chemo, family, interview and california

okay...it has been a big couple of weeks...lots happening.

1) I had my interview at Riverland Community College today...I feel like it went well. I am very hopeful.  It will take a few weeks before it is settled...I am hoping to make it to the second round of interviews :)

2) Ginny moved her mother to a full care facility a couple of weeks ago...the transition has been tough for both Ginny and her mother.

3) Ginny's brother Larry is near the end.  Hospice is coming to the house daily.

4) Ginny will have round 5 of chemo in the morning (Wednesday).

5) Thursday is my last day of "official" school activities.  To celebrate the end, Friday morning we fly to California to attend the ordination of our beloved Sarah...(Sarah and I have been friends for 20 years and she stood beside me the day I married my Ginny).

kirsten

oh santa

a year ago ginny's beloved brother larry was diagnosed with cancer. it has been fierce and he has been a trooper...giving it everything he has.  last night larry wrote to tell us that the chemo will stop and that it won't be long before he will require hospice care.

i have grown to appreciate ginny's brothers...each of them so interesting and so different from one another.  i hate to say that i have favorites, but i have had more time...more contact with larry and dan and have grown to love both of them.  ginny introduced me to larry through a picture...a picture of her santa brother.  larry has volunteered as a santa for years.  he loves it and he is a great santa (that is larry in the pic).  i think that i find this most endearing about him because my father was a santa, volunteering year after year for community events and there are good memories there.

i have been thinking about larry much of the day...and i have been loving ginny with sad eyes and a sad heart even while we have been apart living our tuesday life...she is worried about larry's wife and children...grandchildren...i am worried about his big sister ginny.

sad is the best word for feelings today...just sad...i wonder what these days will bring to our house as we process the end of a brother's life and at the same time hope for the life of his sister...oh ginny...oh santa...

kirsten

time for an update

well it has been a few weeks since our last update...sorry for the delay.

we are working hard and holding our own.  ginny will have her 5th chemo treatment on may 12th.  at the oncology appointment on friday we learned that ginny's counts are low (neutrophils are below 500-and white blood cell count  at 1.5 and this puts her at greater risk for catching junk).  the neutrophil pictured here is NOT ginny's...i was feeling the need for a photo and for your blog reading enjoyment we have included a random neutrophil pic. ginny's   platelets are also low, the lowest they have ever been.  this explains the mild nose bleeds she has been having the past few days (no nose bleed pics) .  on the 12th she will have chemo as scheduled but they will lower the dose.  the doc explained that the chemo treatments are cumulative and that it is normal for the dosage to decrease as the treatments increase.  after her 6th treatment on june 2nd, ginny will have a pet scan to assess the cancer and its "state".  the hope is that the tumors are "dormant"...not giving of living vibes...(it is hard to explain but the pet can can see more than the ct scan...both identify the tumors but the pet has extra special super hero powers to see if the tumors are alive).

ginny has been gravitating to a plant based diet...eating healthy to fight the cancer...this healthy eating is resulting in weight loss...ARGHHHH says kirsten...we are working at some kind of compromise as this shrinking ginny needs to more cushion on her seat bones for the greater fight.  

i am only days away from the last events of the school year and am feeling relief about being about to see the end.  i have applied for a full time sociology faculty position at riverland community college...i have made the first cut and will be interviewing on may 18th.  i am really hopeful about this position.  it is an interesting time for me and work...there are several possibilities.

kirsten and ginny