thankful.
We are waiting for him to have his treatment so we can go back out and see him. Kent and his daughter Karen came today so that will be nice for him to see them tonight.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Update #6

Funny Story:
Mom, Nyla and Jeanie went over to see Dad tonight and had a hard time finding the right patient! He had been moved to the 1st floor and they couldn't find his room. Mom peeked into one room and said "come on in - he's here." They went in and there "he" is laying there with a mask over his nose with steam coming out of it. Jeanie wondered why they shaved the top of his head! Mom went over to give him a kiss (and asked him "when did you take up smoking?") when Nyla hollered "that's not Dad!" Jeanie said "come on mom, let's get out of here". (Thank goodness mom didn't give him a kiss!) (They quickly left and walked down to the waiting room laughing hyterically till they cried! Actually, that was the right room but Dad hadn't got there yet - it's a shared room.
As for dad tonight - he's doing well. He says his leg feels better after the treatment. (luckily he hasn't ever had much pain). Enjoyed telling deer hunting stories with Allison and Jereld.
Melanie flew in and was picked up on their way home.
We'll return in the morning for a visit.

Update #5

Mom and I went over to Good Sam. this morning to see Dad (yes I drove there without getting lost!) He was doing much better than he was last night. He didn't seem to be confused and knew where he was and who we were. The nurse updated us on what they were doing next. He had a CT Scan last night on his head and everything looked good - no sign of a stroke (although the Dr. did say he could have small ones that cause the confusion at times). The nurse drew blood to fill about 20 viles (I'm not kidding) to run all kinds of tests that were ordered.
Nick Coleman came by to visit Dad. He is such a great friend to them. While we were there Dr. Gottlieb came in to tell us what he thinks. He is optimistic about his recovery! That's the best news we've had in days! There will definitely be damage to the foot and some removal of toes more than likely but they are trying a procedure tonight called hyperbaric oxygen therapy. It's something to do with increased oxygen to the wound which helps it heal. Theye took him off heparin and his antibiotics which we were very surprised about. We've put our trust in this Dr. now and we'll see where it takes us. Mom and I stayed a couple of hours and then came back home. I'm spending the afternoon at Shara's to play with Abby. Mom, Jeanie and Nyla will go back over this evening to see Dad and then pick up Melanie from the airport!
Mom keeping everyone informed
Dad "negotiating" with Jeanie to come home last night!
Dad, Nyla and Shara
Dad's foot as of last night - Can you believe it?
A look at his "good" leg and "bad" leg!

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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Update #4

Dad was moved to Good Samaritan today. They have the best wound clinic in AZ so the decision was made by his previous Drs. to transfer him. We were just getting ready to go back for the afternoon when we got the call from Jeanie that they were moving him by ambulance. It took a long time to get him all moved and situated. We were finally able to see him at 9:00 p.m.! (That's why there were no phone calls tonight - sorry!) He was asking for his family members and wondering where we were.
When we finally saw him he was kind of agitated and ready to go home with us! He would say some funny things that would make us laugh - like negotiating with the nurse. (humor is needed at times like this!) Of course confusion is normal in his condition.
His bad foot looked a little worse tonight (if that's possible) and his good foot looks pretty much the same other than some blisters that popped.
He was given some meds to help calm him down before we left that hopefully will help him sleep. He still wanted to go home with us "all in one car"! I know that part is hard on mom when he wants to go home.
Melanie comes in tomorrow night and Kent will be here Thursday evening s0 that will be nice to all be together as a family.
I took a few pics tonight and will have Shara help me tomorrow get them posted.
Again - thanks for all your prayers and concern and love. Mom has appreciated all the phone calls you've sent.
I'm tired and it's time for bed! Goodnight!

Update #3

Dad is being transferred to Good Samaritan in Phoenix. He'll be going by ambulance. There is a wound clinic there that can better care for him. We'll be heading over in a little bit.

Update #2

Mom and I went to the hospital this morning. Nyla needed to finish the handwork on Allison's Temple Wall hanging so she stayed home. Dad was really mixed up this morning when we got there. He had a restless night and they had changed the bandage so he had been given some pain meds. One of his good friends came to see him and he visited with him for quite awhile understanding everything they talked about. He called me by name again and called my mom "Liz" so he knew who we were. When we left for lunch he was a little confused again and didn't know where he was.
He received a beautiful plant from his nephew Scott and his wife. Thank you so much.
We'll go back at 4:00 p.m. when visiting hours start again in the ICU.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Dad


I just wanted to post a blog about my Dad. He's been in the hospital since last Wednesday in Mesa. He had surgery on his leg and has not done well since then. He's a "mystery" case to every doctor that has seen him. His foot is dark purple/black and goes up past the surgery wound now. His other foot has started with some purple blisters but isn't as bad. He has not been himself since then and is in a state of confusion right now. I flew down Sunday and will be here for a while. He's in the ICU and will be there for the remainder of this week more than likely. I took some pictures today and I'll post some of them when I get some time (or Shara's help!) I'm so glad Shara lives here now and can be of help to us explaining some of the medical terminology!
Nyla and I are staying with Mom which we are grateful we're able to do right now. (Thanks to our wonderful, understanding husbands.) We'll probably be here for a few days/weeks depending on Dad's recovery. Max and Jeanie have always been here to take care of them and see to their needs so we're glad we can help out a little.
We appreciate all the love, concern, prayers, fasting, etc., etc., on behalf of our Dad (and Mom, she's doing well). We certainly know they are heard and will be answered as Heavenly Father sees fit. We are being blessed with tender mercies daily.
(I asked him who I was today and he said "Carole"!)

Friday, June 12, 2009

WELCOME HOME!

Anne and Roy got home from their mission last night - it was great to welcome them home. Their plane was delayed in Denver but they finally made it! Welcome back!
Megan and Michele's girls anxiously waiting with their sign!!!(are they cute or what?!!)

There they are!!!
Hugs....
....and more hugs
Happy kids and grandparents!




Wednesday, June 10, 2009

I'm Back

Here's a few pictures from the last 10 days:
Ryker Beatty Valentine - one day old
Big brother Lucas and Ryker

"My Three Sons
Lucas and Nappy posing with the statues at the hospital.
Abby, Kody and Reese at the Monte L. Bean Museum at BYU
Lucas and Shasta the Liger
Kody and the Rhino
Kody and Reese in the sandbox and Tawnya's house (Sandbox = Mess!)
It was so fun to be together again as a family for a few days. We ate alot, laughed alot, (see Katie's blog for eyebrow episode!) and just had a good time. Shara and Abby flew up on Thursday and stayed until Monday. There were a few battlewounds to show (with three almost 2 year olds what do you expect!) but nothing serious!
Ryker has been an absolute angel baby and hopefully will continue to be!
I dropped off Shara and Abby at the airport Monday afternoon - and ended up going back to get them due to their flight being cancelled. We went into SLC for a couple of hours, ate and took them back to catch their next flight.
I miss them all and can't wait to see them again!
Yesterday was a rather quiet day and my first official day of summer!
My girls all have nice cameras so for better picture viewing see their blogs.








Wednesday, June 3, 2009

#5 Has Arrived







Our 5th grandbaby arrived safe and sound on May 29th, 2009! He is perfect in every way, adorable as ever, and alot of chubbiness to squeeze and love on! He weighed in at 9lbs 7 oz. 19 1/2" long. Katie kept telling us she felt like she was going to birth a 10 lb. baby and no one believed her - even her own doctor was shocked! She had a pretty easy time having him though. She hasn't felt great after this one but she's doing pretty dang good I'd say! She's not a complainer or whiner at all!



My job is to keep Lucas and Kody under control - I'm afraid I'm failing at that duty! They are two busy little boys. I'm trying to plan my day as what to cook, clean or wash so hopefully I can get it all done by the time I leave next Monday.



I love my job as Grama Carole - there's nothing better and it's so much fun being with the kids.



The nights have gone pretty well so far - He sleeps in about 3-4 hr blocks which is wonderful.
Well I am tired tonight so I best be going to bed before the baby wakes up!
Shara and Abby come tomorrow for a few days and we can't wait! We'll have so much fun with all the kids together.