The start of it all

The following is an email from my Aunt Mary which describes the initial situation:

Thought I would update you on the Ortiz's. Phil is still holding down his food and his system seems to be working okay. However, he is very weak and depressed. He called the priest to give him the annointing of the sick and Fr. Dick Aiken came today. He annointed both of them since Judy is trying to recover from the surgery on her arm. I think it is important for him to get a more positive outlook. He seems to be resigned to dying and that is not good. Anything any of you can do to cheer him up would be helpful. Judy cannot cook so Michelle and Michael are helping out. We have taken some food over there also.

Mary (Judy's sister)