February 2009-Dad

Mr. James Ronald "Rony" Webb

October 02, 1951 - February 10, 2009

On Tuesday, February 10, 2009, James Ronald “Rony” Webb of Rockville, MD departed this life at the VA Medical Center in Washington, DC. Born October 2, 1951 in Bethesda, MD to Leilani Guss (nee Holbron) and the late Laurence Webb. He served in the United States Marine Corp during the Vietnam War and was a member of the American Legion Post 86 Color Guard in Rockville, MD. He was and avid outdoorsman and loved rafting. Devoted son of Leilani Guss of Beulaville, NC. Beloved father to Jason (Nicole) Webb of Okinawa, Japan; Amber (Shawn) Ramsey of Science Hill, KY; Virginia (Bobby) Vann of Minot, ND. Brother of Bobby (Donna) Webb of Oxnard, CA; Tommy Webb of Rockville, MD; Elaine Williams of Salt Lake City, UT; Arleen (John) Sleeman of Rockville, MD; Lillian Webb of Rockville, MD and Mary Webb of Beulaville, NC. He will also be missed by three grandchildren, Shon Hagan and Isaac Webb of Okinawa, Japan and Alyssa Vann of Minot, ND; a very special friend Mary Angelo and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by a brother, Larry Webb and a sister, Charlene Shifflett. Funeral InformationA memorial service will be held Sunday, February 15, 2009 at Noon at the American Legion Post 86, 2013 Veirs Mill Road, Rockville, MD 20851.Inurnment to be determined at Arlington National Cemetery.

February 2009

My dad currently weighs 82 pounds. All you can see are his bones. He cannot sit up, cannot move his legs or his head. He can only drink water if you put it on your finger -then in his mouth. He cannot walk anymore. He has cysts on his pancreas, polyps in his colon, lesions on his liver and a liver biopsy came back positive for cancer-metastatic disease (as in it's been spreading) He's Stage 4. No chemo or radiation to treat the cancer as he is only 82 pounds. Morphine drip and glucose drip around the clock. If he doesn't have the glucose drip-within one hour of being without it- he will die. The doctors gave him 3 weeks at the most.

Today, I said good-bye to my dad.

Alyssa is almost 8 weeks old: the past 2 months have gone by fast, she's almost 12 pounds now, and I am going back to work on Sunday so I am trying to really enjoy this last week at home with Alyssa-which is hard because she just wants to sleep (SO much like her mom!)

Bobby and I started our new bible study on the 1st. It's going really good and I am really enjoying the discussion. We've been working on having better and positive attitudes. It's easy for us to get discouraged when looking at our situation with jobs and our living situation so we're working on staying positive and seeking hard after God. We're looking forward to what GOdhas planned for us for the future. We know this much: We're not going to be here next winter--after 58 inches of snow, we've come to the conclusion that we miss the beach :)

November 13, 2008-Ain't she beautiful? Birth was good. No complications and she was completely healthy. I had some complications afterward, but am better now. Alyssa then came down with jaundice and we were back in the hospital for 2 more days. Now-she's doing great :)

What joy!

Here's the scoop: Basically after having contractions most of this week and being in and out of the hospital-we are being induced Wednesday, November 12th!!

Thoughts and Feelings:

Surreal-Our baby will be here in 5 days...this time next week, I'm going to officially be a mom and have a little precious daughter...

Scared: What do I know about being a mother? What do I know about delivering a baby?

Excited: She'll finally be here...not just someone we talk about, but she'll actually be here!!

I am a mixture of everything really and am so thankful that Bobby is right by my side. He helps me calm down and relax. He makes me smile and laugh. He brings me joy. He's going to be an amazing father. I feel less scared when I consider the fact that I have Bobby right by my side-to learn with, to mess up with, to depend on, to go through this journey together! He's amazing and God has blessed me so much.

Why do I always want to read about the spiritual life and not really live it? --Henri Nouwen

If we let our progress in religious life depend on the observance of the externals alone, our dedication will quickly come to an end. --Thomas a Kempis

Bedrest....sounded nice...and now it's not so nice.


I went into premature labor on Saturday, stayed overnight, given medication to stop the contractions, given shots to mature Alyssa's little lungs to she could breathe on her own...and then was sent home with a prescription of the med to stop my contractions. So-we wait until our appointment tomorrow to find out exactly what is going on: Is she coming early? Will I be induced? We did get to see her on the ultrasound machine though!! She was doing great! Her heartbeat was still stable in the 150's and she was not in distress of any sort! She's about 5 pounds, 5 ounces and is ready to get the party started apparently! I am 34 weeks today.


Bobby is doing great! Being in the hospital really made us aware of what we needed to finish and have done becuase-she could have come Saturday night and we would have only been semi-ready for her. But now, we're definately ready! Bags packed, sitting by the door-ready! He's been amazing taking care of me these past few weeks...months...years. I have been blessed to have him as my husband.