Ask Judy Carter ’ s children and grandchildren who she was and they will say that she was “ the family matriarch .” She was the person who led them , who kept them close and the one to whom everyone turned for direction . She showered her family with love at every turn .
“ She was tough as nails ,” her husband of 60 years , Phil Carter , said , marveling over Judy ’ s strength when she learned she had lung cancer in 2013 . “ It was much more difficult on me ,” he said .
For three years , Judy valiantly fought the cancer . An aggressive chemotherapy and radiation regimen kept the cancer at bay long enough for the Carters to spend six weeks together in Florida in 2015 . Not long after the couple returned , so did the cancer .
Judy underwent surgery at Barnes Hospital in St . Louis to remove as much tumor as possible , but it continued to grow . When her treatments began to drastically hamper her quality of life , Judy and her family made the difficult decision to accept hospice care .
Phil Carter with Erica Price , RN , Lincolnland Hospice caregiver
A Time of Glory and Sadness
Family celebrates life with help from Lincolnland Hospice .
Judy arrived home from the hospital in January – to the support of Lincolnland Hospice caregivers . Erica Price , RN , Haley Sun , RN , and Lori Britton , Lincolnland Hospice aide , immediately began working with the family to meet their needs . “ When hospice came in , Phil got his first good night ’ s sleep in three years ,” sister-in-law Carol said . “ They came in and gave us a plan – no more worrying about when she needed medicine . All that second-guessing and worrying was gone .”
6 healthstyles november 2016