Obituary

Perry G. Fisher, age 73, of Melissa, Texas, passed away January 7, 2010, in Plano, Texas after a fight with leukemia. Perry was born April 17, 1936, in McKinney, Texas, to Lloyd Austin and Annie Lucille (Brown) Fisher. He married Bobbye Joyce Pharr on August 31, 1957 in Plano, Texas. Perry graduated from McKinney High School in 1954 and from Texas A & M University in 1960. He proudly served in the United States Army from 1955 to 1957 which included a tour of duty in Korea as a member of the 8th Army Honor Guard.

Perry was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he served in many leadership positions for over 48 years. A member of the Melissa Ward, he also served with his wife Bobbye in the London England Mission following his retirement. He worked for Campbell Taggart Corporation in Dallas, Texas for over thirty years. Actively involved in Circle Ten Council of the Boy Scouts of America for many years, he currently was serving as a Unit Commissioner in the Lone Star District and is a recipient of the Silver Beaver award. He recently earned his Doctorate of Science in Scouting, and was to have received it during an award ceremony January 9, 2010. He also served as President of the North Collin County Genealogical Society.

He was a loving husband and father survived by his wife, Bobbye Fisher of Melissa, Texas; sons, Michael Fisher and wife, Jenny of Allen, Texas and David Fisher and wife, Liesl of McKinney, Texas; daughters, Laurie Johnson and husband, Chuck of Dallas, Texas, Kathy Tenney and husband, Scott of Fisher, Indiana, Sheri Pierce and husband, Greg of Gilbert, Arizona, Amy Burchett and husband, John of Melissa, Texas, and Krista Fisher of Alexandria, Virginia; he is also survived by twenty-three grandchildren; brothers, Fred Fisher of Yantis, Texas, Bentley Ray Fisher of Bela Vista, Arkansas, Bryant Fisher and Wendell Fisher, both of Yantis, Texas; and sisters, Elizabeth Crook of Arbala, Texas and Nancy Bowman of Combine, Texas.
He was preceded in death by his parents.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, January 11, 2009, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Allen Stake Center, 1324 Exchange Pkwy., Allen, Texas, 75013. Interment will follow at Fitzhugh Cemetery in the Forest Grove Community, Allen, Texas. The family will receive friends during a visitation from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m., Sunday at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Melissa Meetinghouse, 737 Melissa Rd., Melissa, Texas, 75454.

In lieu of flowers, the family request contributions be made to the Boy Scouts of America, Friends of Scouting, Lone Star District, Circle 10 Council, 8605 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, Texas, 75235 or the Perpetual Education Fund for Developing Countries, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 15 E. South Temple,Salt Lake City, UT 84150, in memory of Perry G. Fisher.

Thank you for your love, prayers, and support. We have so enjoyed the memories of Dad that people have shared. These messages have been a comfort to our Mom and the rest of us, and will continue to be in the days and years ahead. We've decided to compile a book of the memories for Dad's grandchildren, so they can better remember and know him too.

We would like to request friends and family to email a memory or story to perryfishermemories@gmail.com

With much love and appreciation,

-The Perry Fisher Family

Funeral & Viewing Information

Perry G Fisher passed away on Thursday, January 7, 2010 due to complications from Leukemia.

Services will be Monday, January 11 at 11:00 am at the Allen Texas Stake Center, 1324 West Exchange Parkway, Allen.

There will be 2 viewings:

1) 4-6 pm Sunday, January 10, at the Melissa Ward building, 737 Melissa Road, Melissa Texas

2) 9:30 - 10:30 am Monday, January 11, at the Allen Texas Stake Center prior to the funeral services

In lieu of flowers please make a contribution in behalf of Perry G Fisher to the Circle 10 Council's Friends of Scouting: 8605 Harry Hines, Dallas, TX 75235 214-902-6700

If you would like to share an experience or lesson you learned from my father please email David onefish4u@hotmail.com we would like to compile a book for his grandchildren.


Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers,

(Please send to anyone who may have know my Father)

Funeral Information

Perry G Fisher passed away on Thursday, January 7, 2010 due to complications from Leukemia.

Services will be Monday, January 11 at 11:00 am at the Allen Texas Stake Center, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; 1324 West Exchange Parkway, Allen.

There will be 2 viewings:

1) 4-6 pm Sunday, January 10, at the Melissa Ward building, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; 737 Melissa Road, Melissa Texas
2) 9:30 - 10:30 am Monday, January 11, at the Allen Texas Stake Center prior to the funeral services


Chuck and Laurie

One more angel in heaven. We will miss him.

This morning, around 8:00 a.m. central time, our sweet dad peacefully slipped away to a better place. He would have dusted his hands off and said "Let's call it a day," the way he'd always end a project--usually after it was too dark to see anymore. He was surrounded by family, with some present via cell phone. The funeral will most likely be held on Monday. Thank you for your love, prayers, and support. We have so enjoyed the memories people have shared. We would like to request friends and family to email a memory or story to either Kathy (ktenney@comcast.net) or David (onefish4u@hotmail.com). We know these memories and words of support will comfort our mom and the rest of us in the days and years ahead. Mom's address at the farm is 7379 County Rd 365; Melissa, TX 75454. With much love and appreciation,

The Perry Fisher Family

Dad's Favorite Hymn

There Is a Green Hill Far Away 

1. There is a green hill far away,
Without a city wall,
Where the dear Lord was crucified,
Who died to save us all.

2. We may not know, we cannot tell,
What pains he had to bear,
But we believe it was for us
He hung and suffered there.

3. There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin.
He only could unlock the gate
Of heav’n and let us in.

4. Oh, dearly, dearly has he loved!
And we must love him too,
And trust in his redeeming blood,
And try his works to do.

 
Text: Cecil Frances Alexander, 1818–1895
Music: John H. Gower, 1855–1922

Resting

Last word that we received at 2:00 am was that Dad was finally resting peacefully, hopefully tomorrow they will move him to a private room and remove all of the junk that has been attached to him.  I don't know if he as few minutes, hours or days but I do know that he will be greatly missed and that is he greatly loved.  None of us know if we have minutes or days left either, but through all of this I have been over come with the love that our Heavenly Father has for each of us and with a desire to be a better man.  Dad always told me to "be where the Lord would have you be", he has always been the example of that.  Whether it was being with someone in need, at a church meeting that others might miss, or with family, Dad made time to be where he needed to be and where the Lord would have be.  With a man like Dad has your Father you never have to worry about what decisions to make because you can just ask yourself what would Dad do, and you can know without a doubt that is what the Savior would do.  Dad has showed me how to live and now I have to do everything in my power to follow his example.  I know that we will be able to be together again and I will strive everyday to be worthy of that reunion and blessing.  Love you Dad and Thank YOU!

Normally I would close something like, "Always and Forever, Dad's favorite child" but today I truly feel like we are all Dad's favorites.  There is one Perry unconscious quote of the day but it will be shared privately, so I thought I would  I will close with just the Perry quote of the day, "I love you and appreciate all that your doing."

Dave

An amazing Tender Mercy

Tonight the bone marrow test results came back--the chemo did NOT work. My dad's immune system is worn out, he's weak and won't be able to regain his strength or health.

Tonight we had an amazing tender mercy. My dad has only been awake and coherent for a few minutes each day since Sunday. Tonight, my 4 local siblings gathered with my mom at the hospital, with myself on the phone here in Indy, Sheri in Arizona, and Krista in DC. I knew they were all going in to ICU together to have a family prayer with my dad, but when the prayer started, it was my DAD giving the prayer. It was beautiful, I don't remember much of it, but the sweetness of hearing him preside over our family one last time in the flesh until we're reunited again was amazing. After the prayer, David gave a priesthood blessing, with the help of Mike, Chuck, & John. He was blessed that he might be comfortable, and that his body might quickly release his spirit from the bonds that have been holding (or something like that). Then we all had a turn to talk to him and tell him of our love; he told his conversion story, bore his testimony, apologized for things working out this way, and said not to spend much money on the funeral. Then after about 30 minutes of being alert, He was tired, so most of them left the room to let him rest (someone is always in the room with him). It was a miracle and such a gift to all of us from our loving Heavenly Father. I am so thankful for his son, Jesus Christ, who provided the way for us to all be together again. I know we will be together again, and that he will be greeted on the other side by his parents, Grandma and Grandad Fisher. What an amazing reunion he has ahead of him.

Thanks for your prayers and love. Our prayers are now for him to be comfortable and to be able to move on to a much more comfortable place. I feel so blessed to have had such an amazing man as my father. I wish we could sneak his dog Loretta into the hospital so they could spend a bit more time together. A cow might be nice to bring in too.



Kathy

Keeping it Real

Well they did the bone marrow biopsy today and Dad seemed to make it through it ok.  They did sedate him for it and it seemed to take a while for that to wear off.  His stomach is getting larger and harder which are not good signs.  They did an x-ray of his abdomen and found that there was still an obstruction and that there appeared to be calcification.  There were no bowel sounds today either.

Counting today, it has been 7 days since Dad has been able to eat anything other then 3 cups of broth and a bowl of Jello which have been sprinkled in from time to time.  They are discussing nutrition options because Dad has dropped ALLOT of weight and his muscles seem to be atrophying quickly from none use.  Since there is no bowel activity the only option is TPN which is feeding through his IV.  This is good because it gets Dad some nourishment but bad because it still doesn't address his bowel issue.  Once a bowel has gone to sleep it takes a while to wake it back up and get it moving again and it seems that the longer it is a sleep the harder it is to awaken. 

I am starting to get worried that they are not focusing on the bowel enough since that was the symptom that brought him into the hospital in the first place.  Hopefully they will start taking a more active diagnostic approach other then, "lets wait and see" since we have waited 2 weeks and have only seen it get worse.

Finally Dad's mental state is in and out.  I think some of that has to do with nutrition, but there have got to be some other factors.  Initially he was sedated so that explained why he was loopy, but the loopiness doesn't seem to be improving.  This is another area I would like to get some more answers to and find out if this is another symptom of something else or if is just a side effect of some of the drugs.  He still has good periods where he is with it so that is good.  He is also very agitated when he rest so his sleep is not very refreshing.

Hope that feels you in, we are not out of the woods so please keep Dad is your prayers.  Thank you for all of your comments, thought and prayers.  This a great man and we sure would like to keep him around a little longer!

The unconscious Perry quote of the day, when the murse (man nurse) came into check his IV, "Do you have a building permit for this place?  Well you should."
Posted by Dave

Just Another Manic Monday

Dad seems to have a difficult time getting sustained sleep with breathing treatment to help dissipate the fluid on his lungs every 4 hours, the constant refilling of antibiotics (aka immune system in a bag) and the constant tugs of a pair of IV's, 12 EKG leads, 1 oxygen hose, a blood pressure cuff, a catheter and an oxygen monitor on his finger.  On Monday they noticed that the swelling in his feet and ankles had started to move up his legs so they put him in compression shoes and calf wraps and increased a few medication to help reduce the swelling.   They did get Dad out of bed and he walked around for a bit and then set in the chair for an hour and a half and did that in the morning and afternoon.  The catheter was removed but unfortunately they decided to put it back in once the swelling started to spread.  He is scheduled to go in for a bone marrow biopsy today and they are looking at moving him out of ICU in the near future.  We should know the results of the biopsy and success of the chemo later this week.

The unconscious Perry quote of the day is: "Truck Drivers are looking for Jobs!"
Posted by Dave

Sunday night

Dad is doing much better tonight. Today he has had some broth, a little jello, and drank some water. I got him some ice tonight and he said that felt really good. He's been up out of bed and sitting in a chair today and hopes to start to be up more every day. The oncologist came by tonight and said they are still planning to do the bone marrow test on Tuesday. He said Dad's vital signs looked good. He has some abdominal swelling and tenderness but the bowel sounds were good. The doctor said they will keep watching the swelling. Dad's feet were also swollen so the doctored ordered leg compression wraps and the nurse put those on tonight so hopefully that movement will help decrease the swelling. The pulmonary doctor also came by and said he was pleased with Dad's progress and would like to move him to another room so he has more room to start walking around. The oncologist said Dad would probably stay in CCU until after the bone marrow test. I guess we'll find out tomorrow if Dad will be moving rooms. The respiratory therapist also came by and gave Dad a breathing treatment. (All this was happening as Dad was trying to get some sleep). Dad mentioned that Jim and Nancy came by today and Bentley and Lavon and Bryant and Mary Lee came by yesterday. He really appreciated the visits. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. I thought that Dad seemed better than he has in weeks. We've still got a long road ahead but we're hoping we've turned the corner. Posted by Laurie

Clear Liquid Gourmet

Exciting news today! Perry has now been given the okay to resume a clear liquid diet. His oxygen levels and heart rate have returned to safer levels too. He's back to the smaller oxygen tubes instead of the mask. We are thankful that he's made it over this hump. Your continued prayers are appreciated.

Quick update, Jan. 1, 2010 evening

Quick update, dads heart rate is down from 155 to 110ish often lower, his breathing has slowed which is good. Most importantly he is resting very comfortably and finally getting some sleep. I will keep you updated!

Dave

Moves to ICU

They are moving Perry to ICU this morning so they can monitor him more closely, due to his heart rate. He will now have one nurse over 2 patients, rather than 8 patients per nurse on the other floor. The nurse's office is in between the two rooms with glass windows between the two. It gives more piece of mind knowing they will be able to keep close tabs on him. He now has a full oxygen mask, rather than the smaller things going into his nose. This has already made a difference in oxygen levels, since he breathes through his mouth a lot when he is sleeping. He sleeps a lot, but when he's awake, he knows what is going on and can give feedback on how he's feeling. Good news, he was able to have a BM, relieving the blockage in his stomach. He is resting comfortably.

Kathy per David phone call

New Tube

Just as Dad was starting to get tubes removed, they have decided to add one more.  His stomach has been swollen for the last the last two days, so today they did an xray to see if there was a blockage.  They determined that there was a blockage and that they needed to relieve the pressure in his stomach by placing a nasogastric tube.  The tube will be used to remove the stomach's contents and pressure.  This tube is inserted in the nose and then goes down the back of the throat into the stomach, and it is all done by the nurse in the room.  It is about the size of straw but more flexible and as a result is very uncomfortable and painful to have inserted.  After it was decided that he needed the tube Mike and the Johnson kids happened to be at the hospital, so Mike, Matt and Mike were able to give him a blessing.  Liesl and I showed up about an hour later and got the full story from Mom.  I used to sell these types of tubes so I knew how painful and traumatic it is for the patient. We tried to find out why they were doing it, what it would do, and how long we had until they put it in.   The nurse didn't want to do it and said that if it didn't go down on the first try she would stop and not put it in, but that one attempt would have been rough on Dad.  We called the doctor and while we were waiting to call him back the Colon doctor just stopped by to check on Dad.  He said often with the colitis (colon infection and inflammation) that the small intestine gets sticky and can stick to the bowel, which then causes a kink, and pressure then builds behind it.  Once some of the pressure that is built up behind the kink is released it often straightens itself out.  This tube will do that, they do not know how long it will be in though.  The other option would be surgery to find the blockage, but Dad is not strong enough so it is not an option.  We discussed the other placement option of doing it in radiology with mild sedation and he said that could be done if Dr. G was ok with it.  After that conversation I talked with Dad about the need for the tube and for the placement options and asked him if he was OK with them trying it in his room first or if he would like to have it done in radiology.  Dad said he would like to have it done in radiology.  Dr. Colon was out side updating his chart and heard the conversation and stepped back in and said, "I heard your conversation and I will set it up with radiology." Dr. G then approved and they took Dad down at 7:30 tonight to have it put in, we will see how it goes.  Keep him in your prayers that he will be blessed that the obstruction will un-obstruct and that he will be comfortable with the tube till it can be removed.  On the happy front Dads white cell count has gone from 81,000 last week to 1,100 this week, this means that the chemo is working exactly as Dr. G hoped it would.  This is a great sign because there is a high percentage of people who have been treated for pre-leukemia like Dad do not respond to the Chemo.
Posted by Dave

Chuck Norris is in room 412

It's Wednesday night. Paw Paw is determined to stay fit (or at least avoid becoming any more out of shape). David showed him a great work out he can do from the hospital bed. He holds onto both hand rails with each of his hands, then does pull ups with his arms (3 or 4). I was so impressed with his grit. Any physical activity wears him out, so he then needs to rest for an hour or two. He has worked at sitting up in a chair for a while, coughing (which works his lungs AND helps clear anything in his lungs), and standing--some of his exercises. He's also been faithful about his input of clear liquids, though nothing tastes good.

The doctor's visit tonight told us that today's chest x-ray looked better than yesterday's, with less fluid. He was on clear liquids today, but the doctor is taking those away for a few days to let his organs do their work to relieve some firmness in his stomach, which was bloated yesterday but still soft. Today, it is still enlarged, but some areas are tight, not soft. They will do x-rays of his stomach tomorrow morning to see if they can determine what is causing his abdomenal enlargement. The chemotherapy should finish tomorrow night--hooray! I had thought we were then in a waiting game for him to regain his strength. While that is true, I had not realized that the effects of the chemo-therapy really kick in during he week following the therapy. That is when his hair will fall out (singular, in Dad's case--tee hee, humor moment)and when they will watch his organs very closely to make sure everything is functioning.

Paw Paw's main complaint today has been soreness in his back. Tylenol helps take the edge off of it. Massage has also given relief from the pain. Compared with earlier days this week, Dad has progressively been able to stay awake for longer amounts of time and do a few more things that require more energy--this is all relative, but it's been a pleasant surprise, since I was expecting him to digress each day. It seems to have taken a few days for his body to rid itself of the heavy pain meds he received when he arrived, as well as a few days for the anti-biotics to end the infection. His white blood cells continue to drop, which is what is supposed to happen. The doctor plans to do a bone marrow test on Monday or Tuesday, most likely Tuesday.

Thank you, everyone, for your prayers as our dad goes through this agonizing process. I appreciate that he is willing to do these hard things so that his family can have more time with him. He is an amazing father, grandfather, and father-in-law. I'm sure you can all add your own title to that list. He has a gift of making each of us feel special. He is somehow able to provide one-on-one time with each member of his family, and he uses that time to make lasting memories through simple things like working together on a project and talking about things. He is so Christ-like. He is honest, hard-working, faithful, and obedient; unselfishly serving others, and thereby serving his Heavenly Father and his Savior, Jesus Christ.

I have to head back to Indiana tomorrow. I am so thankful that I was able to come and spend some time with my dad and a small amount of time with many of the Fisher side of the family. I also appreciate the love and understanding of the Tenney side of my family. They are so supportive, and though I would have loved to see them--including Clint & Kelly and their new house that is so close to my parent's farm and Creighton & Brenda's new baby boy, it was so nice being able to spend most of my visit at the hospital. It's hard leaving, but I thank my siblings for letting me spend extra time with dad, and for always being there to help my parents 24/7, 365 days a year as needed. I am so thankful to have all of them as good friends.

Kathy

Dad's humor

Just thought I would share some of Dad's humor during the move to room 412. The female nurses headed out of the former room with him and somewhere in transit to the new room, they bumped into a wall. Dad commented "Women Drivers." As they wheeled into the new room, they had picked up a male nurse along the way and Dad looked up to him and said "They have us outnumbered." Shortly there after he was back to his unrestful seeming sleep. When he has his eyes open he is awake and coherent, when they are closed he seems to be sleeping and talking and sometimes you can understand what he is saying, and sometime you can't, but it seems far from restful. Amy

The ET Finger

(it used to be on the middle finger so he could send them messages... (: hehehe )

-posted by BJ

Just kidding David did it :)

Tuesday Morning, December 29

Last night, Paw Paw talked to Emilee on the webcam David set up in the hospital room. It was fun seeing both Paw Paw and Emilee perk up as they talked to each other. Now we need to somehow get Loretta on the webcam. I was able to stay at the hospital last night. Mom was able to sleep at home and get a full night's rest, hopefully.

The doctor came in last night and spoke with us. Dad was alert and able to talk with him. The doctor said he really needed to get more fluids down and try to eat. He also said it was important to change his position a lot, like moving from the bed to the chair more often. Sheri and I were so impressed with Dad's drive to obey the doctor's orders. As soon as he left, Sheri brought in a variety of juices. He downed an apple juice, even though it didn't taste good to him.

This morning at 5:00 a.m., he told me he was ready to get going on things, noting we'd have to wait until they opened the breakfast place. At 6:00, he looked over the menu and requested shredded wheat. He ate most of it. When we talked to mom before she headed back to the hospital, I asked him if he needed anything. He said, "bring me my khakis, and a golf shirt so I can walk around this place and get my exercise." He is ready to do hard things. His drive and determination are inspiring.

He has a monitor on his pointer finger that has a red light on it. He asked the nurse if she could put it on his nose, which would be fitting for this Christmas Season. But I like it on his pointer finger--it's just like E.T. I'll post a photo of it when I have a chance.

Kathy

Moved to room 412

It's Monday evening. Paw Paw requested "Frosted Flakes with some sugar added" for lunch. He ate about half a bowl. He's sat in a chair three different times today. He's now wearing some bright yellow socks, which has given us something bright and colorful to comment on. Sitting is uncomfortable. The nurses didn't have a "donut" on this floor, but they did find a "waffle," which has been very helpful for him. Sheri found a "donut" at CVS, so he now has a soft sitting spot both on the bed and in the chair. He's sleeping a lot, but when he's awake, he doesn't feel pain, besides soreness in his back and his chest. He's been off pain meds since Christmas night. He walked around a bit today, which was encouraging, but it also took a lot of energy, so he rested for a long time after that. As this post stated, he is now in room 412 -- Kathy