Chemotherapy #4

Lots and lots going on in the two weeks since chemotherapy session #3 but before we get into all of it - Hey, she's through session #4 and that's halfway! Good work, Kimmie.

Session #3 seems to have brought on a much heavier fatigue and it's been a tough couple of weeks for Kim. It's been a tough stretch for all of us. A lot of credit goes to Andrew and Jason for this post as they have given so much support as of late. Unflappable, those two.

The big news around here was a visit from Kim's youngest brother, Shawn, and his six-year-old son, Cory. They flew last week on a Friday and stayed through Monday. It was a perfect visit and we all want to thank Shawn's wife, Amber, and their two-year-old twin sons for letting dad and big brother out of the house for a while. Man, did we have fun. Cory was so excited to hang out with his older cousins and there were lots of laughs around the house. Shawn is always a treat to be around because he's just so smart but mostly it was good for Kim to have someone around who speaks the family language. Those two, pretty funny to see them hanging out.

Some very funny things happened while Shawn and Cory were here. First, it was a fraternity house for four days. Five dudes, a dude cat, and just Kim. Second, all of them, (except me and the cat), are blood relations so they often get into this weird family-mode thing. It's probably because they're all great artists and I'm the odd one out.  Perhaps my favorite memory is of them all watching the microwave make popcorn in this new pop-up silicone popper we just got. Design and technology nerds, the lot of them.

On to chemotherapy #4, the last of this round of drugs. Kim's oncologist says this was the hard round and that sessions 5-8 will be an easier dose of a new medicine. But, the cumulative effect of chemotherapy has taken a heavy toll so it's not like 5-8 are gonna be easy. Kim has been off the bike for a while and she's really begun to lose a lot of weight. She's really tired and even eating isn't pleasant right now. It's normal, we've been told, and we are inspired by the success of treatment so far. It's tough, but she's half way through.

For this session Kim was joined in the infusion bay by our friend Julie Krasniak. Julie is the owner of The Athletic Community, a super cool apparel brand with a beautiful store in town, an artist, and she's married to this nerd friend of mine, Jeremy Dunn. Julie is also a retired French professional cyclist so she's way cooler than anyone I know. Except for maybe Jeremy. Or my son Jason. Probably a three-way tie.

One of the biggest changes we've had in the past week is that we've been saying yes to offers to friends asking to make dinner for us. You know what? It's a big help and we've had some really great new meals this week. Like most people, I've been hesitant to say yes because it's just some stupid thing to say, "No, we're OK, thanks." I sure love that people want to help and it really has made the past week a lot easier by removing that one hassle from the day. And, man, have we eaten good. Sure, I think the previous blog posts scare people into thinking Kim's diet is impossible to cater to but it's really not. Many thanks this week to the SyCip and Heenan families for feeding us.

The only bummer in all of this is that Andrew is away for the week at Outdoor School as a counselor and he missed out on some great food.

Kim and Apple, (whom I mentioned in earlier posts as Kristen), have been meeting often and Apple has provided Kim with a full array of wigs. Kim found a beautiful light pink wig that isn't too hot on her head and really looks great on her. Each time we go out she gets smiles and compliments. She looks great, doesn't she? Thank you, Apple.

Watching the microwave make popcorn

Jason and Cory