Merry Christmas! It is for us. PET/CT is clear!

On Monday I had my 3-month scan and the black blob from the August scan is gone that was around the place of my stent. So my doctors is thinking the extra chemo treatments were good. My scan came out really good. I have passed the three-month mark without cancer coming back, so that is a big hurdle. Now I will continue to get my monthly checkup with Rob, my oncologist and get the CA 125 checked (which is the cancer marker).

I really want to take this time though, to thank every one of you who have been following the blog for your support. These are friends of my children and their teachers, SFM friends, friends of my friends and their families and even their friends, friends of my brothers (Rick and Joe) and sister and mother and extended families on the Colmar, Pullen, Preece and McWain sides, my entire congregation of my church friends, my running buddies, my NYC friends (including Deb H.), my prayer pal, advertising/design friends, clients, neighbors, Hillman family friends, Mainiacs/Mainer friends, my birding friends, Mexican friends, (shout out to the East Cape folks), BL Book Club friends, Rotary Book Club friends, the Bloody Mary’s, Hawaiian friends. that’s you Krister and Monica, English friends, friends from China, Canadian friends, all the doctors and all their support personnel and many others, I am not mentioning because the web of love and encouragement and prayers really surrounded me and lifted me up and got me through this time. I am shedding tears of gratitude as I write this. I was posted on many prayer lists at many churches besides my own. I really felt all of your love even if I didn’t personally know you. I really can’t thank you enough!! More tears. The amazing meals, cookies, muffins and flowers we received really got us through that first few weeks. The presents from the heart did make me laugh (silly feathered chicken or bird scenery in the shape of a smile), inspirational (pink boxing gloves) and books, shawls, scarf, wigs, and music that entertained me. I received phone calls, visits in the hospital, visits at home and many cards and some I saved opening for my tougher days. I am grateful for the patience of my clients and Scott, Colleen, Shan and Kelly that just stepped in and ran my business while I was sick.

I could go on and on but know that I really do love you, but I will start to sound like bad poetry. Whoever you are, I received your messages however they were sent. People said I made this sickness look easy and really it was you all that made it easier for me to bear. I thank God for bringing you all into my life and feel like I was one of his miracles because of your healing prayers.

I can’t believe this illness seems like a distant memory and look forward to getting stronger and gathering some insight from it all. Most of all I want to thank my husband for writing this blog and loving me so much. Jean and Brett thanks for your unending patience in your care for me, I couldn’t have done this without you.

I pray that you all have a great and Merry Christmas!

K.

Merry Christmas - Great News

This has been a great week for Kay with good news on her PET CT scan which came back completely negative. You may recall that the first PET CT came back with the one questionable area near where she had the stent placed. She had another scan yesterday, and met with Dr. McCroskey today, who gave her the great report that the scan was completely normal. No sign of cancer at all, and this makes for a great gift of health for Christmas.

We are home together as a family for the holidays. Jean got here from Portland today, and we are looking forward to lots of good time together. We always look forward to the Christmas eve outdoor service at Celebration Lutheran, and Jean's boyfriend Marc is coming up on the train Christmas morning to join us for dinner.

Prayers of thanks for Kay's cancer free news, for the joy of the season, and for the time for families to have together.

Ed

Cabo San Lucas, BCS, Mexico

If the trip down the Oregon and California coast was a victory lap, then this is a relaxing celebration of life. We got to Cabos to stay in a time share here on Dec 3, and don't leave until Dec. 19th. So far we have worked out every day, had wonderful meals, lots of pool time, and enjoyed playing spades, reading, and napping lots. Jean has been the woman of the house, cooking, and just treating us like royalty, and Kay and I are having a great vacation.

Last night Marc's parents, Ray and Mel Hillman, came down to visit, and we went out to dinner near the marina in downtown Cabos. We feasted on lobster tails, NY Steak, shrimp, fish and fixings. This is apparently not a busy tourist time here, as even on a Sat. night, the area was not busy.

We have not explored at all yet, just relaxing and settling in, but plan to get up to Todos Santos, and over to visit Ray and Mel at their winter place on Sea of Cortez side of the peninsula.

Hope everyone is enjoying the time leading up to Christmas. If anyone wants a low key way to stay focused, Paul Freese, our pastor, is opening up his usual Wed. lunch bible study to on-line participants, with a blog to discuss issues. You can sign up by asking jill@celebrationlutheranchurch.org to add you to the e-mail distribution list. Paul is a great teacher, very knowledgible, and these are bite sized lessons 3 days a week. I'm looking forward to it, and it is a way to not let the hustle-bustle of this season (not that Kay and I are hustling at all :.) pass you by.

Prayers of thanks for Kay's remission, and to all in this season of joy.

Ed

Thankful - Yes!

We celebrated Thanksgiving last Sunday with a nice turkey dinner at home with Brett, Jean, Marc and Ashley McLean. Today we had a low key day, went out to a buffet at the Ram with Brett. Maybe a movie tonight.

This has been a year where we would have had to have been not just blind but insensate to not feel overwhelmed by all of our blessings. Kay has come out the other end of chemotherapy feeling good and in remission, and we are thankful. Innumerable generous and helpful friends, terrific family, and prayers from around the globe have sustained us, and we are thankful. Jean graduated from UP, has a job, and is enjoying her life in Portland and we are thankful. Brett is fully engaged in school at the Seattle University, and we are thankful. I have passed off the Sound Family Medicine medical director role to Marc Aversa, and am having more fun practicing medicine than I have in a long time, and we are thankful.

Sometimes it is said whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and though I am not sure I believe that, I in some ways feel that as a family, and family of friends we are stronger than ever. We are thankful.

Prayers of thanks to all who have helped sustain us and nourish us this past several months, and prayers of thanks to God for granting us this bounty of support.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Ed

TGIF

Another good week gone by. Kay got her last CA-125 back this week and it remains really good, at 6. She is going to have another PET CT scan after we get back from vacation just before Christmas, which will be the next diagnostic test. She has had a very busy week, preparing a budget for 2010 for one client, and working through a new business proposal for another. That sandwiched around going Wed. evening with me to the Art Blast, a fast paced slide show and performance art show in Tacoma at the Rialto, book club Thursday evening, and tonight we go to the big annual hospital event "Tis the Season" at a local garden nursery. It is always fun to dress up, go out, and see lots of friends.

Then next week is a short work week with Thanksgiving, and the next week we leave on Thursday Dec 3 for 2+ weeks in Cabos San Lucas, Mexico to just relax, swim, get sun, and relax some more. What a year this has been. We're finishing strong and in style.

Pray for a great holiday season for all.

Ed

Veteran's Day

In some ways just another day of work for me, but all the current happenings, two wars, on-post terror in Texas, makes me pretty happy I served when I did.

I have not posted in some time, mostly because nothing is new regarding Kay's cancer, but also because it is nice to just feel like things are normal. Kay is starting to grow some hair again, and went to the YMCA this week for a all-around workout, was pretty sore for a couple of days. She tried to run, and finds the neuropathy makes her feet feel clumsy, like she might fall, so is planning to find what machines work best for her.

She also had two appointments since my last post. One a breast exam at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. She visited with a nurse practitioner there who is a breast cancer patient herself, and they had a good visit. One thing that Kay feels, whenever she meets with a health care provider, is that everyone seems fatalistic about her disease. Example: she sat beside a pathologist on the flight back from ME recently, and when she told him she was in remission from ovarian cancer, she could tell his eyes just said, "That's what you think!" Doctors seem to be just waiting for the next bad news. We are trying to be more positive than that, without being unrealistic, a fine line to walk. Right now all is good.

Kay did see Dr. McCroskey this week, and had a great visit. She remains anemic, explaining her dyspnea (shortness of breath) with exertion, but does seem fine otherwise. She will be getting another PET CT near the end of the year. Right after we return from Cabos on our early Dec. vacation.

Jean is home to take part 3 of the CPA exam, and we are enjoying her company now. I'm really enjoying taking Ken Brown's winter birding class every Tuesday evening from 7-9 PM, and right now the sun just came out and I got a short walk at lunch.

Pray for continued optimism, for no sign of cancer now or in the future, and for many good days to come.

Ed

What a trip

Ever wonder what happens when the president comes to town? We got a glimpse of that yesterday. USAF 1 was in NJ yesterday, delivering President Obama to a fundraiser, and so we sat at the Portland, ME airport waiting to take off for Newark from 1PM until about 4 PM, then circled for another 45 minutes, finally getting into Newark at about 6:20 PM as our flight to Seatac left on time at 6 PM. There were no seats to Seattle until this afternoon (24 hours later) so we decided to catch a flight to Orange County, CA, then an early morning flight this AM. That sounded not too bad, but after boarding a plane for that flight, it was discovered that a bird had been caught in the AC unit of that plane, so we all got off, walked to the far end of the Newark terminal, waited a while, then reboarded a flight. By then it was after the evening curfew at Orange County, so we went to LAX. We got there at about 2AM, got a hotel for a long nap, and got up at 6:15 AM to catch a commuter flight to Seatac. We got in just in time for me to hurry to work for my afternoon session. (AM session was cancelled)

Despite our adventure getting home we both feel we had a great visit. It was really good to see Mom and Dad, Bill and Carol, nieces Allison and Morgan, as well as a few other relatives and friends. Camp is such a special place to us, and Bill and Carol have it really nicer than it has ever been.

Kay did great on the trip, not even a sniffle, and is going on a walk with friends tonight. I'm just going to bed early.

Photos to follow.

Prayers of thanks for a safe trip and continued good health.

Ed