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Beloved wife of Dennis Bennett. Dear Mother of Guy Bennett & his wife Kay Bennett, Jason Bennett & his wife Lori Bennett, and Kelly Bennett. Sister of Paulette McKinley & her husband Ron McKinley, and Larry Catchpole. Also survived by her five grandchildren; Shelby, Hanna, Haley, Autumn, and Lauren. Leslie also left behind countless friends and family. "Mommy's Kitty-boy" Gabriel will also miss her dearly. Preceeded by her mother and father John Catchpole and Betty Catchpole and her beloved sister Gail Catchpole.

The viewing for Leslie will be held from 2PM to 9PM on Thursday, September 8, 2005 at:

The funeral service will be held on Friday at 11 AM. There will be a procession to the grave-site afterwards. Leslie will be interred at Oakview Cemetery in Royal Oak, MI. A wake will be held at the Bennett home at 657 W. Woodside, Madison Heights, MI 48071.

Flowers may be sent to the funeral home for the viewing and funeral. If you choose not to give flowers you may make a donation in Leslie’s name to one of her favorite charities:

Although we will miss our mother dearly, we are relieved that she is no longer suffering. We look forward to seeing her in God’s Kingdom, fulfilling her lifelong dream of petting the peaceful lions.

2005-09-04 - 1:03 a.m.
Some of you may already be aware that my Mom has been home since Thursday. She was sent home with Hospice care. She had a nice day home on Thursday, her own bed, time outside on the deck, and her family and friends.

Friday did, unfortunately, not go as well. Her health slipped quickly leaving her not very responsive and tired. Later that evening she worsened to the point of not being able to take her medicine. The Hospice nurse then gave us the bad news that she was going downhill. She said in her experience that my Mom may only have hours to 1 or 2 days. Of course, if you know my Mom at all she is fighting. Her body is trying hard not to give up, although she is unconscious.

We are hoping that she is not suffering and it seems that she isn't.

I am going to post some pictures of my Mom so we can all enjoy them.

I Love you Mom

- Jason

2005-08-28 - 11:33 p.m.
Today the Doctors unfortunately unanimously confirmed the bad news we have been hearing and suspecting for the past few days.

My Mom's cancer has spread and the tumors have grown larger despite the intense treatment of the interleukin. The pain in her back that has been getting too difficult to handle has not only been caused by the arthritis but the tumors in her kidneys have grown rapidly. The spreading of the cancer is expected to be very fast and aggressive from this point on. My Dad is looking into Hospice now. We are still hoping for a miracle.

If you wish to phone or visit please be aware that she is taking many medications. They leave her groggy and sometimes confused. We understand the need to connect with her, but multitudes of people visiting at one time would be overwhelming. Please be as considerate as possible to my Mom and Dad. This is very difficult for all of us.

Sorry to sound so glum with this entry. We just wanted to be as truthful as possible since everyone has been so kind and patient waiting so see the news here. Thank you all again for the kind words, stories, and prayer.

We need a miracle now...please pray

I Love you Mom

- Jason

2005-08-26 - 7:40 p.m.
Well...
The meeting with the doctor didn't go all that well.
Just after the doctor came in my Mom had a terrible bout of pain. When the doctor asked her where the pain was coming from she could not answer coherently. This, of course, concerned the doctor so much that she had my Mom rushed to the emergency room.

So, back in the hospital again. She went in early this afternoon and they quickly deployed a pain management team for her. My Dad said that she smiled shortly after they got the IV going. I guess she hasn't done that in some time. Her sodium was low again, which accounts for her difficulty in explaining her pain to the doctor. She was admitted to a normal room this evening on the sixth floor. We expect her to be there for 3 to 4 days to get her sodium back up and the pain lessened.

...As far as the meeting went. The Doctor mentioned that she does not feel that it would be safe to put my Mom through another round of the Interleukin treatment. She suggested that, after this Hospital stay, we should engage Hospice. The family is looking into other Doctors, facilities and alternative treatments.
Pray for my Mom
I love you Mom
- Jason

2005-08-25 - 10:52 p.m.
Well my Mom is still trying to manage her pain amongst everything else. Some of the meds work, but not well or they leave her in pain, but make her very listless. It has been leaving her with little actual rest at night when things feel worse. So that is still a work in progress.

Tomorrow they finally have that meeting with the Doctor to form more of a plan. My Dad has the list of questions that we all decided on plus some new ones. Particularly to do with managing her pain more efficiently. Of course, we are hoping for some answers and medical guidance out of the discussion so a prayer towards that would be appreciated.

I am shooting for tomorrows update to be a hopeful one.

- Jason

2005-08-23 - 6:08 p.m.
I'm posting this as a prayer request.

My mom is having a lot of pain. So much so that it's unmanagable. She's also lost her appetite and isn't eating much.

Please ask the Lord to take her pain away. Ask Him to fortify her mind and strenghten her faith. Please also ask Him to help her see that food is like medicine for her body, something she has to take whether she wants to or not.

I believe in the power of prayer. I've already seen it work in what I think is a miraculous way for her. She is God's child. So let us be unified in faith and pray for her pain to be eliminated.

-Kelly

2005-08-19 - 12:58 p.m.
Once again my mom is home! She is very happy to be there. The mental side effects we were seeing seem to have subsided, which is a real answer to prayer. She is still really weak but in a lot less pain than she was when she was home last time.

My prayer is for her heart to bounce back (the doctor said it was weakened by the treatment), and for her to gain her strength back. We don't know what the future holds as far as treatment goes, but we do know that strength is always an asset.

Although Mom is home, she still needs her rest. As we've said before my mom always feels the need to entertain when she has visitors and this is exhausting. So please, until we let you all know, don't drop by the house for a visit. Sleep, rest and quiet are essential for recovery and healing. Please give Leslie the best chance for healing.

Thank you again for all your prayers and thoughts. Please keep them coming. We've seen recently what the power of prayer can do.

-Kelly

2005-08-15 - 9:06 p.m.
A very good day for my Mom today. She was lucid and chipper and funny. I sat with her and my Dad and Kelly. We joked around and told stories. Cancer never came up in the conversation. A very nice evening for us. Of course, we entertained the "watcher" nurse with our dazzling stories, goofdum and banter. I noticed her cracking up over in the corner while pretending to read her charts or something. I do want to say that my Dad would attribute today's tremendous turn around with my Mom's health to a whole lot of praying from himself and the family and friends (my Mom wants me to make sure I add, and Neil Diamond). I want to again thank everyone for the thoughts and prayers. She is feeling much better today, but is still battling that disease and her overall health issues. All in all as I have said it has been a good day and I am gonna take it.

- Jason

2005-08-12 - 10:48 p.m.
I visited my Mom tonight and she was in good spirits. The banter with the nurses was "classic Leslie". She of course promptly told me to go home at 7:20pm stating that she feels better when she gets to sleep early, leaving me no rebuttal. The doctors are hesitant to continue the interleukin treatment due to her strong reaction to the doses. Alternatives are being discussed this Monday, possibly Tuesday. In the meantime she wishes to be in her own bed at home and I hope she gets that soon. We are told early next week she may get that wish. For now they are concentrating on her overall nutrition and particularly her sodium levels, which are a bit too low. The doctors are also working on keeping her swelling down to help her back and feet pain, but of course with the efforts of bringing her sodium levels up it is tricky. Another issue is her reactive arthritis mostly in her back, tail bone in particular, that is giving her much discomfort. Unfortunately, that has to come last in her health concerns, because the quickest cure for that is steroids. Steroids will negatively affect her sodium levels so it isn't worth the risk at this time. So let's all pray for alternatives. She is fighting hard.

- Jason

2005-08-10 - 3:37 p.m.
Of course my Mom was admitted into Royal Oak Beaumont last night as we expected. Come to find out that she was ready to go to emergency herself and asked Aunt Paulette to take her. She got a fancy ride in an ambulance just in case. She is feeling better today, but is still tired. Her blood pressure has come down, which was very high yesterday. The swelling has also gone down quite a bit, taking all that pressure off her joints and alleviating the great pain it had been causing her. Most importantly her kidneys are working better. She is still very groggy, but in much better shape, thankfully.

We will of course read your kind words and stories to her as they come in and again we hope she will be home soon to look at the updates herself.

- Jason

2005-08-09 - 2:02 p.m.
Well my Mom wasn't feeling very well this morning and had to go into the hospital. She was having a hard time keeping foods and liquids down and was starting to dehydrate. Now she is getting the vitamins and nutrients that she needs via the IV so she is feeling better already, although she doesn't like hospitals at all, but who does. I feel better knowing that her body will be getting more of what it needs in there as well as her pain lessened and swelling reduced that was making her joints ache. I assume that she will be there at least a few days, but I have not heard as much yet. We will keep the site updated as often as possible. Please pray for my Mom, she would like that very much.
- Jason

2005-08-06 - 11:21 a.m.
Saw mom yesterday. She had been in a fair amount of pain from arthritis in her knee and back, but was feeling better. She'd also been feeling really sick and not able to keep much food down. So you can imagine my delight when she asked me to go pick her up a Quarter-Pounder with Cheese! She only ate half of it but that's more food than she's ingested in a few days! She was in good spirits yesterday too. Getting your appetite back is a big step in recovery.

My prayer is that she will feel better every hour of every day. Feeling weak and sick can be discouraging so I pray that she will be able to feel every little bit of progress. Of course, as always join me in my prayer for her complete and total healing.

Thank you again for all the messages and prayers! Keep them coming!

Kelly

2005-08-02 - 3:50 p.m.
Well, they let her out! My Mom is doing well, but is very tired and sore. Interleukin is known to keep you exhausted, but not allow you to sleep very much and the bed, she says, is very uncomfortable. So my Dad said he is going to get her home and take the phone off of the hook for a couple days and let her rest. She will be home for 1 to 2 weeks and then begin another treatment at the hospital again. Let's pray that the next round is easier on her. Thanks again for the thoughts and stories for my Mom. Keep 'em coming. She will be able to read them herself each night and that will keep her busy. You know my Mom, she loves to be busy. So, let's all give her a couple of days to rest and communicate with her here in this forum so she can "visit" at her own pace. Thank you all again

Jason

2005-08-01 - 2:23 p.m.
After a few days of coming down from the sedatives that were used during the Interleukin-2 treatments, my mom is feeling better. She has some back pain and still has her cough, but the old Leslie is back.

We're still not sure when she'll be released, but I will continue to post here to keep everyone informed.

My prayer for today is that Mom will continue to regain strength throughout her week off of the treatments. That she will go into the next round stronger than before and be able to handle the treatments even better. I'm praying that her cancer is shrinking as we speak.

I've been continually reminding myself that while we are weak, he is strong. He can lend us his strength if we ask him to. And I do, everyday.

Kelly

2005-07-30 - 4:31 p.m.
My dad just told me that my mom's oncologist has decided to stop giving my mom doses of Interleukin. She has received 8 doses so far. The doctor told my dad that that's about the average amount that people can tolerate. In fact, he said he was pleased that she had tolerated 8 doses. Because this medication has an effect on her mentality, they want to be careful about how many they give her.

She will be coming home soon. We're not sure when, but I'll keep the site updated so that everyone knows what's going on. The oncologist still has plans for her to come back in about a week for another round.

Please pray that my mom regains her strength during her week home. Ask God to fortify her body and spirit to prepare for the next round.

Kelly

2005-07-30 - 3:30 a.m.
Apparently, my mom's oncologist postponed one of her doses of Interleukin-2 because of a high heart rate on the last one. This is not necessarily bad nor unexpected. This is why they told us 7 to 10 days, because there is often a reason to postpone a dose. The nurse that I talked with this evening told me that my mom is doing very well with her treatments so far. She said that many times patients will have to be given blood pressure medication and have other complications. My mom hasn't had to have blood pressure medication at all.

So if all went well, she had another dose at midnight. That will put her at 8 doses out of 14. Which means she's more than halfway done.

When I visited with her, I told her that people all over the country were praying for her. Your prayers and support really do mean a lot to me and everyone in the family. Keep 'em coming!

Tonight I'll be praying that the Interleukin-2 is doing the best possible job it can. I'm praying that it will encourage Mom's white blood cells to find the cancer cells and destroy them. Pray also that my mom's body remains strong. Everyone who knows her knows that she's a fighter.

Thanks again for everything,

Kelly

2005-07-28 - 9:40 p.m.
I visited my Mom this evening and she is very tired, but her blood pressure is much better. The family has had a discussion after speaking with the nurse. We need to reiterate that it is important to us and my Mother that we please limit the visiting to immediate family, her children and Husband. My Mom and the rest of us appreciate the care, concern, and all the love from everyone. It has been moving to say the least. We do not want to offend or hurt any feelings it is just a necessity at this point for her health. Her treatments break down her immune system making the common cold dangerous for her. The family is hoping that this website will inform and endear us all to my Mom. She is a very strong woman and is doing well with the treatments, but it takes a lot out of her and needs to sleep most of the day. Please see this as a help to her. I am sure she can't wait to get out of there and have a chance to talk to everyone. Thank you all for the messages and keep them coming! My Mom was happy to hear them all. Jason

2005-07-28 - 8:41 p.m.
I saw my mom today around 6 PM. She had just been given a dose of chemotherapy and was pretty sedated. She knew I was there, but was very groggy.

My dad got some clarification on her course of treatment. She has been prescribed 14 doses of Interleukin, which is the chemotherapy drug. She's being given these doses every 8 hours. When this first round (which can last 7-10 days) is finished, she'll be sent home for a week or two to regain her strength and prepare for the next round which will probably last another 7-10 days. After this second round, they'll check the progress of the treatment and go from there.

My dad says that she is in pretty bad shape right after a dose, but as the hours progress she gets better. Because she's getting the doses every eight hours, she's up and down a lot. She is being given medication for pain and nausea, and sometimes a sedative. Although it's hard to see her in and out of consciousness, it does make me feel better that they are concerned with her comfort.

Thanks again to everyone for all the messages posted on the message board. They are a big comfort to me and my family.

I thought I'd share a (more) personal story. Last year I was going through a bit of a hard time; I'd lost a favorite job and couldn't find another. I went to Ohio to see some friends I had met online. One of them knew that I was having a difficult time and gave me a thoughtful gift. It was a small brass disc with a phoenix rising from the ashes on it. It really meant the world to me that she would give me such a symbolic gift. That's how I'm viewing my mom's experience. Chemotherapy may be bringing my mom down, but I know she will rise, triumphant and well from the ashes.

Please join me in the prayer that this chemotherapy will do the trick. I'm a big believer in praying specifically, so pray that the cancer cells will shrink and die. Pray that her immune system will recognize the damaged cells and destroy them.

Thank you again,

Kelly

2005-07-26 - 9:25 p.m.
Just heard from my dad. Mom finally got a room at around 3PM. She was having a line put in her carotid artery so that any medication or fluids she might need can be given quickly.

She'll be receiving fourteen treatments of chemotherapy over the next 7 to 10 days. The first one may be tonight. There also seems to be an indication that this will only be the first of what could be several rounds of treatment. I'm heartened by the fact that they seem to be moving quickly now.

As expected, visitors will be limited to two people at a time and only family members. Cards can be sent to her room but please don't send candy or flowers to her room.

I'm planning on seeing my mom tomorrow after work, so I'll give another update on her condition then. I'll also print up the messages that have been left for her.

Regarding the messages: thank you for doing this. Also, keep in mind, you can post anything you'd like to on that messageboard; a funny story, a link to something inspirational, a personal account of cancer survival, anything you feel that my mom might want to read.

Also, please put your email address in the notify list box to the left to get an email when there's an update to this blog.

I'm praying and believing for my mom to get well. Anyone who knows her knows that she's a fighter. Join me in that prayer!

Thanks again,

Kelly

2005-07-26 - 12:22 p.m.
I just heard from my mom. They'll be admitting her today at 2 PM. Please keep her in your prayers.

2005-07-25 - 6:43 p.m.
As some of you may know, my mom (Leslie) had some tests last week to see if her body could handle the aggressive IV chemotherapy they wanted to give her.

It looks like she will be able to handle this treatment, as she will be admitted to Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital sometime tomorrow(Tuesday, July 26th). We're still awaiting a phone call to let us know what time. I'll post as soon as she has been admitted.

Leslie will be in Intensive Care at the hospital. Because of this, visitation will be limited to immediate family only, and probably for limited time periods. Chemotherapy is very draining and Leslie won't be feeling very well. If you wish to send her your regards, please either send a card to her home or post a message on our guestbook. My brothers (Jason and Guy) and I will be bringing your guestbook messages to her on a regular basis.

I want to thank everyone for your support and love so far. Knowing that we've got friends and family that love us makes it easier to get through this.

I have been praying for my mom's healing every day. Whether it is by a miracle or by the miracle of modern medicine doesn't matter to me. If you pray, please join me in this prayer.

Kelly

2005-07-21 - 11:43 p.m.
Here's a test entry.

This will be the place to get your information on how Leslie (Mom) is doing.

Kelly

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