The essence of my lady

The essence of my lady

(Pink Tumor Road final entry, by Mike Jansky)

A memorial service will be held for Patty at 11:00, Saturday, June 4, 2011, at Central United Protestant Church in Richland, Washington. In lieu of flowers, at Patty's wish, donations could be made in Patty's name to a college fund account that has been established at GESA Credit Union (any branch) for her daughter Peyton, to any cancer society, or to the Mid-Columbia Ballet. This will be the final entry for Patty's blog.

There is no measure to the remarkable essence of Patty Taylor. Those of you who simply have read this blog know a part of her. Those of you that have had the privilege and honor of meeting her know more. There is the grace, dignity, and intelligence of the beautiful lady. There is Patty's passion for life and her love of family and friends. There is the courage, the energy, the determination. There is the compassion, the caring, the gentleness, the calm. There is the work ethic that earned, deservedly so, the respect of her peers and superiors. There is the personality attribute of giving freely, while expecting nothing in return. Patty could enter a room and brighten the spirits of everyone in it. Never claiming to be perfect, there is much that is generally considered right and good in a person that made Patty who she is and was.

We cannot forget the controlled anger and hurt toward her cancer. There was no 'fairness' here, but as it was with Patty she worked to fight it, understand it; the key was to live with cancer, not die because of it. She chronicled much of it in this blog, sharing both joy and pain, honestly reflecting her feelings of times of loneliness, uncertainty and fear, but always, always, hope.

Patty is, and was, my lady; my treasure, my dream, my love. Patty did not choose to leave. She controlled that which she could, as best as she was able, with what was availaable.

There are so many people who were impacted by Patty in so many ways. Patty's mother and father (Jean and Red) were unwavering in love and support of their daughter. Patty's children (Peyton and Houston), and her grandson (Jessie James) and his mother (Elena) were the light of Patty's life. Patty's friends and acquaintances are legion, all of whom lifted Patty's spirits. That level of energy deserves so much, but to all of you, I simply say 'Thank you' from the heart, which says it all. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers; your notes, your calls, your visits. Thank you for the gift of time with Patty. Thank you for the cards, meals, and donations. Hopefully, in closing this blog, as you read Patty's words they should be taken as they were given, honestly and freely with knowledge that the journey is not taken isolated and alone, and with the hope that there will one day be a cure.

To Patty, Believe, LAAF, Mike

My mother's memorial will be held at The Central United Protestant Church (1124 Stevens Dr. Richland, WA) on Saturday June 4th at 11am. As per my mom's wishes, instead of sending flowers, please donate to a cancer society in her honor or to a college fund for me if you wish. The account for the college fund is in the process of being set up at HAPO Credit Union and when it is open I will post the information on here. Thank you all for your prayers and support through this long journey.

Today at 5:15 my mom lost her battle to cancer. I will post more information later about a memorial service. But please do not send flowers, there will be an account set up for donations which I will give information about at a later time.

My mom saw the oncologist on Wednesday and the prognosis is not as good as we would have hoped. Dr. Rado said that it is time for the disease to take its course and to keep her as pain free as possible. Because of this, we have started her on hospice care. Please keep her in your prayers.

This is Peyton again. My mom is feeling a little better the past few days and is somewhat up for visitors. Short visits are great but only long enough for a quick hello and only when she is up to it. If you would like to visit, call my grandma (her mother) and see how my mom is doing first and when the best time to come would be. If you need my grandparents number, please get ahold of me and I can give it to you.

This is Patty's daughter Peyton. I just wanted to let you all know that she is not doing very well lately. She spent part of the weekend in the hospital after a fall on thursday night. She is very weak and is staying with her parents for the time being. Because she is so weak, she is not really up for visitors. She will be taking time off of treatment in hopes of regaining some strength back. I will keep you updated as I see fit.

Happy Easter!

Well I have done nothing for Easter yet. My mom has purchased all the food and she is doing the cooking later. I have boiled eggs, but they haven't been dyed yet. I am hoping that Jessie can come over and dye eggs. I am stopping by after church to get his easter basket. Like I said, I haven't done anything yet!

I'll blog later. Happy Bunny day! He has risen. He has risen indeed!