Spencer and Jonene Scoville

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We live in Richfield, UT. I am a local Physician.

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Returning with honor

Categories: family | May 17th, 2008 | by admin | one comments

My dad passed away Friday morning. It was quite a disturbing and amazing process. We have known for months he would die soon. I gave him a blessing just prior to his diagnosis and was shocked to distinctly feel he did not have much longer in this life. The blessing simply was of comfort and the Saviors love for dad and commending him on the job he did raising his family and taking care of his wife. I wanted to bless him with good health and longevity, but that was not correct and I knew it.

He was diagnosed a few days later. The first month he did chemo and then decided it was not worth it. He then had two great months. He did a lot of visiting. He got out on a 4-wheeler excursion and frankly looked great. Two weeks ago we saw him when he was awarded the “Area Giant Award” for his service in the Delta area. He was tired, but looked good at that time. We had hoped he would live until September so he could baptize Abbie. She had wanted him to do that. One of my grandfather’s confirmed me so I had hoped he would be able to baptize her as well.

Mom called me a week ago to say that he had been sick for about a week. He had not been able to keep anything down. She was worried he was getting dehydrated. She took him to the hospital that Sunday. We visited with them on Monday and Tuesday. Dad was lucid, but uncomfortable. He vomited about every hour and had difficulty getting comfortable in between wretching sessions. He did not want surgery or tubes placed. He did accept an IV and was rehydrated. I was able to spend some time alone with him. He had no concerns about life beyond the veil, but was nervous about the process of death. He wished to live a bit longer, but had no interest in prolonged pain. We discussed some few practical matters about selling his office equipment and so forth. The girls were able to give him hugs and kisses. He did not really want them watching when he was sick, but seemed to enjoy their short visits. Hospice was involved and my dad came home on Tuesday night.

I returned Tuesday to work and called frequently to discuss dad and any changes. I was quite shocked on Thursday when we arrived home to find my dad significantly worsened. He spoke words, but I did not make any sense of them. Their was an hour of panic when my mom expressed dad’s desire to live until mom was 60 so she could get his survivor benefits from social security. After reviewing the paperwork it became clear that this was not correct. The family all gathered and prayed for him. J-P gave him a blessing of comfort. J-P sat with him for several hours then Phil sat with him for several hours. About 4:45 I went in to sit with him. He was very restless for 1 hour. Every 5 minutes he would roll over and change position. Then he became more restful and laid on his back. He did not respond to my talking to him.

I wondered who he could see and what he felt. They say the veil is thin at birth and death. Was his father, his son sitting with us in the room. Were they able to comfort him where I could not seem to communicate. I hope so.

My dad loved music. About 6:00, I felt like singing a couple of hymns. I tried to sing softly, but kept the 1st floor up I am sure. His breathing changed. At one point, I checked his pulse as he had a 10 second pause in breathing. These periods became more frequent. About 6:30 Amie came up and sat with me. She asked if we should go get mom. I said not quite yet. She was so tired I liked the idea of her getting a little sleep. 20 or so minutes later, we decided she should go and get mom. As my mom walked in the room, she embraced him. He was no longer breathing. It was very clear to me that my dad was not in his body any more. I have no doubt that he is not gone forever, but is separated from this mortal realm for now.

I am so grateful his suffering was not prolonged. It is so amazing to think of the joy he is now experiencing. He is with his brother and son and parents. I am sure there are many many people who are celebrating his return with honor. It is just a little painful for those of us here with our limited sphere of existence. As Paul said, we see through a glass darkly. I look forward to seeing him clearly again.

March in like a Lion and out like a Lamb

Categories: Uncategorized | April 2nd, 2008 | by admin | one comments

This month has been very busy. Moab 1/2 marathon the 8th to celebrate my Birthday on the 11th. Then to Island Park and Idaho Falls a week later to have some fun snow mobiling and visiting with John and Jenny and cousins and Brian and Jessica and cousins.

The end of the month on Easter we went to Delta and enjoyed Easter with mom and dad. I enjoyed dad’s comments on the Holy Ghost. Also the bishop’s invitation to read the Ensign was a blessing. The spirit was very powerful in the articles I took advantage of reading.

We have been a bit crabby so we are making a push to read the Book of Mormon every day. President Benson promised greater peace at home with daily reading. For the last 3 days that we have done it well it has definitely helped. We will keep pushing on.

I have been trying to get the yard tuned up and ready to get growing. First I turned the water on to the yard and got confused as to which direction was off and on on the valve. Long story short Ann Filmore our real estate agent from a year and a half ago came over with her husband and they were able to clue me in. The trouble I had is that I was watching the pressure on a hose that was actually on the house system. So when I turned the water on the pressure would drop as new lines opened up. And when I turned it off it would go up so I thought I was turning it on. I am sure greatful for kind people. Phil and I changed a valve on one of the back lines and did not fix our continuously running sprinkler. A couple days later I saw that we had put it in backwards in the dark. I turned it around and “walla” we had action.

I have been pruning fruit trees this last week actually in to the first of April. It is fun. I cut them back quite a bit as they had overgrown a ton. Jonene’s dad gave me some tips and came over for a few hours prior to teaching. I also went to work on our willow which was also overgrown. I took down some branches growing onto the garage. I was having too much fun with the chain saw.

You know how it is when a kid gets a hold of a set of scissors and goes to town on his hair and ends up shaved. Well I will post a few pictures. The view from up in the tree was not as good as I thought. I had the feeling that less might be more and I should spare a few branches. Now I am trying to decide if I should by a mulcher or not. I hate to fork out the dough, but it would be nice to get mulch from all the branches.

We have also been remodeling our bathroom and have started to make some progress. Tile and shower should be done in the next few weeks. I hope to get painting done this week. It always seems like there are a lot of projects.

Ella’s skin has been awful. Her eczema has been going out of control. We had to start her on steroids, but hate to do it to her again. We are worried about long term side affects if she continues to need them.

Abbie’s asthma has been going bonker’s as well. She has not been this bad for at least a year. We have her on Medrol also and azithromycin as her asthma is often related to her sinuses.

Jonene is tapering off of the chemotherapy medication Cyclosporine and is back on Medrol. Her kidney function went down and she started to become anemic as well.

Love these pictures from Gary Milner’s Flickr account

Categories: Uncategorized | March 6th, 2008 | by admin | no comments

This picture encapsulates that time so well. I love the retro clothing and our goofiness as kids.

Distracted

Categories: family | March 6th, 2008 | by admin | no comments

I think it is probably useful for me to continue the discussion with myself about how I feel. I am happy to be in Richfield. It is hard going to work every day when I want to be grieving. On the other hand I have to keep on working. I want to move to Delta and just hang out with mom and dad. I don’t understand my lack of feeling and ability to just keep on going. I hate to think that I am a cold soul. I don’t want to be a blithering sentimentalist either. I just want everything to stay the same. I want mom and dad to be their for a very long time. I love the peace of having watched dad making self-sacrificing and good choices while growing up. Memories of dad when I was growing up include– being pulled behind a snowmobile on a sled in Idaho after the moving trailer crashed. I happened to be in the truck with Jim Davis (I think) when it crashed. I remember riding on dad’s back. I remember him cursing at a Mexican restruant in Provo when he had forgotten his wallet. He was outside and we were walking in when he realized it was missing. He probably said hell or damn it. I don’t remember. I was shocked. I was probably 12 at the time. I remember him getting angry at the refs during a water polo game because he thought they were being unfair. The Christmas when we got the bikes I remember how happy he was watching all of us. This just may be a memory of how happy I was. The vacation to kodachrome basin was also a fun memory as well as Waterton the first and subsequent times.

March update

Categories: family | March 3rd, 2008 | by admin | one comments

I thought I would write down a few thoughts and let everyone know how we are doing. We are struggling with the reality of dad’s pancreatic cancer. It was quite surreal giving dad the info after I ordered the CT of his Chest and Abdomen. I knew he had cancer, but I wanted to get the Radiologist’s formal report before talking to them about it. He has a 5×7 cm mass of the pancreas and metastasis throughout the lungs. He has been started on Chemotherapy.

When I spoke to mom and dad right after the test, it was fine. I was a Doctor consoling a patient and his wife. It was natural to shift into the working mode. Mom and Dad like me were not necessarily suprised, but definitely in denial. Occassionally, I am caught unaware and allow myself to relax and I cry. Most of the time I feel distant and perhaps distracted.

It seems that most the time, I just keep on going forward. I go to work spend time with the kids. Jonene and I went out with Eric and Michelle on Friday. Macaroni grill was fun. I loved the Mushroom Ravioli.

Henry’s baby blessing on Sunday was great. I loved sitting around and visiting in Mar and Phil’s living room. Ella’s allergies went crazy this weekend. Not sure if it was something she ate, something in the air or the Brady’s rabbit, but it was a painful night and drive home with her itching and screaming. I will post some of the pictures of her recent reactions.

Kenzie had a fun Piggy party last week. Check out the pictures on Flickr. Jonene went to a lot of work to make a great day for Kenzie.

Abbie is really getting good at reading. It is fun to see her excited and very protective of her Junie B. Jones books.

My training for the 1/2 marathon has stagnated for the last 2 weeks. Work was out of control with my partner gone and I did not get out once. I also think I was fighting off the flu. I am hopeful I will feel good enough this weekend to finish. I have no realistic interest in a fast time. If I feel terrible I may switch to the 5 mile run.

We’ve had some fun snow days, too.