Florida R&R!

It's been a wonderful and relaxing week for Ginny-Mom in Florida!

Highlights have included celebrating their 37th wedding anniversary with Pete & JoAnne Shirk at home on Tidy Island. They also went to the beach on nearby Anna Maria for sunset with Tom & me and we had a fun adventure aboard Tom's boat visiting some of Sarasota's beautiful destinations! As you can see in these photos, we stopped for lunch at The Old Salty Dog, home of the famous beer-battered deep fried hotdog! If you don't believe us, watch The Travel Channel's "Man vs. Food" Sarasota episode on Saturday night (9/18/09 at 8:30 PM Eastern) where the host of the show visits The Old Salty Dog for this delectable treat. Wanting in on the action, we boated to the 'Dog, and Tom and Dad requested the now-famous version of the deep fried hotdog with cheese, mushrooms, bacon and sauerkraut. Mom stuck to the original version and she loved it!

Then we cruised around Sarasota Bay and enjoyed a breezy, beautiful, sunny day. Dad and Tom had fun rafting in the water before we stopped at another one of our favorite places: Mar Vista. This too is one of those old seaside Sarasota establishments, and when we were there last time with Mom & Dad on New Year's Day, Mom and I each decorated a dollar bill and hung it on the wall. As you can see, they are still hanging! After enjoying some grouper, oysters, and other delicious items we headed home in the dark and got to appreciate the peaceful waters and beautiful bright stars.

Aside from a few small adventures and several games of Scrabble, it's been an extremely restful getaway with much needed relaxation and heavy emphasis on healing. Florida sure is great for much needed R&R!

We're heading home to Pittsburgh on Sunday before Ginny-Mom's next chemo treatment on Tuesday, September 22nd. Please be thinking of her and sending lots of good energy her way! Mom is doing a FANTASTIC job and we really thank you for all of your prayers. Please keep it up!!

Our Love to All!!!!!

-Carrie

A note from Ginny!

Hi Everyone, It's Ginny!

I want to thank you all so much for your prayers. I really do feel like I'm on the road to healing! 

 

On Tuesday I went in for my second chemo treatment, it's been 5 days and I am feeling quite well, just a little tired. But my appetite is good and I'm resting a lot. Dick has been by my side at every appointment and of course for the treatments. He's been a fantastic support! When we were in Shadyside at the hospital on Tuesday we actually met a few wonderful people who were also getting treatment and really enjoyed talking to them. 

My daughters have been here practically around the clock. They love to cook, work around the house and make me laugh. We had baby James here for 3 weeks and he has taken to calling me "Ghee-Ghee"--sounding very French! PJ and Tom have been here a few times too and we really enjoy having their personalities around, Dick especially! Tom made bacon the other day and normally that would smell really delicious but this week smells are really bothering me, I'm so sensitive now but that should go away in a few days.  Carrie's extensive collection of sanitizing products can be a little much, even if you're not undergoing chemotherapy, but it is a sterile environment here and I appreciate not being around any germs. My white blood cell count is getting low, which means no raw produce unfortunately, but they have been cooking everything fully and we're enjoying the delicious summer flavors nonetheless. Keeping weight on is really important of course so that I can keep getting the higher doses of chemo!

Courtney, John, Kristin, PJ & James will be here in a few weeks and I look forward to their visit. I will get to spend extra time with all of them too which is great!

If I'm feeling up to it, Dick and I are thinking about going to Florida next week for our anniversary! Even though the weather has been beautiful here, it would be nice to have a change of scenery and relax in Florida for a few days before my third dose of chemo on September 22nd. I will of course wear a mask on the plane and will get on early with the special needs passengers.  Carrie wants me to wear rubber gloves onboard and is wondering how we will get enough ounces of Purell hand sanitizer through security!

I cannot thank you enough for your prayers. I feel strength from you all of the time and I really appreciate it so much, please keep it up!!! God bless you all and keep you happy, healthy and safe. 

 

Happy Labor Day weekend,

 

Love and Prayers,

 

Ginny

Laughter is the best medicine!

Well, it’s been a little over a week since Ginny-Mom started chemo and it is truly remarkable how well she is handling it. Other than being a little more tired and nauseous than usual, she isn’t having too many side effects. At one point, I was helping her tidy up a bit, I turned around to find her standing on an ottoman dusting the top of a cabinet. When I asked what she was doing, she said, “I feel fine, and it’s dusty up here!” It’s nice to see that some things haven’t changed. (I’m talking about her attitude, not the dust.)

James continues to be a pleasant diversion from all that is going on and even he is doing his share to help with daily chores. You can see how he follows Pop around everywhere! Part of my morning routine now includes keeping him distracted so he doesn’t tear down the hall, barge into their room, and wake them up too early in the morning. He loves G.G. and Pop and all the love and attention they give him. Since James spends most of the day in the spotlight, we've all been trying to teach him new and interesting material. His latest comedic bit includes starting the wave at the dinner table and saying "duuude." (Thank you Aunt Carrie for teaching him fun words!)

I went with my mom and dad to the Hillman Cancer Center for an appointment with her chemotherapy oncologist. They have been telling me how wonderful the facility is and how I have to see it. Wonderful is a huge understatement! We walked into a sun-filled lobby with a violinist playing tranquil music that echoed throughout the entire lobby. Every receptionist, nurse, and doctor we met was friendly, warm, and hopeful. We met with the physician’s assistant and mom’s oncologist. We asked questions and we got answers. It was such a relief for me to see so many people taking such great care of her body and working to help her live. They care about her quality of life and their goal is remission. They said the people who have the most success with this type of cancer and treatment are typically women who are non-smokers because they are usually healthier. The good news for us is that mom fits perfectly into that category.

Although each day is physically and emotionally exhausting, mom continues to draw so much strength from everyone around her. She had a very special visit last weekend when several of her closest friends came over to share their love and support. It was delightful for mom to have her home filled with so much positive energy and laughter! I just keep thinking that every time she smiles another cancer cell dies.

Thank you for all of your prayers and please keep on praying!

Love to you all,
Kristin

And so the journey continues….

With a week of radiation complete, our focus has turned to the start of chemo. Lately, I find it difficult choosing the right words to describe all that is happening. For now, all I can think of is admiration. I admire my Mom’s courage and excitement to get her treatment going. Tuesday morning she rushed around the house getting herself all “fixed up” and prepared to start killing her cancer. I could see strength and energy building within her to attack and conquer. After 6+ hours, she returned home feeling, in her words, “great!” 

So far, everything is going well. We’ve been taking James for walks everyday. We did a little shopping at Target and Macy’s. We have some good laughs each day and of course we all enjoy naptime! Ginny-Mom has also been enjoying a Mad Men marathon. For those of you who know the show, she has decided that “Don Draper is trash!!!” 

Our adventure today, led us to the hair salon where my Mom got a darling Pixie cut.  We tried to take a picture to show everyone, but none of them met approval status. We’ll keep working on it. In the meantime, you’ll have to take my word for it, the new hairdo really brings out her stunning eyes and accentuates her bone structure perfectly! 

Everyday, at some point, Ginny-Mom talks about how wonderful it is that so many people, throughout the country and even some overseas, are thinking about her and praying for her. She feels your energy and takes great comfort in your support. Thank you to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, heartfelt notes, encouragement. Please continue to pray for my mother. 

Love to you all, 

Kristin

Treatment Begins!

Thank you to all of our family and friends for sharing your caring thoughts, prayers, and warm wishes! We are so fortunate to have such an amazing support system, and we know that Ginny-Mom truly appreciates it! The purpose of this blog is to keep all of you well-informed on Ginny-Mom's progress, in addition to creating a venue for her to reach out and say hello to her fans from time to time! This blog will also provide a unique opportunity too for her family and friends to send words of encouragement and love, which we will share with her on a daily basis. We are so excited to have Ginny-Mom's blog up and running and believe that creating this dialogue will truly make a huge difference in her recovery. The doctors said it best when they told us to leave all of the worrying to them and that our job is to keep Ginny-Mom's spirits as high as can be! Being that Ginny-Mom is such a happy and terrific person, we accept this as a chance to love her and take care of her as she has done for us so well through the years!

As many of you know, Ginny-Mom was recently diagnosed with non-small cell adenocarcinoma in the lining of her left lung and it has spread to a few small areas within the left side of her chest cavity. This whole process has been more overwhelming and shocking than any of us could have ever imagined, and to say it's a rollercoaster is an understatement!  But we have had some miracles along the way already, including the discovery of Ginny-Mom's disease in the firstplace as well as the discovery of all the places it has not spread! We are fortunate to have an amazing team on board at Shadyside's Hillman Cancer Center and a treatment strategy ready for takeoff, with chemotherapy starting today which she will receive once a week every three weeks. 

We know this might be challenging at times and we are counting on our Faith and love to see us through every step of the way. We are very blessed to have so many great friends and family! We love you, we thank you, and we will be in touch again very soon!  -- Carrie