Strong. Fighting. Surviving.

Hi folks. Lucky here again.

I need to start by saying that Kate doesn’t want to use this blog as a place to provide updates on her health. However, so many of you have been asking how she’s doing, and the last couple of weeks have been particularly eventful, so Kate asked me to take a minute to let everyone know what’s been going on.

As I write this, she’s just been discharged from the hospital. A couple of weeks ago, she noticed a new ache in her side. At first, she was able to write it off to a busy weekend in which she went kayaking, jetskiing, and Zorbing. Zorbing, by the way, is the practice of climbing inside a large plastic ball and being rolled down a long hill. It’s as fun as it is crazy, from what Kate tells me, and if you ever find yourself in the Great Smoky Mountains or the North Island of New Zealand, you should give it a whirl.

Anyways, the ache never really got better and last Monday, Kate ended up in the emergency room because of the pain. She was admitted, and since then has been undergoing some tests to try to figure out what’s causing it. As it turns out, there’s something on her liver that’s pressing on her biliary duct. Kate and her oncologist are ready to attack the problem, and she has an appointment with him on Monday to talk about localized radiation treatment intended to have the effect of taking the pressure off; they’ll also talk about a new chemotherapy. In the meanwhile, she’s also had blood and platelet transfusions to help bring her numbers back up so that she can go home strong and ready for next week.

Kate’s been in good hands at the hospital. She’s thankful for everyone who’s been coming by to visit. Tim’s been with her all week, and she’s been receiving phone calls and emails and lots of well wishes, for which she’s very grateful.

How is she?

Without a doubt, she’s frustrated, tired, bored, nervous, and happy be back at home with Tim and the animals. She’s glad to get out of the bed with rubber pillows that seems to have a mind of its own, occasionally rearranging its position just to make sure she never falls too deeply asleep. She’s thrilled to be untethered from the IV tree and the blood pressure cuff. She’s ready for a Sunday morning in a kayak on the lake, followed by some delicious blueberry pancakes.

And she’s definitely all caught up on recent video releases.

And for all of that, she’s doing okay. Strong. Fighting. Surviving.

And ready to eat something other than jello.