FOOTNOTE

just realized we did not tell how the day thomas died that the following families stopped by.
we were blessed to have the following at the same time: lagios, jaworowski, trbovich, nutter, my uncle dom(dad's brother),shari, lenny.

also, many thanks for our friends in pittsburgh, beaver that from our neighborhood baked oodles of cookies for thomas' memorial service. we can't thank you enough.

FINAL BLOG

many of you may know that on 8/4/09 a memorial service was held for thomas.

the service was exceptionally beautiful, uplifting and emotional for all.

aaron shust sang 4 songs from his new CD that was released the day of the memorial.

thomas' sister MaryPat, nathan and tia spoke about their much loved brother and father.
BaBa, thomas' mother wore an outfit that thomas had remarked in the past about how nice she looked in it.

Pastor Jeff reminisced for a few minutes about some of the things he remembered about our family since attending chippewa for the last six years and about how much he loved thomas for his faith and friendship.

guests at the service were invited to sing along with two of thomas' favorite hymns.

a slide show created by nathan of the life of thomas was shown prior to the service. a video interview recorded by the pastor this past april was also shown.

another life in pictures slide show of thomas was shown at the end while a very moving song was played.

well over 600 family, friends, acquaintances, former and present church families, and neighbors were in attendance.

refreshments were served afterwards that allowed guests a time to speak to the family members.

we all miss thomas so terribly much and as his widow i must go on without him and seek God's direction for this uninvited new journey that i am on.
thomas and i will grow old together, me on the outside and he on my inside.

as the words of martin luther king jr were spoke years ago, they apply to thomas now.....
free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty he is free at last!

thank you everyone from the bottom of my heart for sharing in this blog.
pal

church

today we went to church without thomas, yet realizing he will never miss church again. he will be eternally worshipping God in all of God's glory.

Thomas felt most at home in church; at crestmont christian missionary alliance our first home church for 25 years or our chippewa e. free for the last 6 years. the family of God is so big and has no boundaries.

birthday

today would be our baby Rachael's 26th birthday. just like her father, Thomas, she was born and died on her birthday. her birth and death were the same year, whereas thomas' birth and death were 52 years apart.

a dear friend wrote an unintentional, yet divinely inspired story for us after thomas left this life in which the meeting between thomas and rachael was described. with our friends permission we would like to post it here at some point in time.

FIRST OF THE FIRSTS

tonight will be our first night alone. we picked up thomas' remains today at the funeral home. the words ashes to ashes , dust to dust ring in our minds. we are being comforted by the Holy Spirit.

SERVICE

memorial service planned for tuesday, 8/4 @ 7 PM, chippewa evangelical free church.

MEMORIAL SERVICE

just want to advise of a pre-arrangement date for a memorial service. i have been in touch with Pastor Jeff , senior pastor of chippewa evangelical free church and we are looking at 2 dates the first week of August.

thank you everyone for your love and concern and interest in this blog. the comments mean soooo very much to us.

Thomas was reading a book "Heaven" and was impressed with a quote from D. L. Moody that said. "When you read my obituary in the paper....don't believe it for a second because i am more alive now than i have ever been."

Thomas is home now where he belongs and longed for. he did not want to leave us but was not afraid to go.

to everyone who loved thomas, please be comforted by knowing he is safe and secure and knows what we only hope for.

we love him so much.

JOHN 5:24

JESUS SAID, I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, WHOEVER HEARS MY WORD AND BELIEVES HIM WHO SENT ME HAS ETERNAL LIFE, AND WILL NOT BE CONDEMNED, HE HAS CROSSED OVER FROM DEATH TO LIFE..

THOMAS LEFT US AND HIS BODY AT 12:15 A.M., SAT. JULY 11--HIS 52ND BIRTHDAY.

thomas has slipped into the noncommunication stage. we continue to affirm our love and gratitude to him. we told him with tears that we do not want him to leave us, yet it is okay to go to his reward in glory to be with the Lord forever. we must stand on the promises of God.

Waiting For THE RETURN OF THE KING

thomas is now on morphine to ease his breathing. he is in no pain. he takes a sedative every 4 hours. he is still communicating with us with mostly sign language and eyebrow movement. he is still the classic tom.....still wanting fruits and drinks and not losing his gag reflex which surprises the nurse. we continue to sing songs of praise with him and kiss his face and hands and assure him of our love.

lenny smith, friend of tia & nathan from center is here visiting. he was close to thomas. thomas was his boys brigade ranger at church.

lagios/sullivan family will be stopping on saturday. friend sherri mclaughin will be arriving tonight.
sincerely.

thomas has rested well today. this evening he had some trouble breathing because of the congestion. we prayed him through it with help from some meds.

the previous blog was added by nathan just to let each of you reflect on a great man's life.
of course, thomas would say that Jesus is the greatest of all. that is true, but thomas comes in second in my opinion.

we know his time on earth is winding down. we ask of God for peace and comfort for thomas as he crosses into eternity with his savior.

SURPRISES

thomas said he was hungry and thirsty yesterday evening. he had watermelon, applesauce, jello.
said he would like to take me to italy before he meets jesus at the gate. what a sweetheart he is.

the nutters' formerly from chippewa E.Free and a pastor friend came last afternoon and prayed and anointed thomas and read scripture. how comforted we all were. my mom, nanny, is here for a few days.

thomas michael climbed up in bed with "pop pop" to watch a movie for a tidbit of time. precious.
we told him pop pop will someday sleep and sleep and then wake up in heaven with jesus. he said "when, tomorrow after pop pops nap?" he said i believe in Jesus too!!

thomas had a restful nite of sleep. we are so grateful to the Lord for His grace he has given us.
we cling to every moment we have with the strongest, kindest, pure, dedicated, caring, faithful man we have EVER known. and we have known many of these men. but none like Thomas.

be of good cheer everyone. know that we are being carried in the cradle of the loving arms of Jesus.

LIGHTER SIDE

as i was asking the hospice RN if she thought thomas was in a declining state, she acknowledged that he is, thomas (who has been unable to speak hardly at all) raised his hands up and said firmly----"MAYBE". he has a tenacity for life that is remarkably god-given.

he is now not eating and drinking and is mostly sleeping.

i am in awe of the birth and death events of life.

PRAY

i had to call 911 at 4 AM. thomas could not breathe well. hospice could not get oxygen to him for 6 hours so we went to the hospital. he is home now and resting comfortably. will probably have to continue to use oxygen as the tumors in lung produce fluid and he is not able to expectorate the fluid. the ER doctor said thomas is very, very ill. we know, but hearing it is hard. Jesus has comforted thomas on this cancer journey every footprint along the way. we know they are HIS footprints in the sand and not ours.

please do not be discouraged. thomas is not afraid. his faith is built on the promises of God through Jesus Christ His Son.

Nathan and Tia struggle with the thought of losing their father in this life, yet they know where he is going.

VISITORS

thomas had a challenging week.

we decided nathan should come down for the rest of the summer to be with his beloved dad. how nice to have both our adult children with us.

thomas has lost significant weight, yet his eyes reveal the depth of his kind heart. his spirit is renewed by his Savior every day. we love thomas so very much, just like so many others do.

his sister and mother, my brother and his daughter, fortunato, shust, shust, and shust families, hess and hess families and lagios/sullivan family(soon) have visited and laughed and cried and reminisced and filled our fridge and did chores and ministered in music. what sweet fellowship we had.

thomas is feeling better today.

HEALTH UPDATE

Thomas is sleeping more and eating less.

His voice is hoarse and finds it difficult to speak in long sentences. This is due
to the compromised lower lung areas. We did not realize how much we use our lung
air to speak.

Today Thomas' mother and sister will be visiting. My brother and neice will be visiting on Saturday.

How nice and comforting to have Nathan and Tia with us. They have risen to the occasion of becoming very helpful adult children. Thomas is so content to have them here.

As always, we know Who holds our hand and our future.

Blessings to all who read this post.

BLOG UPDATE

if anyone is having trouble making comments or reading thomas' blog go to www.blogspot.com and create an account (email & a password) then you can go to www.tmlampone.blogspot.com

OUTINGS

Thomas has been able to go to the neighborhood pool and watch our 3 yr. old grandson swim, well stand around with a water gun actually.

A thrilling moment came when Thomas gave Thomas Michael a ride around the block on his wheelchair. That was so sweet to witness!

All is going well except for the pressure in Thomas' ears. The doctor checked it out and it is an oddity as to why he feels this.

Hope all is well if anyone reads this.

WHEELCHAIR OUTING

today i got thomas in his wheelchair and he motored over 4 streets and we surprised tia when we rang the doorbell. she cried and cried for joy. of course the moment we started out it began to rain and three hours later when we started home it down poured.
thomas had a very good day.
ciao

PAIN UPDATE

the hospice nurse discovered why thomas' pain level was not decreasing when she asked me what the dosage was for the pain med he is on. that is when i gasped and said i was giving thomas 1 long term pill a.m. and l p.m. when in fact he should have been receiving 3 and 3 instead of 1 and 1. OOPS! to err is human, to be forgiven is divine. thomas is already beginning to feel better.
have had to do my homeopathic treatments of warm salt water gargle, nose spray, and alchohal/peroxide drops in his ears for sinus congestion and sore throat and tylenal every six hours.

PAIN

thomas has experienced elevated pain in the left scapula area. this has been the hot spot for the cancer since diagnosed. we suspect the fact he was using trapeze to pull himself up may be the culprit. that shoulder is just too compromised. he will not use that device anymore. he has not been able to be in the wheelchair because of this. the pain level seems to be diminishing ever so slightly.
does anybody up there in woodridge miss us yet?
love to all, PAL

WHEELCHAIR

thomas got his mobile wheelchair yesterday. how nice for him to be finally out of bed after 4 weeks.

HELLO FOLLOWERS (OF JESUS) WE PRAY NOW OR SOMEDAY.
THOMAS IS STILL WAITING FOR HIS NEW CORVETTE (SORRY, MOTORIZED WHEELCHAIR). ALMOST 3 WEEKS AND IT IS STILL NOT HERE. HE HAS HAD TO REMAIN IN BED. DOES NOT COMPLAIN, YET I KNOW HE WANTS TO BE OUTSIDE IN THIS BEAUTIFUL NORTH CAROLINA WEATHER.
THOMAS WEATHERED ANOTHER INFECTION AND IS RECOVERING WELL.
FOR THOSE INTERESTED, WE HAVE CONCLUDED THAT T.M. LAMPONE BLDG & REM. IS OFFICIALLY RETIRED AND HIS BUSINESS PHONE NO. 724/728-1761 WILL BE ARCHIVED BY VERIZON AND THEN EVENTUALLY GIVEN OUT TO A NEW CUSTOMER .
THOMAS' INTENSE CARE IS BEGINNING TO EASE UP FOR ME NOW THAT WE HAVE
HOSPICE. HE HAS AN RN 2X A WEEK, AN AIDE 3X, A SOCIAL WORKER BI-MONTHLY AND VOLUNTEERS WILL COME 2-4 HOURS AT A TIME WHENEVER I NEED TO LEAVE THE HOME FOR ANY PERIOD OF TIME (SUPPOSEDLY I AM TO USE THAT TIME FOR MYSELF). HE CAN HAVE PET VISITS, MASSAGES, ETC. SINCE WE SPENT 9 MONTHS FINDING HOMES FOR OUR 10 YR. OLDDOG jOE WHO WENT TO A FARM IN MONONGAHELA AND AGNUS OUR 19 YR. OLD CAT TO NANNY, MY MOTHER, I DO NOT THINK WE WILL OPT FOR PET THERAPY.
SO LONG TILL LATER.
LOVE, BLESSINGS TO ALL--YOUR PAL

MOTHER'S DAY

greetings to all women who are mothers to all. my brother's wife maria is a first time mom!
thomas was seen by the hospice doctor for an initial intake evaluation. he is a retired neurosurgeon. he will evaluate thomas' meds to see what is actually still needed and what is superfluous. we already were able to stop the daily subcutaneous stomach injections.
thomas is still getting a fever from some infection. paraplegia presents many curious ongoing issues. normally we would have gone by ambulance and spent many hours in the ER. hospice really is a portable urgent care organization that comes to the patient. how grateful we are that the fever was handled at home instead of the hospital.
thomas never complains. takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.
we have retained our cell phone numbers and have added a land line because verizon is unreliable in the area around our neighborhood. #is 704-395-2969.

we arrived via His Wings Ministries on 4/30 in charlotte, NC. the flight was an adventure similar to riding a roller coaster, yet enjoyable. thomas was on a very narrow stretcher. he is experiencing more pain than usual in his shoulder. we are gratefule to Angel Flight East for their service to us. thomas was already seen by 3 hospice care ladies to help us adjust the first day. we are only using hospice because of the EXTRA support and services offered to thomas and especially for me so that i can get some respite care. we will see his new oncologist this tuesday.

we are forever grateful to my family, neighbors, realtors, church family former and present, sub contractors of thomas. i will specifically name at a later date those who helped make this tremendous undertaking possible.

our home is so comfortable now that thomas and i have a first floor bedroom. to say it has taken a village to move us to charlotte is an understatement!!!!!!!!!!!!!

we leave behind but never forgotten the most precious memories and expect to make new ones.

we were already visited by the Nutters from CEFC who now live in the charlotte area.

we are so grateful to be near our grandson Thomas Michael and Tia and Michael. we find it hard to leave our son Nathan in Pittsburgh but we know he will bloom and grow (after he wilts a little) at being on his own at college in Slippery rock. he knows how many people back home are there to support him.

please pass this blog address to any one who may be interested in our progress at this new juncture of life.

we give praise to Jesus in all He has done for thomas and me.

love to ALL. till then. PAL

EASTER BLESSINGS!!!!!

thomas will see the rehab doctor on mon. 4/13 to review ct scans and formulate an approach to treat the spasms. another answer to prayer is that Angel Flight will be flying us to Charlotte at the end of April. we will be picked up at the beaver county airport. it is a stretcher accessible 8 seat piper navajo. thomas was interviewed via video by the pastor of chippewa . e. f. church and will be shown during the 4 Easter services. the roberts family at cefc has blessed us by providing their wheelchair van so tbat Thomas may attend church for the first and last time since last fall. What a Saviour is Jesus!!! He is our Hope in all things past, present, and future.

TOM'S PROGRESS

in the next week thomas will be having CT scans of the cervical, thoracic, and pelvic areas to determine progress of the disease and will see his rehab doctor to decide on further treatment of the muscle spasms that are bothersome. he takes three spasm relief meds but make him very
sleepy. we are grateful for the Lord's continued guidance and providence on the sale of our home. the sale was to be 3/13 but never closed. the new date is 5/1. perhaps we were not ready to move and in retrospect we were not due to infections and issues that set in. please pray for our neighborhood as some of our friends are struggling with the thought of us leaving. our son Nathan especially needs comfort with our imminent separation.

progress update

thomas was fitted for his mobilized wheelchair. nathan and tia always made fun of the hoveround
wheelchair commercials and now their dad is in one. he is having severe muscle spasms continuously and are considering botox injections to the abductor muscles. we are very strongly planning for a 5/1 moving date. i am overwhelmed with the responsibility of managing his 24/7 health needs and dissolving the business and selling our home. thomas will still retain his business line of 724-728-1761 and will refer calls to his contractor contacts if any interest is shown. we appreciate all the love, concern, offers of help, and mostly the prayers.

thomas was in the hospital for a day and then released this past sunday due to a fever and severe muscle spasm. he is feeling better to be under his wife's TLC.

TOM'S PROGRESS REPORT

Thomas is currently enduring 3 infections in his system. He is still unable to move from the waist down due to the thyroid cancer that spread to his spine, yet he has sensation in his legs. He did move his knees (movement generated from the hips) and a toe. He experiences severe spasms quite frequently each day. We are still planning to relocate to Charlotte, NC to be near Tia and Thomas Michael. The oncologist said to go for it if that is our desire. We would like to move by the beginning of May. Pray for Nathan as he must finish college at Slippery Rock and we need our home to sell. Thomas requires 24 hour a day care and I have the privilege to meet that need along with home health care 3 times a week. Thomas never complains and remains positive due to the grace of our Lord that has been given.