Details of Peter's Funeral

Hello,

Details of Peters funeral are:

Wednesday 21 July 2010 at 2pm

Belconnen Uniting Church
Conley Drive
Melba  ACT 2615.

We ask that there are no flower donations, in leiu please donate money to Clare Holland House
Clare Holland House Home Page

Printed details of the funeral will appear in the Canberra Times on Monday the 19th of July 2010.


Canberra, Australia snusher@gmail.com

Juliet's link to Davis Family Photos, with a Peter Davis theme!

Hello,

Juliet has posted to facebook some Davis photos, that you are welcome to look at.

Click on the link:

Peter Davis & Family Photo's on Facebook

Regards,
Lynne & Juliet

Canberra, Australia snusher@gmail.com

Rest in Peace my darling

Canberra, Australia snusher@gmail.com

Message from Lynne

Juliet, Gina & I spent Friday with Peter.  He was resting quietly & gradually slipping away. 

I was a volunteer at the Hospice for 5 years from 1998 until 2003 and started by doing the evening shift, for the meal times from 5.30pm on Friday nights into the evening.  I would follow a remarkable pair of volunteers, Edna & Arthur who would do the afternoon shift and give me a handover as I arrived to let me know about the patients & their carers. Edna & Arthur have done this shift now for 15 years and were on in the afternoon & I took great pleasure in spending some time with them.  Arthur is now 84 years and says that he will stop when Edna tells him he has finished his training.  Another volunteer I have worked with, Peter came on to do the evening shift & I caught up with him also. We all spent time quietly talking in Peter's room.  They say that people can hear what is going on around them & the voices of their loved ones, even when they are not able to speak any more themselves.  It was wonderful to renew the friendships & spend this last watch and time with them, and gave the Hospice time a sense of closure.

At 9.30 pm I gave Peter a good night kiss and told him I was going to bed and wished him sweet dreams.  I curled up in my bed in the room near him, and third night we had spent together there.  The night nurse came with her torch just before 10.00 pm,  shone the light on Peter & checked his pulse, and came over to me to tell me Peter had just passed away.  Peter looked so very peaceful; at rest at last.  No more dark & difficult long nights.

I rang Juliet & Gina & they came.  We had arranged that they would arrive in the morning if Peter slept thru the night.  (The room was only big enough for one person to sleep over; I wanted it to be me there to do anything needed in these final precious night hours). 

Peter was lying clean & comfy, freshly shaved & washed  in fresh pyjames with a beautiful red rose on his pillow covered with our soft butterfly rug.  We said our final goodbyes & I gave him a kiss for his last journey.  We packed up the room, came home, and were eating raisin toast & cups of tea at midnight.  Such a thoughtful time to choose to go, in the early evening & not 3 or 4 am with frosted cars...but then,  Peter has always been a thoughtful & caring man. We all went off to electric blankets toasted beds and to sleep, our final vigil completed. 

Peter & I celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary in May. I have been blessed to be able to spend these years with this remarkable man, and share in the raising & development of our two children, Jeremy & Juliet.  Peter was so thrilled to be a granfather to Finn, and know that a further generation has been created in him. Peter has touched so many lives and will live on in the memories we have of him.  Thank you all for your emails, phone calls & care and love for us.

We are arranging the funeral and expect that it will be on Wed afternoon 21 July, and I will put the details up on the blog. 

Peter is walking the very last of his precious 500 miles right now

Canberra, Australia snusher@gmail.com

Quick message from Lynne

Peter was admitted to Clare Holland House for pain managment last Wed, just a fleeting 9 days ago. We were told that the recent CT scan showed that the lungs & liver were affected by cancer also, as well as the stomach.  We have had a few beautiful days together, and our time with Jeremy & Finn was wonderful, with Peter walking and we all walked around the grounds and to the playground with Finn on Sat.

On Sunday Peter needed a wheel chair to move about outside his room, but has been fine walking within his own room.   Peter had a leave pass for last Friday afternoon & came home.  Our neice Vanessa & her friend Rikki & small son Luca of 15 months came & we all spent the afternoon together, with the 2 small boys able to share the toys scatterd around.  I drove Peter back to CHH for the evening.

Tuesday 13 July the medical team advised me that any family Peter needed to see should come straight away as Peter's liver was deteriorating quickly and he only had days to live.  Daughter Juliet & sister Gina both arrived on Wed flights, Juliet in the morning, Gina in the afternoon.  Juliet had a very special morning chatting to her Dad, with me coming & going & giving them time together.  Our neice Vanessa met Gina's flight, and came to CHH bringing her two boys, our nephews, Artie & Benny.  Benny had done a special painting for Peter which is on his wall.  We were all in tears as Peter hugged each one tightly & said goodbye as they left.  Gina gave Peter a big hug for everyone in the family, for Rachel & John in London and Rebecca, currently in Canada. She is doing a wonderful job representing all his close family.  Thank you family for all your recent phone calls & emails.  Gina brought some early photos taken when she & Peter were small, the 1st 2 of the 5 children, & one photo of the 4 children, before the baby of the family Rebecca arrived.  Peter's Mum was a very beautiful young Mum, always so proud of her brood.  We handed them around & decided that Finn definitely looked like his Grandad.  Peter & I had not seen the photos before.

Yesterday Peter was able to say a few words, knew & greeted the people around him. The last 2 nights I have slept at CHH, so I could do anything that Peter needed, calling the night nurses to help out when needed.  With the changing of the guard, Juliet & Gina are sharing daytime with Peter now, and I have come home.  I will go back shortly and be there tonight.  Peter was put on a syringe driver midday yesterday.  This is attached to him and administers medication to relieve pain & nausea around the clock.  Peter was sleeping peacefully as I left, and will gradually sleep more.

Thanks for all your love, prayers & support for us all.  It is so good to have Juliet, Gian & Ness here for those last precious 500 miles that Peter is travelling now.

Welcome visit from Jeremy & Finn

Canberra, Australia snusher@gmail.com
Message from Lynne

On Friday I collected Jeremy & Finn from the airport & we stopped at Clare Holland House to collect Peter.  We spent an enjoyable afternoon at home. Our neice, Vanessa, friend Rikki and small son Luca 15 months, (2 months older than Finn) joined us for the afternoon, with the little boys happy to share the toy pool scattered around.  We were in Mel for Finn's birthday in early May when he was just walking, a few steps & he'd sit down.  Now he is walking everywhere & I had to think to child proof the living room a little before those bright blue eyes and busy chubby hands moved in.  The favourite word is "that."  One hand will point and the idea is to work out just what is wanted; as often a number of items could be the possible chosen one. Finn has an outgoing happy nature and it was a delight to have him (and his Dad!) around.

I took Peter back at 7.00 pm Friday as had been agreed.  Jeremy & Finn spent some time at Clare Holland House on Saturday, and the playground was thoroughly explored. The slippery slide was the favourite part.  The airport is just 10 mins drive away, which is very convenient for relatives arriving to see their family members in the Hospice.

It was an exciting weekend for Peter and took its toll.  He was very tired today and struggled to walk round the inside passages of the hospice.  (There are side rails along the walls to hold onto).  Peter vomitted in the early morning and again late morning, and was given maxilon to stop nausea. We decided to use the wheel chair as transport for him today, and I am fine pushing it around the level passages of the Hospice.  One of volunteers took the wheel chair outside & around the Hospice grounds for a breath of fresh air for us all.  We had 2 beautiful ravens visit outside Peter's room today, and a pair of swans with just one large cygnet passing by in the waters of the lake.....every day brings birdlife to delight us both, and every day is precious time to spend with this very special man.

Location! Location! to a room with lake views

Canberra, Australia snusher@gmail.com

Message from Lynne

The CT scan was done on Mon and we went afterwards to Canberra Hospital where Peter told the nurse in charge of the trials that he wanted to be taken off the trial and stop taking the drugs.  This was agreed and the unused tablets returned.  We were both relieved that this decision had been taken. On Wed we were given the results.  We know this is an aggressive tumour. As well as being located in Peter's stomach, it has now spread to the lungs & the liver.  (With this outcome, Peter would have been taken off the trial drug anyway).  Now we know that it is just Peter and the cancer in the equation; as we were never sure whether the trial drug or the cancer were responsible for side effects.

I rang the Palliative Care Support team on Wed and said that the medications Peter was taking were keeping him comfortable during the days, but pain was moving in nightly, with 2 or 3 break thru tablets needed to stop the pain.  The doctor was consulted we were told that a bed was available at Clare Holland House (the ACT Hospice) and Peter checked in early afternoon.

Peter has a comfy room to himself with a sunny area outside his sliding door. We can sit there and take our daily dose of Vitamin D in gentle Canberra sunshine of around 12 degrees with a view of Lake Burley Griffin ahead of us.  There is a stand of tall bare poplars on the far bank and cows graze there in the afternoon.  Fairy wrens, the males with their brilliant blue tails, and the females in dowdy brown come & visit us and we had a pair of black swans by the lake bank showing off their 3 baby cygnets proudly, as fond parents do, and moving on to further shores. There is very well fed magpie which strutts up and down the adjacent wall.

Last night was better for Peter with more sleep and his break thru pain managed, and I had the most beautiful sleep in my comfy bed snuggled under the doona.  A better night for us both, and this is the ideal arrangement for just now.

One more sleep and tomorrow I meet Jeremy & Finn's flight!!  Peter will have a pass and we will all go home, with Peter returning to CCH for the night.  We will spend Sat together & Finn can check out the CHH playground.  It will be home to Mel for our Special Visitors on Sat afternoon.

The good, the bad & the ugly

Canberra, Australia snusher@gmail.com

Message from Lynne

The swelling in Peter's stomach, feet and ankles does not seem to have changed much, but the blotchy skin rash on one foot & a hand seems a bit less red and pronounced. Peter had a difficult night on Monday, a night nurse call out before midnight for an injection. We do not think that morphine is agreeing with Peter. He was awake at 3.00am and had 3 break thru endones by 7.00 am. He was exhausted by the morning, looking so frail and tired. The day that followed was a delight!


Such a contrast day from the previous night for Tuesday!  The Palliative Care Support team had organised for us both to have a massage at home yesterday. The skilled Dinka with her portable massage table and magical hands arrived during the morning.  There was a relaxing massage for us both and we have another one booked in for next week.  A treat to be looked forward to!

Pall Care have arranged for a volunteer to come and spend a couple of hours with Peter on a Tuesday, and in the afternoon Patrick Shanahan came to see us.  He has been a volunteer with the Pall Care support team for 6 years, and is already assisting another man living in the community.  He and Peter found many areas of mutual interest and I left them chatting while I went to the Canberra Christian Life Centre for a couple of hours.  I have been a volunteer there for a couple of years doing admin work on their computer system & I am training another lady to take over from me.  Patrick will now come regularly on a Tuesday afternoon.

Another terrible night with Peter awake again at 3.00am and then dozing.  Pain began at 4.30am and he took an Endone for break thru pain at 6.00 am and vomited at 6.20 am.  Another endone at 6.35 am and he is sleeping now.  We are due our regular weekly visit from Sally, the Pall care nurse today. We will ask for Peter's medication to be reviewed again.  Pain continues on a nightly basis - he has had so many unbearably long difficult nights.  Also the swelling & dark urine need to be addressed.

Yesterday a welcome call from our daughter, Juliet in Melbourne.  Her partner leaves for overseas tomorrow & she is booking her travel to see us 16-19 July.  Seeing both J's a week apart will be a joy!  Our thanks for all your prayers, love & concern for us.  I'm sure you quite understand when sometimes Peter is unable to speak on the phone now, he is too tired. You can be sure that all messages find there way to him, via email or phone.