Charley's Story -- TheEnd

And so we come to the end of the story in the life of Charley Marshall Baker. He died of Mesothelioma on February 3, 2001, just one day past his 71st birthday.

He had been feeling well after treatment with LY231514 at CTRC in San Antonio and to the end he believed the treatments helped and/or improved his quality of life. We went on a cruise to Alaska and a family reunion in Las Vegas during the summer of 2000. We were encouraged that the CT-Scans continually showed stabilization of the Mesothelioma tumor in the lining of his left lung.

Last fall, Charley started having pain in his left side. The pain became worse and he saw a Pain Specialist, which helped. He continued to have regular CT-Scans and they continued to show stabilization of the tumor with no new growth. One day he developed severe pain in his left side after coughing. I took him to ER and they determined he had pulled a muscle. Then came shortness of breath and finally the use of oxygen.

The beginning of the end came when I again took him to ER on Oct. 25, 2000 because of severe shortness of breath. Our family doctor called in a cardiologist and it was determined that Charley had fluid in the sac around his heart. Surgery was scheduled, the fluid drained and a window left open for further drainage. Tests on the fluid revealed Mesothelioma cells and he was told he only had weeks to live. Charley told the doctors, "We’ll have none of that." He was determined to live. He simply tuned out all the dire predictions. He wanted to go back to CTRC for treatment but couldn’t because he was too weak to go through the treatment process.

As it turned out, Charley was never able to walk again after coming home and that was his all-consuming goal. He had no appetite and started losing weight. He didn’t even have the strength to sit up in bed but we would find him moving his arms and legs lying in bed to exercise them for the day he would get up and walk again. It was heartbreaking to watch him. He would try to force some food down to gain strength. He constantly wanted us to help him walk. We took him outdoors in his wheelchair on sunny days and he would go over his plans for landscaping our new home. He always talked about the future and never lost hope.

He had periods of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. In desperation I called our family doctor and requested he make a home visit to see what he could do. I was most grateful that he agreed to come to our house to see Charley. He prescribed Zofran and made changes in other medications which helped make Charley’s last days more bearable.

Charley was a healthy individual with no life-threatening diseases except Mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos many years ago. This is what is so tragic about Charley’s death and what makes me so angry. Our family doctor agreed that his good health kept him living way beyond their expectations until the Meso invaded and squeezed his heart until it could no longer function. He went into a semi-comatose condition a few days before he died and then just quietly stopped breathing. I wonder if he finally knew the end was coming. I hope not. I hope he died thinking he would walk again. Now he walks with God.

I miss him terribly and so do our children and grandchildren. He was a rock to the family and my soul mate. We did everything together and I still can’t picture life without him. I keep thinking he’s out in his garage or in his greenhouse tending to his plants.

Fran Baker

*** POSTED FEBRUARY 21, 2001 ***