btvfsd.com Blog

  Well we made it back to Sioux Falls…we got stuck in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin on Saturday night….snow storm …. got up the next morning and drove the last 6 hours on Sunday…. I went back to work on Tuesday….that was different…..I have this numb feeling right now….not sure what to do……I have a couple of weeks of vacation coming starting this coming Sunday….I am going to Denver for a few days then to Phoenix after that to see my Grandma….am going to try to get somethings worked out… I appreciate all the support from everyone….it is helping me alot…..thats all for now….Peace

Jim

   Well i am on my way back home…..my uncle ed and i left vermont today and made it all the way to fremont ohio….over 700 miles on the 1st day….sully was great….it rained alot and was real windy at times but over all the trip has been fine….i am looking forward to trying to get my life back on track at home in sioux falls….i know the road is going to be hard….even this drive….which Annie and I had done several times…..has memories……

   the hardest part of this is after losing Annie now is leaving my family in vermont….peace to all those in vermont….I will be back to visit soon……

Jim

   We had the service for Annie yesterday and it was so nice.  I am sure it was what Annie wanted…. Over 200 people showed for her and the ladies of the church put together a real nice meal…..thanks to all who showed Annie their support from all over the country…..

    Now I have a little story I want to share about Annie on her last day…..she was amazing to the end…..

    On the morning of January 3rd after another restless night for Annie…she got out of bed and went to her usual spot in the living room….Jackie…Annies mom…called the Visiting nurse to see if there was anything we could do to help Annie rest at night….when the nurse arrived she got a chance to talk to Annie……Annie announced to the nurse that “today is the day”…..Annie was ready…..she was tired and she had had enough…..I was already on my way home from work…..I had been working only 4am to 8am and was with Annie all the time…..when I got home I went into see Annie to confirm that ”today was the day” and she said yes…..We called to get the family together…..I was in the room with Annie til the end…..our golden retriever “Sully” would not leave Annies side….he was with her to the end… the family was rotating in to see and talk to Annie…..at 12:05….her brother Duane and sister in law Valerie were in the room and Annie announced “thats it…1 hour”….I would not have believed it if I had not been there….the whole family gathered in the bedroom around 12:50…..Annie was now real calm and breathing was slowing and shallow….she was so peaceful….as the time went past 1:05 I was wondering if a person really could call out a time…. at 1:25 a tear rolled down Annies cheek and she took her last breathe…again amazing to the end….she had left us on her time and when she was ready…..I believe she did this for us ….so that we would know that she was ready….. 

I have another ….quicker story…..to share….only I will have to do that later….this one is enough for now…..thanks for letting me share……

I am going to miss you so much Annie….thank you for being my wife….you make me a better person….i love you….

Peace….

Jim 

  Memorial services for Annie will be held at St. Anns Church in Milton, Vt at 11:00am on Monday the 7th of January, followed by a gathering and refreshments in the basement of the church….all that know and loved Annie are welcome.

Peace to all…

Jim

This is the hardest update I have had to do…on Jan. 3rd at 1:25pm my Annie passed away……it was a bitter sweet time…now knowing that Annie is in a better place and I have lost my best friend and wife…..this will be a quick note with more details about the future to come tomorrow…the 4th…. again thanks for all the support we have recieved from folks all over the country…….Peace to all…..I Love You Annie….

Jim

 This has been such a hard time….everything we plan to do seems to get changed…it is looking like we are running out of time with Annie quicker than we had hoped….and with this being the case we are having to cancel our party for Annie….from Annies Doctor and Nurses point of view we are looking at anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks…..Annie has been an inspiration to everyone she has come in touch with during her illness and her spirit and her strength has amazed all of those folks in the medical field… We both would like to thank everyone who has supported us through this 4 year battle….it has just been amazing…. as i am writing this note it is late on the 1st of the new year and Annie is sleeping in her chair…..earlier today the Doctor was here visiting Annie…she is not in any pain…..she is very tired and she said today that she is “out of gas” and that she knows that the time is close and she is at peace….. She is my hero….I love her so much but I know she is going to a better place….so with that being said…..I will bring this to a close….as always if you want to send thoughts you can at thinkingofyouannie@btvfsd.com  …..I will read them to her as I get them…..Peace to All and God Bless

Jim

  Hello all….we will be having a “Celebration of Life” party for Annie on January 5th, 2008 at the “Grange” in Milton, Vt.  It will start at 1230 and go til 6pm, 7pm or ???  Please join Annie with her family and friends…..please bring pictures, stories, and fun….we will have G rated drinks and some snacky foods….if you want adult beverages please feel free to bring your favorite….if you have any questions or need directions email me at jim@btvfsd.com and i will get back to you asap….thanks to everyone for all the love and support and we hope to see as many of you as we can…..Peace

Jim

  Well thats that….after a wonderful weekend in Albany we returned to Burlington for a reboot and to pack up and start the next leg of our trip….we had to see Annies doctor and nurse to get the final ok for launch and we were denied….Annies oxygen level is now to low to fly on an airplane so we have to cancel the rest of our trip…it is very disapointing to us both…we were looking forward to seeing as many of our family and friends that we could…. sorry to all

hey folks…Annie and I are planning a little tour here in the next 2 weeks….the dates are as follows…..

December 8th………….Albany NY

December 10th-13th…Sioux Falls, SD

December 14th-17th…Denver, CO

Come on out and see us….check back here to see more details for each city…..

Dates are subject to changes due to circumstances…..but thats the way we are planning it as we speak on today December 5th….Peace to all and we hope to see as many people as we can…….

  Well folks….we had a meeting with Annie’s doctors on the 9th…. due to some different kind of pains Annie had been having over the last couple of weeks they did a CAT scan last week…the results came back….the cancer is still growing and the chemo had not been working as we had hoped…. so what now….. after the last round of chemo and as hard as it was on Annie and her body…she is now done with chemo…. Prayers are always welcome and if you want to send Annie a personal message we are using………   

Thinkingofyouannie@btvfsd.com

 We want to thank everyone again for your support… I will update again soon….peace and love to you all….

Jim and Annie