There will be a Eckankar (religious) Memorial Service for
Emmy Winning Cinematographer and Photojournalist
Thomas (Tom) "The Man in the Hat" McKenney on Saturday September 22, 2012 at 12:00 noon
at the Spiritual and Interfaith Space at the (Tom was very supportive of this wonderful space)
New Orleans Healing Center
2378 St. Claude Avenue (corner of St. Roch in the Faubourg Marigny)
New Orleans, Louisiana 70117
An after party (with secular memorial) will follow from 2pm-5pm at
JohnPaul's (Tom played softball for them summer of 2011)
940 Elysian Fields Avenue (corner of Rampart in the Faubourg Marigny)
New Orleans, Louisiana 70117
The after party will have a cash bar, and will be pot luck - feel free to bring a dish. The bar will be closed for this private party. Tom has a playlist prepared and there will be a time to share stories about him.
RSVPs are appreciated. All are welcome to attend either or both.
Below are two film making causes that Tom believed strongly in:
In lieu of flowers, donations are welcome at the Digital Cinema Society (DCS):
The Digital Cinema Society is a format agnostic educational cooperative dedicated to informing the entertainment industry about the integration of digital technology. You can make donations to this 501(c) charitable organization here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=NWQ8DS5GUXHU4
Please make sure to note in the "comment" section that your donation is in dedication to the memory of Thomas McKenney.
Another option:
In lieu of flowers and at Tom's request, donations in Tom's memory can be made to the Press Photographers Association of Greater Los Angeles Scholarship Fund. The scholarship fund, established more than 20 years, assist future photojournalists who are students members of PPAGLA.
You can use PayPal via our site (www.ppagla.org) or by sending a check to PPAGLA Scholarship Fund, 3607 W. Magnolia Blvd. Unit H, Burbank, CA 91505.
The annual scholarships for 2012 Photojournalist of the Year and runner-up will be awarded in March of 2013. This year the name of the scholarship will also include “In Memory of Tom McKenney.”
Contact PPAGLA Membership Chairman, Rick Meyer (laphotog@aol.com) with any questions.
You can always leave a donation at the ECK Center hosting the event too if so moved.
There will also be a Memorial in Los Angeles.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Translation
Tom translated around 11:45 on 8 Sept 2012. Translated is how he referred to what he was doing. As I understand it, translating is the Eckankar word for dying. Eckankar was his spiritual path, Baseball was his religion.
Below, I will describe his last day in a lot more detail, maybe too much for some.
We spent the day watching Baseball...about 9 hours of it. It was a long day for him. He had more problems breathing thru the day and was having great difficulty moving around. A dear friend came by and visited with him in the afternoon. He and I ordered pizza and he ate a few bites. I read to him from a book about Baseball that another friend had lent him. Around 8pm, he started to get a death rattle. I gave the medicine that the hospice had provided for that and we turned up the game, After the Baseball game was over, I asked if he wanted to watch the George Harrison/Beatles documentary again. We started watching that, him in the recliner, me on a pile of pillows on the floor next to him. He sat forward for a few minutes, then slumped over. I got up and helped him back into an upright position. Over the next five minutes or so his breathing slowed, stopped, and restarted while I held his hand and told him that I loved him. Then, it was done and he was gone.
I called the hospice and they sent a nurse over and had me call friends to be with me. One got his eyes shut for me. We waited for the nurse to pronounce him. He stopped breathing just before 11, but wasn't officially dead until 11:45. We had made arrangements to donate his body to science so I called the Anatomy Gift Registry to arrange the pickup of his body. They contracted with a local funeral home and they came and picked him up in the middle of the night. We left the Beatles on throughout.
I stayed with my friends at their house last night.
Below, I will describe his last day in a lot more detail, maybe too much for some.
We spent the day watching Baseball...about 9 hours of it. It was a long day for him. He had more problems breathing thru the day and was having great difficulty moving around. A dear friend came by and visited with him in the afternoon. He and I ordered pizza and he ate a few bites. I read to him from a book about Baseball that another friend had lent him. Around 8pm, he started to get a death rattle. I gave the medicine that the hospice had provided for that and we turned up the game, After the Baseball game was over, I asked if he wanted to watch the George Harrison/Beatles documentary again. We started watching that, him in the recliner, me on a pile of pillows on the floor next to him. He sat forward for a few minutes, then slumped over. I got up and helped him back into an upright position. Over the next five minutes or so his breathing slowed, stopped, and restarted while I held his hand and told him that I loved him. Then, it was done and he was gone.
I called the hospice and they sent a nurse over and had me call friends to be with me. One got his eyes shut for me. We waited for the nurse to pronounce him. He stopped breathing just before 11, but wasn't officially dead until 11:45. We had made arrangements to donate his body to science so I called the Anatomy Gift Registry to arrange the pickup of his body. They contracted with a local funeral home and they came and picked him up in the middle of the night. We left the Beatles on throughout.
I stayed with my friends at their house last night.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Watching baseball
I went to sleep about midnight last night, and Tom texted me around 3am. I got up, helped him with some things, then slept the rest of the night on the couch.
He's very tired and is pretty stationary in the recliner. We took a field trip to the bathroom this morning - it's probably a third of a block away. We used the wheelchair for the trip back. He has requested more morphine than usual - it helps with the pain and reduces his coughing.
He's freshly shaved and watching baseball in a Union Tshirt.
He's very tired and is pretty stationary in the recliner. We took a field trip to the bathroom this morning - it's probably a third of a block away. We used the wheelchair for the trip back. He has requested more morphine than usual - it helps with the pain and reduces his coughing.
He's freshly shaved and watching baseball in a Union Tshirt.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Our Own Southern Decadence
Tom has no real appetite or strength. We are trying multiple ideas (herbal, medical, food) to get calories into him along with as many vitimins as possible.
Since Saturday, Tom is down to 1 solid food meal a day. Other than that, he is drinking Carnation Instant Breakfast - think Ensure, but better tasting. There are some liquid medicines that taste pretty bad. They seem to hide ok in the Instant Breakfast or even just chcolate milk.
Speaking of bad tasting meds...There is a steroid (Megace) that he was given when he was first diagnosed. It didn't seem to work then, but since nothing else seems to be working, we're trying it again.
The herbal method was working pretty good for him since about the day after he was diagnosed. In the past week, it seems to no longer affect his appetite and just makes him uncomfortable.
We have a second visit from Mike, the hospice nurse, this afternoon. The first week of hospice, we had twice weekly visits. We were doing once a week visits since then, but it seems we are back to twice.
Tom also went from almost never using oxygen, to using it most of the time.
Right now, he is resting fairly comfortably and watching Night of the Iguana.
Since Saturday, Tom is down to 1 solid food meal a day. Other than that, he is drinking Carnation Instant Breakfast - think Ensure, but better tasting. There are some liquid medicines that taste pretty bad. They seem to hide ok in the Instant Breakfast or even just chcolate milk.
Speaking of bad tasting meds...There is a steroid (Megace) that he was given when he was first diagnosed. It didn't seem to work then, but since nothing else seems to be working, we're trying it again.
The herbal method was working pretty good for him since about the day after he was diagnosed. In the past week, it seems to no longer affect his appetite and just makes him uncomfortable.
We have a second visit from Mike, the hospice nurse, this afternoon. The first week of hospice, we had twice weekly visits. We were doing once a week visits since then, but it seems we are back to twice.
Tom also went from almost never using oxygen, to using it most of the time.
Right now, he is resting fairly comfortably and watching Night of the Iguana.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Status to now
Hopefully, anyone who knows Tom has heard this already, but Tom has Stage 4 Lung Cancer. The doctors discovered it in late July and he immediately entered hospice care.
Common questions:
Is he going to fight it? The doctor said it was incurable and Tom chose not to treat the cancer and is instead going for strictly palliative care. That means no chemo, no radiation, no surgery, and no alternative treatments. He is comfortable with the help of medications provided by the hospice.
Did he ever smoke? An occasional cigar, but he was never "a smoker".
How long does he have? Neither of us asked the doctor. For my insurance to cover hospice care, the ife expectancy must be 6 months or less.
Is he planning to travel to Los Angeles? No. Some days just sitting is exhausting for him. While he would love to go back west, it is just not practical. There are memorials planned in Los Angeles and New Orleans.
Can people come visit? Tom's strength is day to day. While we try to limit the number of visitors at any given time, there are times that seem to be more popular (weekends). So far, we have been able to give Tom and any out of town visitors time alone, sometimes it is just a meal or some quiet time at home. There is a local inn www.oldetowninn.com about a mile from the house (and less than a mile from the French Quarter). If you mention Tom and request the local rate, they have been good about their rates. There are some times that are not available for visitors. Please check before any plans are made. It is about a 15 minute ride to the airport (or a $40 taxi ride). I am usually available to pick people up from the airport. Not only is it cheaper, but it gives me a chance to let visitors know of Tom's current status.
Can Tom's friends do anything, is there anything that he needs? If there is anything that reminds you of time with Tom, or something that you know he is fond of- he welcomes it. As far as money goes, there are medical bills left from before he entered hospice. We do not expect any bills from the hospice.
Is Tom at home? Tom is doing hospice at home. He gets to watch lots of baseball and old movies. I work from home, and am his caregiver.
Hurricane Isaac - The storm,and the subsequent power outages were hard on Tom. Hopefully, he is slowly recovering.
Will Tom end up in the hospital ever? No, Tom will not go to the hospital.
That is about it for the questions that I have been asked most often, I will try to post fairly frequent updates.
Common questions:
Is he going to fight it? The doctor said it was incurable and Tom chose not to treat the cancer and is instead going for strictly palliative care. That means no chemo, no radiation, no surgery, and no alternative treatments. He is comfortable with the help of medications provided by the hospice.
Did he ever smoke? An occasional cigar, but he was never "a smoker".
How long does he have? Neither of us asked the doctor. For my insurance to cover hospice care, the ife expectancy must be 6 months or less.
Is he planning to travel to Los Angeles? No. Some days just sitting is exhausting for him. While he would love to go back west, it is just not practical. There are memorials planned in Los Angeles and New Orleans.
Can people come visit? Tom's strength is day to day. While we try to limit the number of visitors at any given time, there are times that seem to be more popular (weekends). So far, we have been able to give Tom and any out of town visitors time alone, sometimes it is just a meal or some quiet time at home. There is a local inn www.oldetowninn.com about a mile from the house (and less than a mile from the French Quarter). If you mention Tom and request the local rate, they have been good about their rates. There are some times that are not available for visitors. Please check before any plans are made. It is about a 15 minute ride to the airport (or a $40 taxi ride). I am usually available to pick people up from the airport. Not only is it cheaper, but it gives me a chance to let visitors know of Tom's current status.
Can Tom's friends do anything, is there anything that he needs? If there is anything that reminds you of time with Tom, or something that you know he is fond of- he welcomes it. As far as money goes, there are medical bills left from before he entered hospice. We do not expect any bills from the hospice.
Is Tom at home? Tom is doing hospice at home. He gets to watch lots of baseball and old movies. I work from home, and am his caregiver.
Hurricane Isaac - The storm,and the subsequent power outages were hard on Tom. Hopefully, he is slowly recovering.
Will Tom end up in the hospital ever? No, Tom will not go to the hospital.
That is about it for the questions that I have been asked most often, I will try to post fairly frequent updates.
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