Reflections From Tricia's Celebration of Life

A tie-dyed crowd filled the large worship space at Calvary Chapel in Pine Grove, California as revealed by the following photos:

Live music began the Celebration

Pictures of Tricia

Part of the large group who attended

 

More of the tie-dyed group of attendees

The pastor speaks here to yet more of the group

This ancient Irish hymn was performed as part of the Celebration:

Tricia's Celebration of Life, 9-1-12

Good evening,

     I wanted to remind everyone about Tricia's Celebration of Life Memorial taking place this Saturday, Sept. 1st at 11:00am at Calvary Chapel in Pine Grove. Lunch will be served afterward so I am hoping you will stick around for some fellowship and good food! This will be a great time to gather with each other in good company to share and remember the blessing of what Tricia's life was, and her legacy that will continue. God bless you all and thanks again for being a part of my Mother's life.

Much Love,

Alexis



Click the following link for:

Google Maps Directions to Calvary Chapel, 18400 Ridge Road, Pine Grove

Photo posted to Tricia's FaceBook page by Jeanne Glass, probably recorded recently at Sutter General Hospital in Sacramento.

Good morning Family, Friends and acquaintances of Tricia Carusi,

  Peace to you in the name if our Lord Jesus. It is with a heavy, but spirited and peaceful heart that I write you this morning to say that my beautiful Mother, Tricia made her home in Heaven 3 days ago on Saturday, August 18th at 9:18 pm. As the Doctors did a fantastic job protecting her aneurysm, she was prone to clotting, and so she suffered a pretty large stroke on the right side of her brain. We had a couple days to spend with her before she breathed her last breath and I must say, they were most wonderful... filled with all types of emotion, family, some close friends, songs, prayers, tears, good laughing and memories of her, good coffee, intimate moments holding her hand and stroking her hair...  but then hilarious and crazy moments like when each family member and a couple of friends made music for her,using anything in the room we could find. It was lead by a guitar, but then we had my brother shaking sugar packets as a shaker, my other brother using stir-sticks to drum on things...  I found an empty and clean potty pot and flipped it over as a drum, someone else was stomping their foot...  it was MOST amazing and so fun and we bopped our heads, knowing she could hear us and was thoroughly enjoying every minute of the wacky moment!  It was that night, after we'd all figured out who was staying with her, and who was going to sleep for a while that she decided it was time to finally let go of this life and get to DANCING in her heavenly mansion in the sky!  She loved Jesus more than life for sure, but she sure did this life real well.

 I can write for countless days to you all about her life, and still never fully express and represent the fullness of her beauty, her love, her devotion to Christ, just what an amazing woman she was. But for those of you who knew her well, I know you understand what I am talking about. She simply was "an angel we borrowed from Heaven for a while", as one of her closest friends so beautifully stated, and I am so thankful and honored to be her daughter.

 We are having a Celebration of Life Memorial (and it will be a celebration as are her wishes!) on Saturday, September 1st at 11am at Calvary Chapel in Pine Grove, Ca. We will be serving plenty of coffee and there will be a fellowship time following the service with snacks and lots of gummy bears and black licorice(her favorite). She did request several times in months previous that people wear Tye Dye to her memorial. We hope to truly make her celebration all that she wanted it to be!

Thanks for being a part of her life in whichever way you were. Rest assured that she loved you and prayed for you at least once in the time she knew you, if not more. If you have questions or need specific instructions, let me know by email or txt. 209-304-XXXX.  [e-mail to piedmont1969@gmail.com for this contact information] 

Please feel free to tell and invite anyone you know that she may have known. In fact, that may be helpful to me.

Love and peace be with your hearts,

Alexis McCarty

Hello Again,

  I know some of you have been anxious to know what the next step will be for my mother, Tricia. I have been as well, and today we received a plan. On Thursday, they will do an Angiogram and at the same time, they will put a stent and place a coil in what they now believe is the "blister aneurysm".  This coil will bring structure to the wall of that part of her artery/aneurysm. It was discussed the first time the Doctor  spoke to us after her surgery. It seems the best choice. Better than blocking her carotid, or doing some type of artery bypass. They did give her the choice of being transferred to Stanford, but she wants to stay in the place where she has built confidence in the team already. The Doctors really have been working hard together to try and come to the best conclusion, and so she trusts them and says she is fully confident in them. This will hopefully be the resolution to this issue with her weakened artery/blister aneurysm. The procedure will begin around 11am and take most of the day. Unlike the first surgery, they will not have to open her head, and in fact can't because of obvious bleeding risks. Instead, they will go through an artery in her groin. I can't quite wrap my mind around how they do things like this, but I am praying they just do it real well!! 

 I will be at the hospital on Thursday until she is finished and I am able to see her. Since the surgery is a different kind, the recovery seems like it will be quicker, so I am hopeful to be able to speak to her before I leave that night. I will send an email explaining how things went on Thursday night or Friday morning. If you have texted me in the past saying you would like updates,I have added you to my contacts and I will surely be able to send out those updates in a faster manner than in email. If you have not yet, but would like to get updated via text, simply text me at 209-304-XXXX [request from PHS 1969, e-mail piedmont1969@gmail.com  if you need this number, please] with your name and I will add you to my contacts.

 Ohhh boyy... I am a nervous Nellie for sure! For those of you who read my last email, describing how lovely and peaceful and hopeful my mom was...I can assure you she is still that way and will most-likely be singing her way into the operation room. She amazes me. I am so thankful to God for blessing me with her...she truly is a fantastic example to myself and others of what it means to truly trust and rest in Christ. I'll  be in touch! Goodnight,   

Alexis 

Hello once again,

 I dont have any gruesome details to share today! :) Today has been great! I was able to leave our 4 children with my beloved sister-in-law, and come to share most of my time today with my Beloved Mother. I am so happy to share that this day has been full of rest for her.

 I was able to help feed her breakfast with coffee(her fav), and then she actually fed herself lunch! She is still eating pureed food because the crunching on solid food causes her temperal lobe to feel uncomfortable. I spooned her some strawberry frozen yogurt I had from the cafeteria(shhh), and she just loved it of course. She's been asking for Chocolate Pudding and coffee all day...and so she's had 2 puddings and 2 cups of decafinated coffee. Safe to say she has her appetite back. We took care of a lot of business in personal affairs which was a huge load off my shoulders and really brings us that much more peace knowing her things are getting taken care of. I was able to gently brush her hair, massage her face with lotion, hold her hand, sneek her a gummy bear to suck on(another fav), and just spend time talking with her. A lovely couple, George and Char Stathos (her pastor), stopped by and spend 30 min or so with her. They prayed for her and just spent time talking with her. I had to sneak away and get a cup of coffee in order to get her to fall asleep! She is on heavy pain meds still, so granted, the conversations are hilarious(as they usually are anyhow), so she speaks with her eyes closed, but still full of life and smiles.

There is still a long road ahead. The Doctor explained it today as un-explored terrain that we must hike through step by step, making the best choices as different paths become clear....Rather than a path that has a beginning and an end and is clearly marked out. I am just thankful that her recovery from surgery has been great and she is stable! She will have an Angiogram monday or tuesday to get a clear picture of how things are looking in her brain.

Well, after plenty of coffee, a bag of gummy bears, and a heart-full of Mamma's presence, I must leave and go home to my animals, I mean kids... No, really,I adore all 4 of them, but being here with mom today has been such a gift and really a refreshing break from the norm.

God is good and holding her hands and more importantly, her heart. Keep up your prayers please, we really do covet them.

May God be with you and Yours,

Alexis  

Greetings again friends, co-workers, family and acquaintences,

   Well, I may be contacting some of you for the first time.... My mother,Tricia, had major brain surgery today to try and repair or wrap a possible "blister aneurism" on her carotid artery. It has bled twice now and the risk of more bleeds could have been fatal. Unfortunately, the surgeon was unable to achieve what they hoped to achieve. When getting into the place where he was looking for the aneurism, a gush of blood occured, making his search impossible. She began bleeding so much from her corotid that, instead of proceeding, he chose to stop the bleeding and get out. His words were, "If I had kept going, she would have died." He used a gel-like material to pack on top of the bleed to insure enough pressure to keep it from bleeding anymore. After he was sure the bleeding had stopped, he then closed her up. After 5  hours in surgery, he was un-able to tell us  much good news at all, and infact that she was close to dying in surgery. He did notice that she does have some abnormalities in her arterys and that may be the culprit for everything that has happened. So, there may be no aneurism at all. There are options to consider which we will be talking and praying about with Mom when she is able. She was stable when coming out of surgery and he expects her to have all of her neurological functions, speaking and moving all the same, but we were unable to see her awake at all tonight... We are just back to square one with the question of what is going on in her head.

  In hearing this, I was shocked and saddened immediately, seeing as how she has smoothy come out of her other operations and has had mostly good news....and never had an incident in surgery that could have taken her life. A good thing that was mostly confirmed is that this condition did not come from her hitting her head when she fell. However, if she had not fallen, this all may have not been discovered...or maybe even discovered too late. When I left her side tonight...she had a bandage-wrapped head and tubes and things coming from every which way....but she was snoring,sound asleep, resting peacefully. We prayed for her and I whispered to her that I love her. Thanks to all who have been a friend and blessing to her in her life. She really is such a Jewel and anyone who has known her, knows the joy in her heart. Please keep praying and I will attempt to be as in touch as possible....hopefully nextime in a less-wordy way. The later it gets, the harder it is for me to be straight and to the point. Again, if you want to text me,,, I can add you to my contacts and paste and copy updates and it may be more convievient. 

God bless,

Alexis McCarty

Thanks Bob.. She is actually having surgery tomorrow at noon to try and wrap a blister aneurism. The surgery will last 4-5 hours. I will give everyone an update probably by tomorrow evening. Thanks again!

Alexis

From: Robert S Nelson 

 To: Tricia Carusi

Sent: Tuesday, August 7, 2012 9:45 PM
Subject: Re: About Tricia Carusi

Dear Alexis and Tricia:

I added a Class Message Board item on the PHS 1969 web site explaining

Tricia's situation as I understood your report, Alexis.  Here's a link to that

item, which can be edited or deleted as you wish:

Tricia Gist Carusi Recovering

Best wishes, thoughts, and prayers go out to you, Tricia!  I added a Prayer

Request item for you on the web site...  I'll try to call tomorrow evening if

I get back home early enough.

Sincerely and with deep sympathy,

Bob Nelson,

PHS 1969 Classmate

Hi Robert,

  Thank you for your concern..it means a lot! Yes, she is at Sutter General Hospital in Sacramento. Her room number is 5121. Right now, she is needing to rest often to allow her brain tissue to heal,but she can have visitors..Just not un-announced. She can also receive phone calls into her room. I am sure she would be fine with you sharing this information with classmates. She is one loved lady and I know there are people who would like to know so they can pray for her and keep her in their thoughts.

 Thanks again,  Alexis

Greetings friends and Family from Tricia,

    This is Alexis McCarty Tricia's daughter. For those of you who don't know already, my mother fell a week ago and suffered a brain hemorrhage. She is in Sutter General Hospital. [Sacramento]  There are changes daily, but the hemorrhage is not fatal. There seems to be other bleeds surfacing and the Doctors are doing scans and testing daily to find the definites. She only has light and hearing sensitivities and is very weak, but otherwise is in good spirits and is,as always, resting in the arms of her Savior. If you have questions or concerns and wish to be updated, please reply to this email,or call or text me (which is better).

                   -Alexis-