To All of Angela's Family and Her Friends...

To everyone who has been visiting this website over the past 17 months... Thank You. For those of us who love Angela, these past 17 months have been difficult but we are all thankful for having her in our lives.

Shortly before 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, Angela passed from this earth. Her last days were very peaceful and without pain. David and Tammy were at her side.

The Fluker family wishes to thank everyone associated with Dr. Patrick Stagg, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Duke University Medical Center and St. Joseph Hospice Carpenter House for the care they have provided. They also wish to thank everyone who has visited, brought food and kept them in their prayers since Angela’s diagnosis in September 2007.

Visitation at Wilbert’s Funeral Home in Plaquemine Monday, Feb. 16 from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. Visitation resumes Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 8 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Plaquemine until services officiated by Father John Carville at 10 a.m. Interment in Grace Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Joseph's Hospice Foundation or to Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.

If you have any special memories of Angela you would like to share with David and his children, you may post those thoughts here or you can email them to: angelafluker@gmail.com. If you have any photos of Angela you would like to share, please email them to that same address.

Mid Week Update

Angela continues to rest peacefully. I remain amazed by her strength and courage. We are all blessed to have had her as a part of our lives......be it an acquaintance or a best friend.

David remains by her side taking care of her every need. His love is evident and his strength....well, there are several words to describe his strength........amazing, contagious, everlasting, admirable.......

Please continue to pray for peaceful and pain free days.

tammy

Busy Weekend

Friday night David slept at home with the kids while Angela and I had a "girls night". As you can imagine, David was thrilled to be able to go home and spend some time with those precious little angels. I must admit that I was just as happy to spend time with my precious friend.
This weekend was a busy one but fun filled for the kids. It consisted of playing at the park with their Daddy, attending a Mardi Gras Parade (which they watched twice) and going to a play that was put on at a local high school (Wizard of Oz).
Tonight Angela was resting peacefully and continues to be pain free. The nurses and staff that take care of her are wonderful people. The Carpenter House has been a blessing for Angela and David.
Please continue to pray for Angela, David, Alex, Christian, and Katherine. Your prayers have gotten them this far and they will need you in order to continue this journey.

God bless all of you,
tammy

Christian Being Christian

I snuck out for a few hours yesterday and had lunch with the kids. It does the heart good to be center of some one's world for a little while. Katherine and Christian were virtually doing back flips when they saw me. However, Alex was playing with his friends and maintained his "whatever" composure. I could tell underneath his cool facade he was excited to see me. The food was actually fantastic. I asked the cook, scratch that..... I asked the chef where was her mother when I was going to school?


Christian being Christian, managed to cut his head on his Aunt T's coffee table last night. I met Christian, Theresa and Blake at the After Hour's Care place in Brusly around 8 pm. Christian handle the whole thing like a "Trooper". He is one tough little man. Six stitches later he got the "cool" band-aid around his head. When he got back to Theresa's he showed it off to his little sister. He leaned his head down for her to touch it and said "You see this band-aid baby Kat? This is for big boys."



Angela continues to be pain free and resting comfortably. Thanks again for every one's prayers and support.

A Day in the Park

I spent Friday night at home and the better part of Saturday with the kids at the park. The weather was perfect and so were our host, Susan and Gary Koederitz. They had invited us to enjoy lunch at their house; and then play in the park just a few yards away. As always my wonderful sister (Diane), my niece (Karlie) and one of our many wonderful friends (Steele) helped me keep the crew under control at the park. It felt great to get out and enjoy the kids and the day!

After a full day of playing, Alex wanted to visit his mother. We loaded the kids up and went to visit "Mommy". Alex, Katherine and Christian blew kisses to their mother. Christian even snuggled in bed with her for a moment; and later helped feed his mother a smoothie. Picture this .... Christian is standing on a chair spoon feeding his mother a smoothie. It was wonderful ending to a wonderful day.

Just know, Angela is not in any pain or discomfort. She has let us (me, family, friends, hospice staff) know she is at "peace" with what is happening and is not afraid.

As always thanks for every one's prayers and kind thoughts.

Wednesday, January 28th

Angela continues to rest peacefully and pain free. Today was a day of sleep....she woke up tonight long enough for me to feed her a coffee cup of strawberry smoothie. When I left, she was drifting back to sleep.
David got out for a while today and tonight he had supper with the kids. I know that they were excited to see him.
Not much more to report so I'll close for now.
Please continue to pray for peaceful days for Angela and strength for David.

Monday, January 26th

Another restful day for Angela. She slept off and on most of the day today. David continues to be by her side, taking care of her every want and need. Her cousin, Father John Carville, visited with her today. He prayed with Angela and David......his visits mean a lot to them. When I left this afternoon she was awake and eating a mango smoothie.
I want to thank you all for your prayers and kind words. David continues to read Angela all of the posts on a daily basis.....most days he reads them more than once. She listens to all of them. I also want to thank all of you whom have dropped in to visit with David. I know that he enjoys the company.
On a personal note, I want to let Doug know that Angela and I enjoyed his post of growing up in the Meriam Street neighborhood. You brought back memories for both of us....Great Memories!
Please continue to pray and send your comments and prayers to Angela. We hope and pray for more good days to come.

Friday, January 23rd

Today was a day of rest for Angela. She slept and relaxed most of the day and enjoyed a few visitors in between. Tonight the nurses brought Angela into the family room for a while so she could visit with her company. David is sleeping at home tonight with the kids because they miss their daddy. Theresa and I are staying with Angela while David gets some much deserved rest.

As always, continue praying for more good days.........

Thursday, January 22nd

A quick note to let all of you know that today was a great day for Angela. She ate, drank coffee & water and ate a smoothie......while this may seem minor, it is huge as she has been having trouble swallowing the past few days. Well, not today ~ one small miracle for the Flukers! Tonight she told the nurse that she wanted to get out of bed. So, they helped her to a chair where she sat and visited with family and friends for 30 minutes or so. When I left tonight she was back in bed and still awake. I am sure that she'll sleep well tonight.......she's had a big day.

Please continue to pray for the miracles.........

TODAY'S UPDATE

I'll begin with last night (Monday) and move forward through today. Last night before I went in to see Angela, David reminded me that she had not been responding much the past few days so I should just hold her hand and talk to her. Well, when I grabbed her hand and spoke her name, she opened her eyes!!!! She would squeeze my hand when I would talk and I got a BIG, TIGHT squeeze when I asked if she wanted me to get David! When David came in the room, her eyes were open and she was responding through hand squeezing. Small gifts from God is what those squeezes were!

This morning around 10:30 David told me she was awake and responding.....and that I may want to go by for a visit. Boy, am I glad that I did. When I walked in she was bright eyed and reaching for my hand. David stepped out for his morning shower and I had her all to myself........I took advantage of the situation. I talked to her and she would answer back....I got a few yes, no, and I love you answers......I even got a few hugs from her! God blessed me with a visit that I will cherish always. Most of all, God blessed David with a GREAT day with his wife.

Tonight Joey & I went by for a while and David had the kids there. Alex, Christian and Katherine all went in to see Angela (she was awake). They got in the bed with Angela and she was able to give them hugs........what a beautiful sight! When I left Angela had fallen asleep and was resting peacefully. Christian wanted to go see his Mommy again so Theresa was going to take him in for a quick peek.

David would like to thank everyone for their calls, visits and most importantly all of the prayers. Angela, David and the kids could not have gotten through the past 15 months without all of you.



Until next time, take care and keep the prayers flowing.

Visiting with David

Though Angela is not able to have visitors any longer, David is. Over the weekend David had a lot of company and I know that it did him a lot of good. We can't say enough about how great the staff has been at The Carpenter House, the hospice operated by St. Joseph's. It's a beautiful facility and for a while this weekend, Angela was the only patient there... so we had the place all to ourselves. Last week David was with Angela at Hospice during the day and would then pick the kids up from school at 5:30 and stay with them at night, so they would have normalcy. This week, however, the game plan right now is for David to stay with Angela around the clock while family members keep the kids. For all of us, this has been a difficult 16 month journey but I think David is holding up well and he does appreciate the company he's been receiving. The Carpenter House is located at the intersection of Airline Highway and Jefferson. If you go down Jefferson towards Airline, you'll see it on your left as you approach Airline. If you go down Airline, you need to take the road to the right which takes you to Jefferson. You can't miss the building; it's huge, obviously brand new and it looks like a white plantation home.

Also, for those of you who have already taken the time to send photos and personal stories of times you spent with Angela, thank you. David has been reading those stories and looking at those photos. You can send your stories and photos to: angelafluker@gmail.com. The stories and photos you submit are going to eventually be included in books we're going to make for Alex, Christian and Katherine to remember their mother. David also goes to this blog several times a day to read the messages that are posted. If you can't make it by to see David in person, feel free to take a moment and post your thoughts and let David know he and his family are in your prayers. Throughout this entire process, David and Angela have gained a lot of strength from the posts and your words of comfort are as important right now as ever.

Visiting Angela

Many of you have asked about visiting Angela. I wish I could give you a better answer, but visiting with her right now is just not possible. Since we arrived this past Tuesday, Angela has been in a fairly rapid state of decline. She is not eating or drinking. She becomes agitated easily. If one can find anything positive out of this situation, the wonderful hospice care staff has managed to get her pain for the most part under control; this is something we were not able to do at home. This place has been a blessing. The staff is taking very good care of her.

While a visit with Angela is not possible at this time, you may visit with me or other family and friends in the family area.

Thanks again for every one's prayers and support.

David

Angela

Last week I called St. Joseph Hospice to admit Angela for hospice care at home. Unfortunately even with the help of the home hospice nursing staff and some really great family and friends, we could not bring her discomfort under control. As of yesterday she is at St. Joseph's Carpenter House with a full time medical staff to alleviate her discomfort. As I sit here typing this she is sleeping and resting well.

David

Circling the Wagons

I would like to express my sincere THANKS and gratitude to all of my friends and family for "circling the wagons" around my family in our time of need.

David

A Book for Alex, a Book for Christian and a Book for Katherine

As someone who went from having an immediate crush on Angela the first day I laid eyes on her at LSU in the late spring of 1983 to one who conspired with her to land David Fluker, once she told me she wanted a man with muscles and chest hair, Angela has been a integral part of my life for over 25 years. For me, and I think for every one of us, the most difficult thing is knowing that she and David were together for 20 years before they had their first child and now those three beautiful children are faced with growing up and never knowing their mother.

While each of us is powerless to alter the state of Angela's health, there is something each of us can do to make sure her three children know how important she is to us and how important Alex, Christian and Katherine are to her.

I have set up an email address, angelafluker@gmail.com, for you-- her friends, family members, former classmates, former business associates and others-- to submit photos and personal stories about your relationship with Angela. If, at any stage in your life, you were close to Angela and have memories to share, please take the time to express those memories in an email. Please feel free to write as many stories as you can and please scan and email any photos you may have with you and Angela and/or David. I am going to take everything I collect and turn it in to three identical books to give to the kids once they are older.

If you have any questions or suggestions for me, please email me at that same address: angelafluker@gmail.com

John Michael

A Review of This Past Week

We are all very aware that there are a lot of friends, family members, former classmates and people who know David and Angela through different social settings, such as business and church, who log onto this website on a regular basis. Most of you do not post comments but we know you come here because you care about Angela's well-being. As I look back over the past 16 months, one regret I do have is that we haven't updated this blog on a more regular basis. For the benefit of those who want to know what's going on but don't want to disturb David with phone calls, I'm going to try to post updates on a daily basis.

Monday, Jan. 5: As I do quite often, I brought Angela some gumbo for lunch and I was stunned by how much she had changed from exactly one week earlier. On Monday, Dec. 29, Angela was smiling, she was ready to go back to physical therapy and she was wanting to get out of the house and do things. The very next day, David had Angela back at PT and from there they went to chemotherapy. On Jan. 5, Angela was was not in a good frame of mind, she was very depressed and she was very emotional. When it was time for me to leave, she didn't want me to go and even though I told her I would would be back in a couple of hours, she couldn't understand why I had to go. I returned at 5:30 to find Angela in her wheelchair watching the kids play in the toy room, which is adjacent to the kitchen. But no sooner did I arrive did David wheel her our of the room because the noise was bothering her. For the rest of that evening, I played with the kids and tried to keep them away from Angela so she could rest.

Tuesday, Jan. 6: As you know from David's post, this was the day Hospice got a call. Sam and Suzanne Furby visited with David and Angela that night and Suzanne slept over with Angela so David could get some rest. This was not a good night for Angela. On Wednesday, David would tell me that her level of agitation was five times worse than it had been the night before.

Wednesday, Jan. 7: I had to call Tammy to remind me what happened on this day and she reminds me that it was the night we had pizza. When I arrived that evening, Tammy, Joey and Debi were on the porch with Angela, even though the sun had gone down and the weather was chilly. The fact that I can't remember much more than tells me that this must have been a pretty good night for Angela.

Thursday, Jan. 8: As I recall, this evening started out well. Katherine spoon-fed Angela while I was talking to her and I happened to have David's iPhone in my hand to capture the moment. It was a very sweet scene and I took some photos of it with both mine and David's iPhones. The better photos were taken with David's phone and I'll try to post one of them this week. I've included a photo of Katherine that I took after she finished feeding Angela and turned her attention to me. This turned out to be a horrible night for Angela. She probably went through more pain on this night than she has had since she got some extremely bad muscle spasms while she was at the Neuromedical Center in Oct. 2007. Her problem was that she couldn't go to the bathroom and it caused her to be in a lot of pain. This situation lasted throughout the night and Angela didn't get any sleep until after 4am on Friday morning.

Friday, Jan. 9: Despite everything this past week, Angela has been in the mood to visit with people. So, on Friday night, several of her closest friends-- Steele, Tammy, Joey, J.J. and I-- came over for dinner. We were joined by David and Father John Carville, Angela's first cousin. Theresa and Tiffany were caring for the kids that weekend, which made the house noticeably quieter. After a night without sleep, Angela spent all day and evening Friday sleeping. She was still sleeping when we gathered around her bed in the living room as Father Carville led us in prayer. She didn't awake until 9:30pm, after Father Carville had left. However, we were all able to visit with her for quite some time that night.

Saturday & Sunday, Jan. 10 & 11: Angela had a lot of company over the weekend and I think she enjoyed that.

Monday, Jan. 12: Once again, as has been the case over most of the last week, the tumor has caused Angela to get agitated easily and we've had to keep the noise level down.

Hospice Care

This is very hard to write, so I will be brief. This has been a very difficult past couple of months. Angela is now under hospice care at home. Thanks again for your many thoughts and prayers. Please continue to pray for my family.