Update of Events: Birthday Celebration

Sarah's birthday is this Friday September 16th - The mass intention will be for mom at Sacred Heart Church in Esopus, NY.  Mass will be celebrated by Fr. Gene Grohe.

Sacred Heart Church is were Sarah and John were married, and where Ellie was baptized.

The Hock family will be attending 8am mass at St. Gerard Majella in Kirkwood this Friday September 16th as part of a birthday celebration for Sarah.  Mass will be followed by breakfast - location TBD.

A memorial mass is still planned for October 1, 2011 at 2pm at St. Gerard Majella with a reception on site to follow.

Memorial Mass Information

A memorial mass will be held on October 1st at 2pm at St. Gerard Majella church in Kirkwood.


1971 Dougherty Ferry Road
Saint Louis, MO 63122-3538
(314) 965-3985

Rest In Peace

Sarah passed away peacefully at home this morning on September 12th, surrounded by her family.
A memorial mass will be planned for the following week.

September Update

Mom meeting Teddy, the newest addition to the Hock family

Dear Friends,

Sarah is no longer able to maintain this page, but we wanted to give everyone an update.  She is in home hospice care and has lost the ability to move or speak.  She is currently using an oxygen machine to help her breathe, which is also helping to keep her alert and comfortable.  She has difficulty swallowing and we are carefully monitoring her food and drink intake.

Dad, Christian and I are taking care of her basic needs throughout the day.  She also has regular visits from the hospice nurse, massage therapist, and our parish priest.

Mom in our new "Cadillac" wheelchair, sporting a beautiful silk scarf (and the white troll) from Jo Tyler

Friends and family have been visiting and she is able to acknowledge their presence and their kindness sometimes with a smile or nod.  Sometimes she even uses her right foot -- waving to make known her wishes in response to yes/no questions.

Dad reading just one of the many letters that have been sent to mom

Each day that we are able to spend with her is a blessing.  Thanks to everyone who has reached out though prayers, letters, phone calls, emails, visits, and dinners and have helped us in so many ways.

-Ellie

Cupcakery Reminder

Just a reminder to come out to The Cup and support the American Brain Tumor Association at our fundraiser!  Hope to see you all there,
Sarah

Update forJuly

I wanted to update some of you on some medical news, so I'll get some medical terms out of the way for you medical junkies. I have had some side effects from last falls tumor radiation called necrosis, which is dead brain cell buildup from the radiation and another tumor has been found on my right side which has been affecting my left side. Christian is keyboarding this for me right now. Treatment for now will to be to stop Temidar and to start on Carboplatin in the clinic and continue with Avastin to prevent blood flow to new tumors. I can't really go much further with an update unless I share with you the amazing qualities of a friend, Aimee Klimczak. Aimee and I have been friends for many years, our children went to school together for many years. Aimee possesses the rare combination of qualities of a diary farmer, horsewoman and southern bell. She also has been helping my family in many ways in which one way is very important to us, she has been helping Christian get ready for school and to succeed at Meremac as a occupational therapist assistant. She has been going with Christian to register for classes, get books, find the right classes, and is also determined for him to succeed in math. She has been a mothers answer to a prayer. We appreciate her time and energy and enthusiasm. Christian has been looking for a job and is possible he might work as a busser for Nordstroms at the Galleria when it opens. He did a phone interview and he nailed it. Ellie is home now for a few days with the cat and we are looking forward to having all the pets together at home for a little bit. John is busy working on a woodworking project when he has time. And I also got to visit with my niece from China one morning while they are in town. There has been record heat here and we have all been trying to stay cool. Thank you for the neighborhood rosary group and our family and friends for their continued support.

Signing off for now and enjoying the rest of the summer,
Sarah

South Padre

It’s been a long time for an update, sorry, but we have had tornadoes, rain, cicadas, and even an earthquake here in Missouri! But we are all fine. In early June on a Saturday afternoon I realized my lips and tongue were not cooperating so the doctor on call suggested I get an emergency MR. So we spent several hours doing that. Apparently my brain is still having some residual effects from the radiation and a few steroid pills reduced the swelling. Then we were off to a much needed vacation. Ellie, our in house speech pathologist suggested I get some OT and Speech therapy added to my list of things to do. I agreed to look into it. I know my fine motor is not what it was, my memory is not so good, keyboarding is difficult and I know my spelling is worse than ever! Please be patient with me!

It was hard to pull together with different schedules and living in different states. But John did a great job putting it together. and kept me on my strict pill regime. We flew on 2 small commuter jet planes. One to Houston, the next to Brownsville Texas and then we rented a car to go to the Pearl on S. Padre Island. Ellie met us there since she has been living and working in Houston. It was a nice two bedroom condo overlooking the Gulf of Mexico and the pool. I was pleasantly surprised at how family oriented the place was. Ellie has been a life guard and Christian just passed his lifeguard training, so we were in good hands. The warm gentle breezes were a wonderful relief from the humid heat in St. Louis. We found a great bookstore called Paragraphs and relaxed on the beach and read, and enjoyed a few seafood meals out. Christian did some parasailing and saw dolphins swimming below him. We also visited a wild turtle refuge and saw lots of baby turtles released early Sat. morning into the gulf. We all cheered them toward the light and wished them every success! It was just what we needed, time to relax together. Traveling is exhausting for me, but it was worth is because all we did was relax when we got there. I want to thank my neighbors for taking care of the plants and animals at home. Now that we have returned I am doing laundry, grocery shopping and looking forward to seeing how my kiddos I watch down the street are, basically getting back to a normal routine. And normal is a good thing here! Hope you all manage to make time for family and friends this summer,

Sarah

Hi, I just wanted to post an update. I am still in treatment, the last MRI was fine,and I will have another one in July. The side effects from the treatments remain minimal, but are becoming cumulative, and I hope to decrease the chemo soon. My hair is growing back, and I am try to stay busy. My writing remains poor, so I may have to become right handed like the rest of the world! We plan to host Easter here this year and are expecting about 30 people from John's side of the family. It's pot luck, so it's not too hard. Happy Easter to all!

Building My Cabin Retreat

I've always loved the world of miniatures, and I was lucky to come across a dollhouse kit that I recently built of an A-frame, that is a close replica of our cabin at Innsbrook, "The Treehouse".

Dakota in the "time-out" chair.

My treatments continue to go well, and we are looking forward to to a new MRI later this month.
 --Sarah

Babysitting the Twins

Learning how to crawl...

 I am now enjoying babysitting two days a week for Evan and Ellie--nine month old twins in our neighborhood. It is fun to play with them and to watch them grow!

Finally a warm day to be outside

Daisy (the dog), Ellie, and Evan doing "tummy time"

Lots of fun together

Book Club Ladies Lunch

Eating and discussing great literature with Sandy, Becky, Terri & Aimee. I am tolerating my treatments very well, and I can't really complain.  Fun gatherings like this are a great way for me to get out and have some fun. Thanks gals!

Fun Creating Together

Recently a few of us got together on a Saturday morning to make cards.  Here's Mary, Mary, Sarah, & Mary making hand-made Valentines

Sandy & Aimee work away

What a fun mess! Have a happy Valentine's Day.

Happy New Year 2011!

Kai & me in our winter wear and showing off the purple scarf that Mary Snodgrass made.

I'm starting off the new year feeling fine--well enough to babysit two full days a week for a family with twins in our neighborhood. It feels good to be getting out and about more. The regular monthly treatments are going well with minimal side-effects.

A happy & healthy new year wish to all. And thank you for your continued prayers   --Sarah