Obituary for Lula Belle Blackham

Lula Belle Bamgartner Blackham completed her sojourn in mortality on June 17, 2008, having battled Leukemia for the past seven months. She lived a life filled with love and service, savoring relationships with friends and associates. The joy of her life was Gus, her husband of 62 years, and the posterity of nearly 100 over which they preside.

Lulie was born September 19, 1926 in McGill, Nevada to Emil and Loretta Bamgartner. She married her high school sweetheart, Angus Udell Blackham, on June 5, 1946, in the Salt Lake City Temple. They are the parents of 12 children—6 by birth and 6 by marriage. Patricia (Merlin) Fish of American Fork, UT; Kathie (Alfred) Adams of Lindon, UT; Valerie (Douglas) Whitaker of Provo, UT; Udell (Pheobe) Blackham of Alpine, UT; Laurel (Dru) Nielsen of Fairfield, CA; and Marshall (Nikki) Blackham of Houston, TX. Their family to date includes 48 grandchildren and 37 great-grandchildren.

Lulie’s life is an example of true discipleship. She loves the Savior and served faithfully in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in many capacities. She blessed the lives of countless individuals through her insightful gospel instruction, her tireless work in genealogy, her wisdom, counsel and love. Her hospitality, gardening, quilting, and pie-making skills are legendary. She and Gus served two missions in the Philippines. Their love for the people there led them to establish the Livelihood Assistance Foundation, an organization that promotes self-reliance by teaching life and employment skills.
She was preceded in death by her parents and a sister-in-law, Mary Blackham Hall, and is survived by her husband, a brother Lee (Maxine) Bamgartner, a brother-in-law Sam (Sybelle) Blackham, and her entire posterity.

Special thanks go out to the dedicated professionals at the Central Utah Clinic, the UVRMC, and the many friends who cared for her during her illness.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on Monday, June 23 at the LDS chapel at 1650 South 200 East in Orem. There will be a viewing at the Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary, 495 South State St. in Orem on Sunday, June 22 from 6-8pm, and at the chapel on Monday prior to the service from 10-10:45 am. Interment will be in the Orem City Cemetery.

Because of her love and commitment to the people of the Philippines, the family suggests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Livelihood Assistance Foundation, 1632 S. 200 E., Orem UT 84058.

Lulie's New Journey

This morning (Tuesday, June 17, 2008) at 12:46 a.m., after steady, peaceful, but increasingly more shallow breathing, Mom took a deep breath, opened one eye and passed away peacefully. She was surrounded by Gus, Udell, Pat, Kathie, Valerie and Doug. Funeral arrangements are still being finalized, but we are planning to have the funeral on Monday, June 23rd at 11:00 a.m.

June 16

Mom didn't open her eyes at all yesterday, but did squeeze them a couple of times in response to something that was said to her. Many family members came by yesterday and at times we were a bit loud. Once again delightful conversation and family unity filled mom and dad's home with them in the center of it.

Mom's breathing is getting more shallow. Her pulse is still fluctuating. She seems to be resting comfortably. We are trying to make sure she is comfortable but we are novices at it. We wish Nurse Laurel was here to teach us how to be perfect nurses.

If you have questions call the house or drop me an e-mail.
Valerie

June 15

Dear Family,
Mom had a really good day on Saturday. She slept soundly and fairly still (not too much leg moving) through the night. Her breathing was even with no obstruction. She had a steady stream of company all day and did really well with it. She was calm and relaxed. Pretty much all of the family in the area came by and she seemed very happy to have them here. Occasionally she was able to open her eyes and respond with a smile or a bllink even though she was unable to talk. Her grandkids and great grandkids circled her bed and sang some Primary songs to her. Later in the afternoon we were unable to get her to open her eyes. She has been less and less responsive but she seems comfortable and her breathing is even. She continues to lose excess fluid in her legs and feet and I know that that makes her feel better. Two different hospice workers came during the day--one in the morning who bathed her and the other one who is a nurse took some vitals and talked with us about medical things and what we might expect mom to do over the next couple of days.
Saturday was a very sweet day with loved ones about and all expressing their love and tender feelings for Mom. At bedtime, Mom was sleeping very soundly. Mom had a very restful sleep all through the night. Her breathing now is shallow and she is very still--only an occasional twitch of the feet. We are treating her with tylenol and she seems to have had no fever. This morning (Sunday) she couldn't open her eyes when we tried to wake her up, but she did seem to squeeze her eyes tight a few times when we tried to get her to respond. It seems that she still can wake up enough for a few moments to be aware of what is going on or who is here even though her only response can be the slight squeezing of the eyes. Dad is spending much of the time sitting in the recliner next to Mom and holding her hand. He is very happy to be able to do that. Everybody is glad to be home.
Happy Fathers Day to all you dads.
We will keep you updated.
Kathie

June 14

Dear Family,
As we indicated in a very short message sent out by Scott W. yesterday, we have brought Mom/Grandma home. Mom has had a rash all over her body the whole time she was in the hospital. It looked like a really bad case of chicken pox. At first the doctors thought it was a reaction to one of the antibiotics, then that it was related to the yeast fungus in her blood, but it didn't really seem to improve. The doctors finally decided to do a biopsy of one of the sores and we have been waiting for the results for about a week. Yesterday we finally got the results of the culture and it was not good news. The findings were that the rash is caused from the leukemia itself and that the leukemia is running rampant throughout her body and has invaded the tissues as well as the blood. The rash is very rare and is called (by some) leukemia cutis, which means infiltration of the skin. Yesterday we informed you that mom had no chance of recovery and because of that we all knew that Mom would
want to be in her own home for these last few days, Dad wants to be by her side, holding her hand, through all of this.
Mom was transported home in an ambulance at around 8:00 p.m. and is situated in a hospital bed in the family room. We met with the hospice nurse around the dining room table and discussed what we would need to do to care for mom and some of the things to expect. He mentioned that in his past experience, most patients with the same breathing pattern as mom's current breathing pattern, usually passed away within 48 hours. FYI, mom didn't lose any of the hair she grew back after the first chemo and so she has short, grey hair. She isn't wearing a hat or wig. The rash (red dots and splotches) is still manifest over her entire body. She has had quite a bit of edema in her body. Mom is not able to talk or eat or get out of the bed. Periodi
cally, she opens her eyes and seems aware of people and her surroundings. Yesterday, she even managed a few smiles. Her breathing is often labored and erratic. Thank you for your love and support for grandma and grandpa.

With love,
Kathie and Valerie

June 13

The results have come back from Grandma's biopsy and they were told that there is no chance of recovery from her current condition. They are going to take Grandma home tonight and put her under hospice care. Valerie will get out more details later this evening.

June 12

Mom is more unresponsive today. It is very hard for her to stay awake for longer than a couple of minutes. Her breathing is more labored. Kathie was shown mom's chest x-ray and it still shows fluid in the lower portion of her lungs. They are going to increase the pressure on her bipap machine to help her breathing be easier. For the past few days mom has only been on the bipap machine during the night, but they plan on putting her on it again a few times during the day to help her get the deep breaths that she needs. We keep watching for her neutrophil count to go up, but again today it was still at .1. Yesterday afternoon I was able to read some more messages to her that people have sent and some more of your memories and tributes. I know she liked that. She didn't have much to say, but she kept smiling.

Be like Lulie today and keep smiling!

Val

June 11

Hello again to everyone,
Reports from the doctors this morning indicate that mom's lung x-rays are showing some improvement. She is getting rid of some of the liquid around them and it doesn't look like pnemonia at this point. Mom had a good day yesterday, lots of naps and a good 2 hour wakeful time when Pat and Dad came to visit and say good-bye to Laurel. She had the physical therapists come twice yesterday, which they will continue to do. This morning she was able to sit on the edge of the bed unassisted, but standing up was too difficult. She has been quite sleepy this morning and her nurse says that we should just let her sleep as much as she needs to, it is not a thing to worry about. Mom's breathing is comfortable and not labored. When she is awake she is coherent but very soft spoken. When Dr. Wallentine was looking at her feet and ankles to see if they were still as swollen as yesterday, she smiled a little bit and said "Aren't they cute." She does not need any blood transfusions today. Her counts have stayed good, but her neutriphils are still at .1 and being a little stubborn about increasing.

Have a great day, we will try to as well,
Valerie

June 10

Mom was put on a feeding tube yesterday afternoon. She is responding
very well to that. They hoped to get her up to a rate of 70 ml per
hour and Kathie just called me to say that she has now arrived at
that rate. The feeding tube goes directly to her small intestines so
we will still encourage her to eat, but it is wonderful to know that
she is getting the calories and nutrition she needs to help with her
recovery. Laurel said that at about 4:00 this morning, mom went into
the deepest sleep she has seen her have during the last 5 days. Her
heart rate was good and she was taking nice deep breaths. All the
doctors who saw her today said she was looking better. Her breathing
sounds better today and is less labored. She is having a physical
therapist come twice a day now to help her build up her strength.

Dr. Wallentine said that she was more awake today and glad that she
was still not having any pain. He actually thinks she is doing
better today than last week. He mentioned to her that she had a high
temperature during the night but that now she had no fever at all, to
which she responded, "You know I'm a cool chick." And with that she
did make Dr. Wallentine blush before he left her room. (Some of you
might not know that mom tries to crack some joke every time she sees
him. He blushes very easily and it is a little joke between them
that mom is always trying to see if she comes up with something that
might make him blush.)
Dr. Wallentine is bald and mom started to call him her "twin" when
she lost her hair. She keeps telling him that with his wife's
permission they should go on a date with their two bald heads when
she gets better. Laughter is the best medicine and mom tries to keep
herself and others laughing amidst her serious condition.

June 9

Mom had a good night on Saturday, sleeping quite peacefully. She had
a good Sunday with visits from all of her children and dad. Mom has
really been trying to eat more. The doctors have said that nutrition
is so important right now. Laurel reported that mom slept well on
Sunday night however, during the morning visits with the various
doctors that work with mom, everyone is noticing that she is getting
weaker and weaker and has more times of being confused. Mom's
breathing is becoming more labored and we will try to have her on the
bipap machine often during the day as well as during the night. The
doctors feel there is a great need now to get some nutrition in her
via other methods and are communicating with each other as to what
methods to choose. There is a risk with IV feedings of TPN and a
risk of possible bleeding with the insertion of a feeding tube, but
it is time to take the risk since she needs something to help her
regain some strength. Mom's lung x-rays continue to look the same -
cloudy so there seems to still be some fluid accumulating there. We
will know later today which way the doctors feel is best to
supplement mom's nutritional needs.

Valerie

June 7

Yesterday we watched mom's heart rate continually approve throughout the day. We were waiting for the cardiologists to come and give mom that little electrical stimulus to get her heart back into sinus rhythm. Well we got another blessing, because 5 minutes before they arrived to do the procedure mom's heart went back into perfect sinus rhythm and has maintained all night long. Mom didn't sleep quite as peacefully last night. She had another fever spike and drew blood to culture again. She seems to be a little agitated in her dreams again. She does seem to be a little stronger in her arms and legs. Yesterday we got mom up and she sat in a chair for about an hour while we gave her a massage.

Mom wouldn't be able to talk on the phone, but if you have a message for her just e-mail me and I will read it to her. We have been reading the memories and tributes you sent to me earlier about her. She is really enjoying that. We shed tears at your thoughtful words and we laugh at some of your memories. These happy messages keep a positive feeling in a room filled with beeps, bags and tubes.

hugs and kisses to you from grandma
Valerie

June 6

Yesterday was Mom and Dad's anniversary. Dad and Pat came in the evening and mom and dad celebrated their anniversary by eating some ice cream. Dad was very sweet and attentive to Mom. He, our dad, did most of the talking while he sat by her bedside and held her hand. Just before midnight, mom's heart rhythm changed from a normal sinus rhythm with a rate of 70-80, to an atrial fibrillation with a rate ranging in the 140's - 160's. She ended up getting some various medicines during the night and the cardiologist on call, Dr. Peterson, came in and discussed what was happening. Mom's heart rhythm is ranging in the 120's - 140's now. We are waiting for the cardiologists to come in and talk about doing a cardioversion, where they will give her heart a little "zap" and hopefully put it back into correct sinus rhythm. Mom is quite sleepy, but she is trying to eat to get some more strength. Laurel is here, we are all grateful to have her nursing skills help assist mom. Mom is looking forward to a visit with Marshall tonight.

Let you know more as things change.
Valerie

June 5: Gus and Lulie's Anniversary

I just arrived at the hospital 1 hour ago and got an update from Pat, who spent the night with mom. Pheobe spent the day with her yesterday. While Pheobe was with mom, she had a few difficult times. She got really chilled after they took her off the bipap machine and had a long bout with the shakes. She also had a bit of a rough time after the nurses bathed her. We know that it is important for her to be moved around and not just allowed to lay in one spot. But it is presently a bit hard on her body when she has to roll to the side, then roll to the other side, etc. but I am sure it keeps her inner workings functioning better. I'll ask nurse Laurel if that is correct when she arrives later today. Pat said that mom had a terrific night. She was able to sleep very soundly all night long. She wore her bipap machine mask all night and got those deep breaths that surely increased her oxygen intake all night. One of the nurses, Teresa, said yesterday that she felt like mom's random comments, many of which didn't make sense, were because she hadn't gotten deep sleep. So last night was a real blessing that her body was able to completely relax and sleep deeply. When I got her this morning mom looked much better. She was completely lucid. Infact, Pat said that she was lucid all night whenever they needed to wake her up for something. This deep sleep has made a big difference in her and "has been an answer to prayers." Mom said that herself this morning. Mom is also more comfortable because she was given some Lysix (sp?) to help reduce the edema that she had throughout her body. It has worked great and mom's hands, arms, feet look much better. Mom told Pat this morning that today she wasn't going to be "clever." She was just ready to listen and not try to talk. She said she feels quite tired and sleepy. She also said that she doesn't feel like having a lot of visitors, she just wants to rest. If anyone wants to send a message, just e-mail me and we will read your message to her when she is awake.

More info later,
Love to all from mom
Valerie

June 4

Well, mom didn’t have a very good night last night. Her fever keeps going up and down. She ate pretty good for breakfast and lunch, but then she wouldn’t eat any more at night. She talked to me all afternoon and never took a rest. She said she wasn’t tired, but her conversation jumped around a lot, sometimes on the subject we were talking about and sometimes just saying random things. She was weaker in the evening and standing was very difficult. She didn’t ever to sleep very soundly because she was very figety, always trying to readjust her bedding and she talked in her sleep all night long. She must have been having a complete jumble of dreams. Her talking seemed to jump from one situation to another so rapidly. You know how your dreams are – it is so difficult to retell them because the situations keep changing quickly, but they seem to make sense to you when you are dreaming them. I'’m not sure what is causing her to be so vocal while she sleeps. She hasn't been one to talk in her sleep. This morning she finally fell into a deep sleep around 7:30 and slept until 10:00 until the doctor had to wake her up. During the night her breathing was quite rapid and shallow. During the deeper sleep this morning she was breathing deeper but her breathing was more labored. The doctor has decided to put her on a bi-pap machine to help her do some deep breathing. Her chest x-ray showed some liquid accumulating on the lungs.

We will keep you updated.
Valerie

June 3

Dear Family,
If you have been reading your emails, you know that Grandma is back in the hospital and is on the second floor in Intermediate Care. She has a yeast infection in her blood and this is the most serious condition she has had yet. She is on an anti-fungal medication to help treat the yeast and is also on two other antibiotics. Yesterday, Val and I were at the hospital most of the day. Butch came for a couple of hours and then came back to stay the night in her room. This will be a hard fight for Mom and we really can't predict the outcome. So far she has been able to maintain a good blood pressure and her temperature hasn't gotten too high. Yesterday they put in a central line which is like a picc line but it goes in her neck in the big vein there and down into the superior vena cava chamber of her heart. They are able to regulate her blood pressure better with the central line. Mom was quite trembly yesterday and would have periods of chills and shaking even though her temperature wasn't all that high. Val is at the hospital today and this morning she said that Mom is stable, alert and seems to be responding to the treatment. She had a little fever spike in the night but it has dropped back down for now. Mom was able to sit up to eat a little breakfast this morning which was good--she wasn't able to eat much of anything yesterday and was quite nauseated. Of course, all of Mom's blood levels are low and probably won't start to go up until the end of this week or sometime next week. Over the last week or so she got two units of red blood cells twice and two units of platelets twice. She was getting some more red blood cells when I talked to Val this morning. Val also said that Laurel was planning to fly in on Thursday morning.
We know you have all been praying for Mom's healing and recovery--keep up your faith and prayers. This is a very serious situation and we will just take it one day at a time. We will keep you updated. We know this is all in the Lord's hands and we also know that Mom is a fighter.
Love,
Kathie

June 1

I got a call from the hospital this afternoon informing me that Mom
had been moved down to the 2nd floor in the intermediate care section
of the hospital. They have identified a yeast infection in her
blood. Her blood pressure really dropped and her temperature went up
to 103.2. She is hooked up to some continuous monitors and her nurse
only has one other patient. Her mouth is really dry and
she is very slow in conversation. It is easy for her to just slur
most of her words together. But when she really tries she can speak
clearly.

Please keep her in your prayers.
Val

June 1

Well, mom lasted at home 2 days longer than her last chemo round.
She developed a fever yesterday and was really shaky and just felt
really sick. Merlin took her to the ER in the afternoon and she was
admitted Saturday evening. We had been at the hospital Friday
evening getting platelettes. We left the hospital at 10:00 p.m. and
mom was doing her fast walking out of the hospital. She looked and
felt pretty good. What a difference 12 hours can make. I will let you
know more in a day or two. We don't know what kind of an infection
she has developed, but they changed the antibiotic she was on at home
to something different in the hospital. They don't want me to bring
any "green drink" into the hospital so mom is going to have to try to
get all her protein and nutrition through boost, etc. She was really
enjoying the green stuff.

I'll keep you posted.
Love, Valerie