The short story is all is well. I am well, continuing my Keytruda infusions, getting stronger, building stamina.
Here is the longer story:

I had an abundance of family time this month. I met Mom and Matt at the Denver Airport and we spent 5 nights playing with the Gilroy gang in Boulder. We had a lovely drive up to Estes Park. Celebrated Kathy’s birthday with pedicures and lunch. Celebrated AJ’s and Kathy’s birthday with a pizza party and much, much more. The best part, of course is having time with all those great nieces and nephews. Love that! The weather and climate in Colorado is so different than Seattle’s. At the same time Seattle was hunkering down for the cold, wet winds from the Pacific typhoon, there was a hot, dry wind blowing through Boulder. I walked with Hunter to the park near Kathy’s house and felt I was walking through a blow dryer! The dry leaves and bits were falling from the trees like rain. We enjoyed stomping and crunching the dry leaves, something we rarely get to enjoy with all our wet leaves in Seattle!

After 5 nights in Colorado, Mom, Matt and I flew together to Seattle where they stayed with us for a week. We had a break in the weather our first day here so we headed straight to Alki to enjoy the beauty of the beach while we could. Day 2 gave us a deluge and we binge watched Jane the Virgin on Netflix. I cooked quite a few meals and we had a big dinner party to celebrate Betty’s birthday. Michael, Maggie and Eva visited with us more than usual, which is always a good thing! Other than that, we mostly relaxed, laughed at Jane the Virgin and took it easy. I have not had that much time with my mom in a long time. It was good. I know she needed that time to be convinced that I am doing as well as I am. And I am doing well!

I saw Dr. Kaplan and had my 4th immunotherapy treatment this past Wednesday. I love seeing my doc. I think I see him as a father figure and I somehow feel like he is proud of me. He gives me his seal of approval and is so happy with how well I am doing. Then I go in for my quick and easy Keytruda infusion. One or two more infusions, then I’ll have a scan to see if the Keytruda is doing its job.

Of course we talked about that coil. I so badly wish there was an easy way to peek into my duodenum to see how my ulcer is healing and to see if the coil is still there. But alas, we just have to have faith. As long as I have no symptoms, we assume all is well. I’ve had no pain at all and no blood. I am almost up to a full and regular diet. I have not yet had really high fiber food, like beans, but I plan to add that in this week. The only foods I will continue to avoid is spicy food and food with tiny seeds (raspberries, strawberries, chia or flax seeds) as they could get lodged in or aggravate the ulcer. It's a huge relief, one month out of the hospital, to be pain free. Everyday without pain is a day of healing.

We lost a good friend this week…
When I was in my late twenties and early thirties I taught special education preschool at the EEU at UW. It was a magical place and a magical time. That was where I met Mike and many other life long friends. There were 4 other women teacher friends I made during this time that remained friends throughout all these years. We all married and had kids within a few years of each other. When our families were young we camped together every summer at Mt. Rainier or Mt. St. Helens. When our kids started graduating high school and then college we had parties to celebrate them each spring. We tried to get together at least once a year. When Jim’s health and my health started to fail, we started to get together a little more frequently. We didn’t want to take our special bond for granted. We didn’t want to lose our connection. Our last gathering was an overnight this past summer at Kelley and Bill’s in Yakima.
Jim had struggled with his heart health for many reasons for years. He’s been through surgery, treatments and ups and downs. When I had heart failure and went to cardio rehab, I joined Jim, who was also in rehab. We bonded as we worked out together in rehab.
We lost Jim this past week. His heart just couldn’t come back this time. His body had fought so hard and so long and he let go with Julie and his two sons, Michael and Aaron by his side.
Last week, before we knew he was struggling, Kelley and Bill emailed that they would be over this weekend and hoped we could all get together. We had plans for most of us to meet up tonight for dinner. Little did we know, at that point in time, that we would be attending Jim’s funeral, instead. Yesterday we attended his service at their temple in NE Seattle. It was a wonderful service and tribute to Jim. Tonight there is another gathering where we will have a chance to celebrate his life and share our stories. Jim was a very intelligent man with an epic and classic love of baseball. Jim was a good guy; funny, clever, generous and kind. We will miss him so.
It does give me pause, great pause, at 60, to lose a friend like Jim. Someone Mike and I grew up with as a family. It seems too soon for this to happen. And, I am acutely aware that I could have been the first of our 10 to go. Everyone, at some level, realizes that our lives can change in an instant. It is true for any of us. We don’t think about it much or we would be paralyzed, frozen in place. Since I’ve had cancer, this feeling is closer to the surface, it bubbles up more frequently and easily than in my pre-cancer days. It’s a blessing in that I am less likely to take life and love for granted. It’s a curse in that as it bubbles up it is frequently accompanied by anxiety. It's a challenge to carry the blessing and release the anxiety.


And finally, trivia night…
If anyone has questions for me about trivia night email, text or message me somehow and I’d be happy to respond. We have great food and prizes and it should prove to be a fun evening. Hope to see some of you there! Here is the link to the evite:

http://evite.me/5JN9ZJYjKj

Happy Halloween my friends!
I hope you have many trick or treaters at your door, making you smile!
And for my little Seattle friends, we'll have lots of candy in case you are in our neighborhood Monday night!!
And please, may this election end in the only conceivable, logical way possible!!
Love and Peace
Janet