Tiny 'Stines

Happy New Year to everyone checking in on Kristine's progress. We are certainly hoping for and looking forward to some good news and brighter days in 2009. All in all, 2008 was not all that bad up until the last few months, of course.

Our holidays were nice. We stayed in Philadelphia and enjoyed some quite time by ourselves as well as some fun times with friends. Kristine had rehab everyday except Christmas and New Year's day so we maintained a fairly hectic schedule. We enjoyed Christmas dinner locally with friends. Kristine, cane in hand and equipped with a nickname her father gave her growing up as a thin young kid, "Tiny 'Stines" became our personal version of a Christmas Carol's Tiny Tim.

Progress is slow but continues steadily for Kristine's physical rehabilitation. She has recently begun walking without her cane in therapy and at home with assistance. This is a big step forward as her therapists try to push her to the next level. She is doing more intense weight bearing exercises on her arm and leg to improve the chances of activating some of the larger muscle groups (such as her shoulder, bicep and hamstring) that have been slow to respond. Periodically, Kristine will discover a new movement of which she was not previously capable. I can always tell the instant it happens by her elated expression -- characterized by a proud smile and eyes welling on the verge of tears.

Since Kristine's brain surgery and subsequent paralysis, we have been squarely focused on her physical recovery. Our friends, both local and not-so-local, have been amazingly supportive, picking Kristine up from rehab and spending time with her to ease the frustration of living with her disability (although we like to think of it more as a short term set back). But in the last several weeks the swelling and pressure in Kristine's neck and shoulder have caused us increased anxiety over her cancer and it's progression. We have both been acutely preoccupied and concerned by it, harboring our distress about what the next scan report would bring. Kristine has several symptoms that had us worried. There is a visible lump in Kristine's right shoulder that has taken shape in just the last few weeks. Additionally, Kristine has been getting a tingling sensation on the surface of the back of her head, her cough has been getting more frequent, and she is getting numbness in her right fingertips. We both had convinced ourselves of the worst.

This past Friday, we received the results of Kristine's latest scans from Dr. Staddon's office. Kristine, apprehensive about the potential report, opted not to pay an office visit to the doctor. Instead she had me accept the update over the phone and relay it to her. Neither of us were expecting the news we got. Although the news was not altogether positive, it was far better than what we were expecting. A couple of the metastases in Kristine's lung are marginally bigger (approximately .1cm x .1 cm) with the remaining mets unchanged in size and no new lung disease. There is no remaining disease in the brain or blood vessels that the pathologists can detect. There is, however, inflammation of a few small lymph nodes along the top of Kristine's right shoulder. These inflamed lymph nodes were previously undetected. Although it is possible that the inflammation is being caused by some other infection, it is more likely new cancerous metastases. The nurse practitioner who delivered the report said that the lump that we can see and feel in the shoulder is likely exaggerated in appearance due to its location. She said that the numbness in Kristine's fingers could be a symptom of the swollen node pressing against a nerve in her shoulder or a delayed effect of the gamma knife radiation.

The news was a huge relief to both Kristine and me. I think it gave us both the ability to take a deep breath, regroup and focus on a game plan to kick the crap our of cancer in 2009 -- or as Kristine likes to say, "kick cancer in the ding-ding" (I'm not as keen on this expression for obvious reasons).

As we enter a new year, we hope for promising new beginnings and, to use Tiny Tim's line, send a message to all our loyal supporters, God Bless us everyone.