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Our Sarah (click link)

In lieu of flowers, Sarah would have wanted donations sent to Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation.    To donate in her memory, click here

For those close friends and family who have asked to help with funeral costs - you may donate to Sarah's memorial fund.  (on side bar)

Home

I'm sorry to be so behind on updating about Sarah - but it's been a hard month for all of us.  Dr. Taub (Sarah's oncologist in New York) decided to stop the chemo treatment because of the harm it was doing to her body.  He said their goal now was just to make her as comfortable as possible and asked her what she would like to do.  She said she would like to go home.  On November 29th, she and Shaun flew to Utah and arrived safely to their Ogden home - much to everyone's relief.  She is happy to be home in her Christmasy house and to see her kids, friends and family and feels like a freed prisoner (not a fan of hospitals).  She is very, very sick but is handling it amazingly.  A lot better than most of us.  Shaun is her 24/7 caretaker and continues to be an incredible husband and nurse.  We are all so very very thankful for him.

Before I went to Utah, I took a last minute trip to New York.  My parents were already there and it was good to be able to spend time with Sarah.  I left feeling a new admiration for my sweet sister.  Like she always has - she is dealing with this terrible trial with grace and humor.  I think we were all in awe.

dad, the official foot rubber

mom and dad washing her hair

Can you believe her beautiful hair?

I spent one day back home (in memphis) and then packed for Utah and headed there and stayed about 3 weeks. 

Sarah with Luke

Sarah's fam  - Sarah, Rachel, Shaun & Jack

Sarah with parents and siblings

Oh and here are a few snapshots I took of the "Favorite Things" book I put together for Sarah.  Thank you everyone who sent stuff - I think she really likes it and looks through it when she feels up to it.  If you didn't write anything and still want to - there are empty pages in the back. It was so beautiful to read all the things people love about someone I love so much.  It ended up being about 40 pages - not sure how many people wrote stuff but a lot. Thanks again!  (sorry for the poor quality pics)

I don't know how to say on a blog post the things I feel - and even if I could I'm not sure it would be the place for that anyway.  I hope you will all understand my not sharing sensitive emotions and just simply updating all of you who love her so dearly.  Our family appreciates your thoughts and prayers and all you do and have done for Sarah.  

Dear Friends and Family of Sarah -
I want to make a "These are a few of my favorite things..." book for Sarah with notes and pictures from her friends and family.  Just a quick note of your favorite things about Sarah and your favorite picture with her (if you have one or if it's handy).  Who doesn't love to know everyone's favorite thing is about them right?  So, just send me a few lines just saying the top things you love about Sarah at katiesonger@yahoo.com.  And if you want to include a funny memory or story to illustrate your point - feel free. :-)  I want to get this done as soon as possible - so try to respond by Monday DECEMBER 5th.   If you don't make it by then and still want to  write something - do and I will just add it to the book later.  Okay, thanks everybody!  

Thank you for your thoughts

Thank you everyone for your positive thoughts and prayers for Sarah. The response was overwhelming. There were 83 people doing this that I know of. Those are just the ones that responded, there were probably more that I didn't know of. Sarah had a friend participating from Mongolia! What a powerful thing. I know people stopped whatever they were doing - paused a movie, stopped in the middle of working on the roof to have a moment to think of Sarah, stopped making dinner to gather a family to pray - it just fills my heart with gratitude for all of you that love and care about Sarah so much. Thank you. My aunt wrote to me and said "We felt the power and strength of everyone praying at the same time. I thought.... if we felt it.....Sarah must have felt it also. Yes... we love our Sarah!" That was a great idea - thanks Rebekah! And now Sarah is back in Utah for a visit and I'm sure it will strengthen her spirit to see her kids, dear friends and family before she goes back to New York. Thanks again everybody!

Thoughts for Sarah

Dear people who love Sarah -

My sister-in-law Rebekah had a great idea. Starting tomorrow we are going to stop what we are doing at exactly 6:00 pm (utah time) 7:00 (memphis time) or 8:00 (eastern time) and send positive thoughts to Sarah. You can do it however you want - by yourself or as a family, as a prayer or positive thoughts. Or if you want to write her a note or text her at that moment. Whatever you want. But I think as we all live across the country and even the world - this is a way we can unite and do something for our Sarah. So many of us feel helpless and want to do SOMEthing. So, this is it. For a week - let's all do it. And at that moment - for those 10 seconds or however long, we can all know that we are all thinking of Sarah are are part of something. And she can know and hopefully feel our love and a power beyond her own and it will lift her spirits and help her body fight this cancer. We will do this for ONE week. Starting Monday October 17th and ending October 23rd. WE LOVE OUR SARAH!

Mesothelioma Awareness Day

On Mesothelioma Awareness Day (September 26th) there was a special on the Today Show and the Meso Foundation received a lot of press and were able to raise over $65,000 for Mesothelioma Research. Here are Sarah and Shaun at a fundraising banquet with a member of the Board of Directors of Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation.



Also - here is a really cool post that my brother's family did on that day. http://songerseven.blogspot.com/2011/09/mesothelioma-awareness-day.html

I LOVE MY SISTER!!!!!!

Last week I went to New York to visit Serber and I am so, so, so glad I did. I loved being with her. As hard as it was to see her so sick, it's Sarah. The same vibrant, compassionate, funny Sarah who I love so dearly. It meant so much for me to just be with her. It's been hard being far away and it was healing for me to be able to look in her eyes, to give her hugs, to laugh and cry with her.


Here she is with her amazing oncologist, Dr. Taub. He is the perfect doctor for her. Not only does he specialize in Mesothelioma, but he has a great bedside manner. I watch her light up when he comes in the room and he does a good job joking with her and I can tell he truly cares about her. I met people from all over the world who came to New York just to have this doctor.


Our awesome self-portrait. I think we are trying to be our old "o-po-so" selves. A weird chant we made up when we were little. So, Sarah was in the hospital for the first 3 days I was there. She had been there for 3 weeks already and hated it (to put it mildly). It was psychologically really hard to be there and she was determined to get out. Her abdomen is distended because of all the tumors and problems they are causing with her internal organs. She hasn't eaten a single bite of food now for a month (just doing iv nutrients). She has been in so much pain. But it was great to see her get a little better each day I went back to see her.


This is the day that Dr. Taub told her she was going home!!! (well, her home away from home. She is staying at a place called the Hope Lodge - which is such a great place. It's for cancer patients and their care givers to stay for free while they are being treated. Fran Drescher is a cancer survivor and visited there on Friday. Sarah signed up to meet with her - fun huh?)


Going home finally! / home


Let me just tell you how awesome this guy is. Here he is (appears to be flashing us some gang signs) after a long day of running from pharmacy to pharmacy, meeting with 20 some odd doctors, nurses and social workers, filling out paper work, making phone calls and just being his normal loving-husband self. He also had to be trained by the nurses on how to do a lot of the home care she will be needing. He is so amazing and I can't even begin to express - on behalf of everyone who loves Sarah - how much we appreciate him taking such good care of her. He's a really, really incredible person. I don't know many people with the emotional stamina and strength he has. It was so great to see what a cute and in-love couple they are through this hard time. (sorry for the picture, i couldn't get my camera to work and made him do this 3 times, so he was just laughing at me)


My sister. Oh, I wish I could express how full my heart is with love for her. It's like no matter what is going on in our lives, we can always just stop it all for a minute and return to our childhood bond and pretend that nothing really matters but silliness and each other. I got to just hang out for days with no children, none of my everyday responsibilities and just enjoy my dear sister. We went on walks around the hospital, I washed her hair, did a facial, some foot rubs, we watched funny movies and clips, did deep relaxation exercises and meditations, and talked. That was my favorite. I loved talking and feeling connected and loved. It was so important. So priceless.

Here are some pictures of us as kids...





check out the jellies. this one is a talent show we have on video. It's me singing zip-a-dee-do-da dancing around Sarah as I adjust her by pushing in her tummy - the whole time upstaging her and not letting her do much of anything. She is a sweet little girl and graciously put up with her bossy stage-hog sister.

I LOVE YOU SARAH!!!