Monday, April 12, 2010

Marcia's Obituary

Marcia Lynn Oden McNulty

Marcia Lynn Oden was born on December 20, 1946 to Chester and Effie Oden who relocated here from Vermilion South Dakota. She grew up in what is now the city of Shoreline and graduated from Shoreline High School in 1965. Marcia married Patrick J. McNulty on October 20, 1966 and they began married life in a little house in Shoreline. They had two daughters ~ Tina Maria and Shawna Renee. In October 1973 they built their current home in what is now Lake Forest Park. Marcia worked for King County for 26 years and retired from the Rivers Division in 2002. Over the years she also gave home selling parties for various products primarily Tupperware, especially anything involving people and parties. She attended the same ceramics group for over 30 years.

She and Pat were foster parents for 5 girls while they raised their own and their last “extra” daughter, Linda Brush, is a permanent family member. Marcia was the team mom for the two soccer teams that Pat coached – Emerald City Select Doll-Fins and Team Score. Many of those girls remain close to Marcia and her family to this day and think of them as extended family. She was active in Greyhound rescue and is now rejoined with Jake the greyhound, the world's most perfect dog, Maltie, her best little dog ever, and many other beloved pets over the years.

Marcia loved to travel and took more trips over the years than we can count. In her last years she was a cruise travel agent and she traveled or took cruises to such places as Norway and Denmark (to discover her roots), the Caribbean several times, Hawaii, Alaska, the Panama Canal, Mexico, the Mediterranean, Italy, France, England, Ireland, Scotland, and a Queen Elizabeth II cruise from Europe to New York. She also traveled extensively in the US, most notably to the Disney sites and 12 annual Las Vegas trips.

In the last several years Marcia and Pat worked together to run their two Doll-Fin Day Care Centers in Everett and her pride and joy store The Scrapbook Pad in Shoreline. She was a total people person and a great cook. She loved parties and any and everything having to do with them. She would seize upon any occasion for a party. For that reason, and at her request there will be no funeral service, as she didn't want any sadness surrounding her passing. Instead there will be, of course, a party!

This Celebration of Marcia’s Life will be on Sunday April 25th at the Lynnwood Elks at 6620 196th Street SW Lynnwood between 2:00 and 8:00 pm. This will be a Caribbean themed open house, come anytime. And please wear colorful clothing, nothing somber.

Marcia was predeceased by her parent Chester and Effie Oden and brother-in-law Jerry Knutson. She is survived by her husband Pat, daughters Tina Marie Oestreich her husband Jeff and Shawna Renee Burnett and her husband Chris and grandchildren Brianna and Justin Oestreich and Alexa and Cameron Burnett. She is also survived by foster daughter Linda Brush, sister Joanne Knutson and her children and brother Ted Oden his wife Linda and their children. She is also survived by literally hundreds of family, friends, co-workers, soccer kids, and people she met over the years.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

March 29th 2010

Hello Everyone:

It is with breaking hearts that we have to tell you that Marcia passed away this evening, March 29th at about 10:30 PM. She fought a valiant and courageous fight against this terrible disease and beat it at every turn, but in the end, after surviving long beyond the predictions of any and all of her medical team, her body finally just gave out and she could not fight any longer. When the family was called in - Tina was of course already there as she has been all along - at about 3:00 AM on Sunday Morning they were told that she would have about "3 or 4 hours" left to her here. No one - the doctors and nurses and other medical staff - could believe that she held on another incredible almost two more days. They did not understand it and cannot explain it but we know - she was determined to stay here with her family and friends and the wonderful life she was having. She wasn't done yet. But God had another idea... One we don't understand and are struggling to come to terms with - but nevertheless, God's plan.

At her specific request you probably won't be surprised to hear that there will be no funeral service as such.... she did not want a sad occasion and she did not want you to be sad... Sooooooo.... wait for it..... there will be a PARTY!! There will be a "CELEBRATION OF MARCIA'S LIFE" PARTY ON APRIL 25th. Please save the date. We will let you know and post here the time and exact location and other particulars. But as we said.... SAVE THE DATE! We want you there to make this a very special and joyous event.

There will be an obituary in the paper to tell her story however we're not sure when so you can watch for that too.

We are, as we said, heartbroken, but we view her now.... flying high and free and restored and getting some sort of social event organized over there.... we're absolutely sure of it. For the rest of us the long and difficult journey of coming to terms with this unbelievable event has just begun. Please continue your positive thoughts and prayers for Marcia and her heroic family who all fought the good fight right along beside her.

Thanks for everything and God Bless you all.
Marcia's Family

Pat
Tina & Jeff
grand kids Brianna & Justin
Shawna & Chris
grand kids Alexa & Cameron

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Marcia's News for March 10th

Hello Everyone:

Well, the good news first. The most recent diagnostic scopes seem to indicate that the Graft-Versus-Host Disease(GVHD) is GONE! There is a bit of margin for error in this as the scopes go only so far "up" and "down" from either direction and there is a bit of digestive tract between these that they don't reach, however as far as they can tell, again, IT'S GONE! This of course is huge because this is one of the most lethal transplant "side-effects" - although it doesn't seem enough to call it that because it is a gigantic challenge all in itself.

The not quite so good news is that the Cytomegalo virus (CMV) is back. She also has a "bit" of another fairly common virus too. They have begun treatment for these... the most dangerous one being the CMV. These are virus's that are common in our bodies and our environment, however as we've said many times before, when you have almost no immune system and a compromised digestive tract you are vulnerable to everything! The other challenge with treating all of this is that some treatments for some of these things are directly opposite - one "fights" and negates the other. So they successfully treat one thing only to open the door to the other and back and forth and back and forth. The goal of course is to make sufficient progress with the treatments that they become less and less each time and while Marcia gains strength to also fight them off with her own system immunity too.

And yes she is getting stronger. It is very, very slow progress and most days she cannot notice it which of course is very discouraging. But the progress is there. Where she could not lift her legs as all she now can raise one leg and cross it over the other. This may not seem like much, but trust us it is huge. And she can sit up a bit for a little while again. She continues to work very, very hard at this. She has an absolutely indomitable will to survive this and we are all impressed and amazed on a daily basis. But please know that the road ahead will continue to be a long and excruciatingly difficult one for Marcia and for her family - God bless Pat and Tina and Shawna for all they have done and continue to do - and will not be much if any easier anytime soon. Your continued prayers and attention for all of them are very much needed and wanted, perhaps now more than ever.

Thanks for everything and please please keep her and all of us in your thoughts and prayers.
Marcia's family

Monday, February 15, 2010

A note from Pat, Tina and Shawna on another subject

Hello Everyone:

At Pat's request we want to explain why this blog has been updated less often than we originally intended when we began it back last July. For one thing, much of what has been happening with Marcia, especially in the last few months, has been sort of "holding pattern" stuff... dealing with side effects, trying one "cure" and then another, circumstances little changed, no new information, etc., etc. When we've had some solid news, we've been sure to report it, but sometimes it has just been more of the same with nothing really different.

But the other reason is that the writer from the beginning in July of '09, whom some of you may know, Kathie Keil Crozier, was herself diagnosed with breast cancer on October 1 '09. This was completely unexpected - no signs or symptoms at all - and came from a routine mammogram. In October and November she had three surgeries to finally get good margins on the tumor and remove lymph nodes. The cancer was determined to be stage II, with a 2.1 centimeter tumor and involvement in only the sentinel lymph node. Unfortunately they had to take 14 nodes in all for the pathology to be certain. There is no reason right now to believe that the cancer has gone elsewhere however she coming up on her third round of 6 chemo therapies. She is in two clinical trials that will support this process and follow her for the next 10 years. Daily radiation therapy for 33 days (Mondays through Fridays - apparently cancer does not work on weekends) will follow the chemo and then medication - likely a pill - for several years after that should finish up the process. Unfortunately the process has made it difficult if not impossible to do much coherent writing on some of the 21 days between chemos, so it's been necessary to seize the moments to write when she can.

We just wanted you to know about this too... life sure is interesting isn't it? On September 22nd Kathie was down at Fred Hutch with Pat and Tina for the training to be one of Marcia's helpers and on October 1st - the first day of Breast Cancer awareness month, she was in the process herself. The good news is that Marcia has another totally bald buddy... solidarity!

Thanks
Pat and Tina and Shawna
[and.... writer's note... thanks,
Kathie Keil Crozier]

Marcia's News for February 15th

Hello Everyone:

Marcia's good news is that according to all the most recent diagnostic testing the bone marrow transplant has worked and her bone marrow is doing all the normal things it is supposed to do. This is of course wonderful news. Unfortunately, side effects from the process continue to create all kinds of huge challenges and are now where her biggest fight is taking place. The most dangerous and persistent of these... the one now causing the majority of the problems, is the Graft-Versus-Host Disease(GVHD). It has proved to be stubborn and persistent and resistant to some degree or another of most of the remedies that have been tried. It is better than it was, but it continues to be her biggest challenge now.

Last week another port was surgically placed on her left chest and an entirely new treatment was begun. The port proved very difficult to get into place and her left side has three incisions from three attempts and is painful and sore and black and blue, as she says, with no blue, just black. This had to be done to accommodate this newest treatment. It is called THERAKOS™ Photopheresis and is a process slightly similar to dialysis. What it does is remove a small amount of the patient's blood into a machine which then separates it into it's various components, adds medications to the white blood cells, activates the medication by UVA light and then finally, returns the treated white blood cells to the patient's body. The intention and expectation is that this process significantly boosts the effectiveness of the medications and in some way boosts the immune system's response to the medications and the overall healing process. This information is taken from and more information can be found at www.therakos.com.

Tina and Pat are taking a lot of control of her nutrition. They are being very careful and diligent to see which foods agree with her and which do not and are shaping what she eats accordingly. They are also giving her protein shakes, all of which, until the surgery to install the port, had started to work very well and should continue to do so going forward. In addition to this, some of the medications that were previously used are being reduced or eliminated, so that many of the medication side effects are being reduced.

She remains very, very weak and right now is not capable of independent movement... moving in bed, shifting positions, and she is unable to stand or walk at all. Needless to say this is very discouraging. She really really dislikes (read hates :) the therapies because they are so uncomfortable and require so much exertion, but she does them. Recently they have brought in a machine... a contraption... that assists with standing because she just cannot stand unassisted, even with support of two people. This machine supports in all the right places and allowed her to stand upright without the fear of falling and that in turns allows circulation, stretching and strengthening of those areas that have become too weak to support her.

Most importantly Marcia continues to hang in there and fight hard to get over all of this and get back home. She has never, in any way, given up, nor is there any reason to think that she ever will. She has proved to be a tremendous fighter and the rest of us continue to be amazed at her strength and determination to beat this thing. We have every expectation that she can and that she will.

As always, please keep Marcia, and all of us in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks so much for the support you have already given us. We appreciate everything so much.

Marcia's Family

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Marcia's News for January 21th

Hello Everyone:

Marcia continues to hang in there through this incredibly long and difficult process.

As of now the Graft-Versus-Host Disease(GVHD)has slightly returned in her digestive tract. Another issue that she had last October has come back as well and unfortunately the treatments for each of these "counteract" each other so they are watching them carefully but not heavily treating either of them for the moment.

Then Tina noticed a very slight change in her respiration that, after more diagnostic work, turned out to be a bacteria in her blood. It was a very good early catch on Tina's part and that is being treated. Tina's being there all this time has really been a benefit... one morning Marcia had a seizure - after much diagnostic work they still don't know why - that Tina discovered well before any of the staff would have and was able to get fast help with.

Much testing has been done in terms of the transplant itself and most of that is not back yet. We'll let you know what that shows however early indications are that the transplant itself is doing well and/but the secondary or side-effects of it are what are creating the enormous challenges she is struggling with right now.

In addition all of the medications and the combinations of them have made Marcia extremely weak so that she has been working hard on her physical and occupational therapy but both are tremendously difficult and exhausting for her. As we can only just imagine she is pretty discouraged right now, mostly due to her complete lack of ability to move independently.

We ask that you continue to keep Marcia and her entire family in your thoughts and prayers. This has been an unbelievable journey for all of them and they are nowhere near past the challenges yet.

Thanks to you all,
Marcia's Family

[Writer's comment... How about a little 'get well and we're thinking about you' card campaign?!? Let's see how many wonderful cards and messages we can send to Marcia McNulty at University of Washington Medical Center, Room 8216, 1959 NE Pacific St., Seattle, WA 98195]

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Marcia's News for New Year's Eve ~ December 31st

Hello Everyone!

Next week is Marcia's 80th day after her transplant! This is a big milestone in the process and a point when much testing and evaluating will be done to see just how everything is working. As we said in our last message, the Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD) that was so very threatening for awhile now seems to be completely gone. The challenges continue with the edema - water retention - slowly going down but still there and the recent discovery of some types of food that she is just unable to eat right now. Under all of these circumstances she continues to do pretty well however, as we can all only imagine, she really, really, really just wants to go HOME!

Christmas day was a busy one as family gathered at the house and had breakfast and then took presents and breakfast for Marcia down to the hospital. There they took the bed out of the room and brought in chairs for everyone and gifts were opened and then everyone shared a "buffet" brunch. Lots of people on the floor had visitors but we didn't see anything anywhere like Marcia's Christmas "party".

Tina has been staying with Marcia at the hospital - sleeping on a cot in her room - almost every night for going on the last month. This has been difficult for her and her family but Marcia has really needed her and we feel certain her being there has made a significant positive difference in her progress. Her family - Jeff and the kids - have supported her and it's helped that Brianna now has her license and has been able to do some of the driving for herself and Justin.

Shawna has taken over all of Marcia's tasks at the Scrapbook Pad, in addition to her own and has done a great job of keeping the store going. This too has been a team effort on the part of her and her family - Chris and the kids - and has not been easy either as, as most of you know, her children are younger - Cameron is just in kindergarten and Alexa is going to be 11 in a couple of months - and she too lives out a ways from the store and she has a second very demanding job as well.

We want to thank you all for your continued interest and caring and support. We ask that you continue to hold Marcia and all of us in your positive thoughts and prayers and we'll do the same for you.

We wish you a happy and blessed new year and we hope against hope that next year will be an easier and happier one for all of us.

Very best New Year's wishes!

The McNulty Family

Marcia & Pat
Tina & Jeff
grandkids Brianna & Justin
Shawna & Chris
grandkids Alexa & Cameron