Catch Up

A lot has happened since last posting an update... Kathy completed her first 2 months of Chemo the end of April, and was tested to see if it was working. Hooray! The tumors had shrunk by about 25%. But intense abdominal pain prompted a visit to ER on May 1st. It was thought emergency surgery was required, so Kathy was transported by ambulance from the AF Hospital to UVRMC. The culprit was an infection, so no surgery was needed, except to implant a new port. Kathy spent a week in the hospital, and Jeannette, who'd flown in from Washington, spent most of that time with her.

Once out of the hospital, chemo treatments commenced again. The chemo is expected to last 6 months, so Kathy is now half way through.

It has been a rough row for Kathy. With nausea and lack of appetite, she has lost 50 pounds in 3 months. Coupled with intense and near-unrelenting abdominal pain, Kathy can only sleep a few hours at a time, leaving her very weakened and fatigued. This pain has prompted several visits to the ER, the most recent being just a few days ago. But in the past couple of days, a stronger pain patch has helped ease the pain, which has made a huge difference for Kathy. Just yesterday she got a cute new haircut, her shortest ever. Her hair continues to thin from the chemo, but still looks great!

If you visit Kathy, she is proud to show off the beautiful quilt made by her co-workers at the AF Hospital. Each square represents something about Kathy, or contains a message.