To Infinity and Beyond....or at least to NASA and Camping

 Earlier this year Brendan joined a local Trail Life troop and got to go camping a couple of times.  Even though the active year was ending, we were invited to join one of the other families for a camp out at the Space Center in Houston. Since this was not an official event, it was open to the whole family.  Dinner, activities and one-day admission was included, and we were able to camp under the 747 used to transport the space shuttle. 

We had signed up for this camp back in March, but the event was not scheduled to occur until Memorial Day weekend. With Michelle's passing, we were not sure we would be able to go on this trip. However, after talking it over with Brendan and Zaira, we decided that we should go.  Not only that, we found out that our eldest daughter, Amanda, would be flying into San Antonio that Sunday, and that we would be able to pick her up at the airport on our return from Houston.  We did not tell Zaira, because we wanted it to be a surprise, as Zaira had been praying that Amanda would visit us for months.

Life Goes on

I've been meaning to add more to this blog, because it really is about all of our other stuff, and our stuff is still happening. It has taken me awhile to be able to sit down here and write something, but here I am. And our adventures have continued. 

 Since the last post, we have gone camping twice, been to NASA in Houston, been to a birthday party, had a broken arm, enlisted in the Navy and generally have kept living. So...I will be writing about those, in the next few posts. 

 Right now, I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone that has held us up in their thoughts and prayers. I know that they kept me vertical most days, and have really helped us to make it through. God bless! Michael

Obituary for Michelle Reynolds

 Michelle Reynolds came into this world with three great loves. Her love of God and family were always forefront in her life. Her third love was teaching, which she did for her dolls, toys, brothers, and anyone else that would stand still for more than a moment. She was born to Patrick and Jean Edmundson on February 2, 1973. When she was young, her family moved to Marietta, Texas, a place that she always considered to be her home. She followed two of her older brothers to Texas A&M, and it was there that she met her husband, Michael. Despite being married and having a baby, Michelle still met her goal of graduating college in 4 years. From there she taught at a succession of small schools as she followed Michael as he went into the Army. 

In Germany, she started two of her passions that would remain with her the rest of her life: Religious Education and homeschooling. Before that, she and Michael had taught some RE classes, but in Germany Michelle was asked to become the Director of Religious Education (DRE) for their military parish, more than just teaching, Michelle wanted to make sure that the children in her programs were being taught correctly. The same applied to homeschooling.  As her eldest daughter came of age to start Kindergarten in the DOD schools, Michelle took the opportunity to examine the curriculum and decided she could do better than that; and so she did, and continued to do so to the last.  

Together they celebrated the birth of 6 children, the tragedy of two miscarriages, and the joy of adopting. Michelle was able to be with their adopted daughter for the birth of both of her granddaughters, with whom she shared her love of making biscuits (in the shape of butterflies!). 

Michelle also had a love of travel, especially to State and National Parks, no trip could truly be complete unless it included one or more. In 2014, Michelle introduced the family to Geocaching (aka the art of using multi-million-dollar satellites to find Tupperware in the woods). Not only did she love the adventure of finding the caches, but she also came to love all the people that shared in this hobby. She especially loved the fact that Geocaching strives to give back to the community through park and trail clean-up events. 

In April 2020, Michelle was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer in her liver. Despite the pain of the cancer, and the hardships of her treatments, she continued to homeschool her children, teach classes for the Archdiocese and travel for Geocaches. 

On May 10, 2021, surrounded by her mother, brothers, husband, children and grandchildren, Michelle passed into the arms of her Lord while receiving a final blessing. She was 48 years old. She was preceded in death by her father, Patrick Edmundson. 

Michelle will live on in the hearts of her husband, children, grandchildren, mother, and brothers and sister. But her presence will be felt in the lives of all those people whose lives she touched. 

Public visitation will be at the Angelus Funeral Home (1119 N. St. Marys)  from 4:00 to 6:00 PM on Monday, May 31st, followed by a Rosary.  

The funeral will be held at St. Anthony Mary Claret Catholic Church (6150 Roft Rd) at 9:30 AM on Tuesday, June 1st.   

The burial will be at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery, but due to restrictions at the cemetery, the graveside service will be for immediate family only. 

In lieu of flowers, the family gratefully requests that you consider making a donation to some of the causes that Michelle supported: 

Pro-Life 

Women’s shelters 

The Food Bank 

Religious Education 

Etc. 

Not the Post I Wanted to Make

 I apologize for the gap in posts here, and I should have put something up sooner.  As most of you might already know, Michelle passed away shortly after midnight on May 10th.  After my last post, all of Michelle's brothers were able to come into town and they all go to see her.  It was such a blessing for her, as well as for them to see and speak to her. Our priest, Father Martin Leopold was able to get to her side to administer the Last Rights, and as he was anointing her, she breathed her last.

The next post will be Michelle's Obituary.

I want to thank all of you for all of your prayers and support, they helped her on her way, and have been keeping the rest of us going.

May God bless and keep you all,

Michael

Third Time's a Charm?

It’s me again, Michael the Guest Blogger. I’m back with another update. So, Michelle went in on Monday to get a CT scan and markers for the next round of radiation. However, after that they have not called to set up a time to start the radiation treatments, so we are waiting on the radiologist to make a final determination.

On Tuesday, Dr. Drengler called and asked if Michelle could come in on Wednesday to start the new chemo treatment. The chemo treatment is very aggressive. One of the chemicals will not even let Michelle put her hand in the refrigerator without causing her great pain. The treatment includes three chemicals on the first day, and is administered at the clinic, then it is continued with a portable pump at home for the next two days. This treatment will be repeated every other week for a total of 12 sessions.

One side affect has been diarrhea, but she has also been very tired. Her pain continues, especially in her liver and ribs. Because of the weakness of her ribs, Michelle signed a DNR. The concern is that if she passes out, the EMTs might attempt CPR. Between her weakened ribs and the tumors, that would not be good.

We have been blessed by several visits this week. Several of our friends from the Brazos Valley have come to visit to spend time with Michelle. First Bette and Heidi came in on Sunday. Heidi brought some books for the children and Bette brought some things to brighten up the house. On Tuesday, Christopher and Kimberly came and spent the evening. We have known Chris and Kimberly since shortly after our marriage and have watched each other’s children grow up.

We also got to celebrate our favorite movie-based holiday on Tuesday. Our May the 4^th brought us Star Wars themed masks, a new iteration of Blue Milk (that actually looked blue and tasted good!), Leia buns and frozen light sabers.  We were all glad that we can still find fun and celebrate together.

We will have more updates on Monday.  We wish you all a Happy Mother’s Day and ask God’s blessings on you and your families!

The Feast of St. Joseph the Worker

 

Hello again! Since today is May 1^st, the Feast of St. Joseph, the Worker, and we had forgotten to tell you what we, as a church, had done for his feast day on March 19^th. An Italian tradition to honor St. Joseph on his feast day is
with a bread altar. We have always wanted to thank St. Joseph for all the times that he has interceded for us throughout our many moves and changes in employment. So we talked with Fr. Martin, and he agreed to let us create and altar as long as we able to purchase items to give directly from a store or bakery. With the help of another (thankfully more artistically inclined) family, we were able to set up an altar at all five of our parish Masses over the weekend. We spoke with a local bakery (Haby’s Bakery in Castroville) which just happens to be run by a Catholic family. The owner was very excited to help us with this tradition, which was unknown to her but fit well with her Catholic faith. The idea is to honor St. Joseph and to give to the needy of the parish. Michelle was determined to make sure that every family received some gift of food. Along with the bread, we created fruit baskets, jars of soup mix, candles and flowers. Everyone was so grateful to have a new tradition and looking forward to participating more in this next year.

Liver Don’t Fail Me Now!!!

Well, here we are a week later and I am still the guest blogger.

Since our last post Michelle spent the week looking forward to the surgery, hoping that it would bring her some relief from the pain and nausea. On Monday, she met with Dr. Jude and it was hoped that she would have back surgery within two weeks. They also discussed her headaches and he told her that he was concerned and would move the MRI to be completed before the back surgery.

On Tuesday Michelle got a call from the radiologist saying that they would complete a CT scan the following Monday (before beginning the next course of radiation treatments). Pain relief was on its way and Michelle was very excited that it was all going to happen so quickly.

As planned, I took her to the hospital bright and early on Thursday for the liver treatment.  She was feeling very sick but very happy to get the procedure completed so that it would bring her some relief. As soon as she got to the nurse, there was concern about her hydration. So she was given an IV fluids while waiting for surgery. Halfway through the hydration, Dr. Childers arrived to tell her that the surgery was not going to be possible.

Her bilirubin levels were too high. You might have heard that term if you have had a baby, because it is one of the first tests a baby is given to ensure the liver is functioning correctly. This is what they mean when they talk about a baby having jaundice. Elevated levels of bilirubin indicate that the liver is not functioning properly. In Michelle’s case this meant that the liver tumors were too large and we would need to find a way to reduce the masses in order for treatment to take place. Performing the procedure would be too dangerous and could cause more issues that would not help her liver.

Dr. Drengler was contacted and determined that we would need to meet again soon to discuss options. Michelle only had a planned hydration treatment planned for Friday, so Dr. Drengler agreed to meet with her outside of his clinic hours. Later that afternoon, Nurse Cindy from the treatment room called to let Michelle know that she was welcome to come in for hydration at any time of the day, which made it much easier for Michelle to come in first thing in the morning.

Mom took Michelle to the appointment and planned for her stay in the parking lot. However, Nurse Monica asked if she had been vaccinated and allowed her to come in to the appointment. Dr. Drengler said that he was very upset that the procedure could not happen the day before, but it got him to thinking of other approaches to reduce the tumors. He told Michelle that he was already working with the insurance to change the chemotherapy. He will be checking in with our insurance every day, and the day that he gets approval I will start my new treatment. Due to the bilirubin issue the back surgery has also been postponed and we will decide on Monday about the radiation treatments for her ribs.

Of course Michelle is very disappointed that her pain and nausea will continue through this waiting period. But she is very grateful for all her friends and family that are supporting her through this time. Through all this, Michelle remains confident in God’s love and protection in her life. 

Last night during family prayers, Michelle was reading from Psalm 49: “For no man can buy his own ransom, or pay a price to God for his life. The ransom of his soul is beyond him. He cannot buy life without end, nor avoid coming to the grave.” We then read from 1 Peter: “Jesus was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the final time for you, who through him believe in God who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” 

May God bless you all abundantly!

-Michael