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| * The Story of Tom and Jenny Kern | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 23 2012, 10:03 PM (14,163 Views) | |
| 30yrAddict | Nov 18 2012, 10:30 PM Post #31 |
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Sunday, June 13, 2004 8:33 AM CDT I can't even believe I have to write these words. Tom died at 9:15 pm yesterday. It hurts so much. The kids and I were surrounded by Tom's mom, his brothers, and some friends who came to visit. His breathing had been shallow and intermitten during the day. At the end, he just took a deep breath and was gone. We are so blessed to have all of you there for us and praying for us. We will continue to need you for a long time. Our kids will need to hear stories about their dad from all of you who knew him. The hospital staff told us they couldn't believe the amount of support we were getting. We told them we have a wonderful support system between our family, friends, church, and community. We are blessed to have you all in our lives. We have not made funeral arrangements yet, but I will continue this website for a while and post the information on here. Thank you all for everything. Love, Jenny, Tom, Mackenzie, Alexa, Connor, and Tori |
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"Hey, snowflake, don't take a seat in the life raft if you are not serious about saving your life." - Scowick65 "Never again- For any reason" - Ready | |
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| 30yrAddict | Nov 18 2012, 10:31 PM Post #32 |
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Friday, June 11, 2004 9:43 PM CDT Not much is new. He seems to be tolerating the chemo pretty well. His hemoglobin was down yesterday so they gave him two units of blood. Today his temp. went up and down, but he seems to be doing ok now. Yesterday the kids and I went to the hospital to see him. He was coherent for some of the time, which was good for the kids. It was a very difficult day because we explained what was happening to Tom. The kids were understandably very upset. We talked a lot about all the feelings they had. We told them we can't do anything to help Dad except pray. There were a lot of tears last night, but today was better. I told them there will be a roller coaster of emotions for a long time. Thank you all for your words of encouragement and support. We wouldn't be as strong if we didn't have your support. Keep praying for a miracle! We know God can do anything. He has the power. Love, Jenny (and gang) |
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"Hey, snowflake, don't take a seat in the life raft if you are not serious about saving your life." - Scowick65 "Never again- For any reason" - Ready | |
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| 30yrAddict | Nov 18 2012, 10:31 PM Post #33 |
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Thursday, June 10, 2004 0:05 AM CDT I wish I could give you all some good news. Unfortunately, I can't. The test results show that Tom is full of cancer. Squamous Cell Carcinoma was found in his heart, lungs, kidney, liver, pancreas, spleen, spine, and hip bones. The doctors are shocked at how quickly this has spread and to the many places it has spread. Because of the morphine, he is not really aware of what is going on and has a difficult time communicating. The doctor's started him on chemo tonight. The chemo is only to give him more time. It will not cure him. We continue to pray for a miracle. I have an image of a knight in shining armour arriving at the last minute to save the day. I pray that this is what God will do. We draw strength from knowing that he is holding all of us in his arms right now; just as a parent holds a child who is hurting. The Footprints poem is so appropriate at this moment. God has richly blessed us with wonderful friends, family, church, and community. Thank you all for being there for us. Love, Jenny, Tom, Mackenzie, Alexa, Connor, and Tori |
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"Hey, snowflake, don't take a seat in the life raft if you are not serious about saving your life." - Scowick65 "Never again- For any reason" - Ready | |
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| 30yrAddict | Nov 18 2012, 10:32 PM Post #34 |
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Sunday, June 6, 2004 5:38 PM CDT I can't tell you how uplifting it is to read all the words of support and encouragement. We love you all. Thank you. I wish I had more to tell you, but the doctors are still running tests. I think we have seen just about every specialist at the U of M. They are not sure if his problems are related to the squamous cell carcinoma in his mouth/neck or not. There is a possiblity that there is an infection. That is why they are running all the tests. About 30 doctors with different specialties are having a "tumor conference" on Wed. and have asked if they can bring Tom's case to their conference. We said yes. I told Tom he is doing all this to get into some record book as the guy with the most baffling case. The staff has been wonderful, helpful, and very informative. After their meeting, they will let us know what their thoughts are on his case. Our families have been down at the hospital with us throughout the past few days. Thanks, Chuck and Deb for all the meals you've brought to the hospital. Thank you all for the help you've given and have offered to give. We really appreciate it. Love, Jenny, Tom, Mackenzie, Alexa, Connor and Tori |
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"Hey, snowflake, don't take a seat in the life raft if you are not serious about saving your life." - Scowick65 "Never again- For any reason" - Ready | |
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| 30yrAddict | Nov 18 2012, 10:32 PM Post #35 |
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Friday, June 4, 2004 1:10 PM CDT Last night Tom had a temp. of 102.7, so his mom and I took him to ER. After running tests, they decided to send him to the University of Minnesota Hospital. His fever is down, and he is on IV antibiotics. They are running more tests to determine what to do with the abcess on his neck and if he has pneumonia. After getting things organized at home for my mom to watch the kids, I am going to Minneapolis to be with Tom, his mom, and his brothers (Mike and John). We will have to wait to decide what we are going to do about his diagnostic appointments at Mayo on Monday and Tuesday. Thank you all for your words of encouragement, thoughts, and prayers. We need and appreciate them. Love, Jenny |
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"Hey, snowflake, don't take a seat in the life raft if you are not serious about saving your life." - Scowick65 "Never again- For any reason" - Ready | |
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| 30yrAddict | Nov 18 2012, 10:33 PM Post #36 |
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Friday, May 28, 2004 4:25 PM CDT As some of you know,Tom has gone from bad to worse. I will try to give you a quick recap of the last 6 months. Tom was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in Nov. 2003. The cancer was in his mouth. He got the cancer from chewing tobacco. He had surgery on Nov. 28, and they felt they got all the cancer they could find. Unfortunately, it had already gone into a lymph node and along a nerve. They described the cancer as aggressive and invasive. From Jan 5 - Feb 17, he went through radiation therapy. He had a lot of ups and downs until May 1. During this month, he has had an MRI, CT scan, biopsies and seen many different specialists. On Wed. we found out the cancer is back and is in an advanced stage. Because of the pressure of the tumor, his ear, eyes, and throat are being affected. His right eye is completely closed, dialated, and cannot move in any direction (he can see, but it's blurry). His left eye can move in all directions except left, so he has double vision. He is having a tube put in the right ear next week to alleviate some pain, pressure, and fluid. His mouth only opens about a half inch. He takes liquids through a syringe because it is difficult to swallow. The cancer has eaten away some tissue in his mouth behind his right teeth and the roof of his mouth so that some liquids go up into his nose. He currently weighs 146 lbs. A food tube was put in his stomach yesterday, so hopefully that will help him to gain some weight. We met with the oncologist in Hutchinson today. Tom will need to have chemotherapy. The oncologist is checking to see if Mayo provides a different kind of treatment than he can get here. If the treatment is the same, he will stay here. If not, he will go to Mayo. We want to get started immediately, but we are still waiting to here. Thank you all for your wonderful support! I don't know what we would do without our family, friends and community support. Keep praying! Love, Jenny, Tom and kids |
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"Hey, snowflake, don't take a seat in the life raft if you are not serious about saving your life." - Scowick65 "Never again- For any reason" - Ready | |
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| 30yrAddict | Nov 18 2012, 10:37 PM Post #37 |
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This is the story of Tom and Jenny Kern and family. Tom was diagnosed in November 2003 with oral cancer. He passed away on June 12, 2004. Below is chronicled the disease and the profound loss through the eyes of his family. Each post was taken from here: http://www.caringbridge.org/mn/tomkern/history.htm. Never again, for any reason. Edited by 30yrAddict, Oct 5 2014, 11:20 PM.
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9:04 PM Jul 10