My mom, Jeanette Liggons passed away on 11/3/2019 from End Stage COPD. My mom was a smoker who quit back in 1979, however she developed COPD over the years which was controlled and she suffered from bronchitis yearly with the change of the seasons. She was diagnosed with metastatic cancer in her lungs, hip and spine from the bladder on 5/25/2019. Our lives changed forever. She started and completed radiation for pain of the hip and spine in June then we had to make the hard decision of which chemo regimen she would go on to try and combat this horrible disease. She started chemo in July and only had two treatments before her lungs began to give out on her. The chemo attacked her lungs so badly it caused her to be on oxygen 24/7. Prior to that, she was on it only at night.
This is when the nightmare begins. Towards the end of July and through August, my mom had been taken and admitted into the hospital a total of six times. Each time she had fluid on her lungs and developed pneumonia several times. She had been placed on a Bipap machine several times and in ICU several times as well. The last time she was released I decided to get a second opinion and was told that there was nothing that they could do for her and to enroll her into hospice. During that time my mom's breathing and health was on a steady decline. To watch her try to do something so simple as breathing was an effort and was unattainable for her. In September, she began to sleep in the chair. She was afraid to lay down. She was on breathing treatments around the clock at home which didn't seem to help at the end. She was admitted into the hospice in-unit on Friday, 10/25/2019 for pain in her side. I received the devastating call that she had passed away on Sunday, 11/3/2019 at 10:45am. My life was changed forever.
My mother lived with my family for two and a half years. I was her caretaker. She was my mom and my friend. We shared many laughs and memories together so as a tribute to her I would like to become an advocate for those living with a parent that's going through the same difficult experience. Hopefully this will help with the nightmare I am currently living in with not having someone to call "Mom".
In closing, I would like to say that I know that I am blessed that this happened before COVID-19 because the circumstances could have been different.
Many thanks for the opportunity to share my mom's story!
