Okay Everyone, BIG NEWS! I decided to go ahead and do it! I've created a team in honor of Kim for the upcoming Relay for Life through the American Cancer Society in our area.
It was a little late to be doing so. I was just planning on joining the committee team myself and running with them, but I've been thinking lately that I need to give all of you the opportunity to show up, and celebrate OUR victory together! (Don't worry, party plans are still in the making, but how could we pass this up as well?)
The event takes place April 23-24, from 5pm to 5am, at the Nelson Field House on USU Campus. There will be games, live entertainment, food, friends, family and more! It is open to the public, and t-shirts are available (though I think these need to be pre-ordered, and we might be a bit late for that. No promises.)
The night will start out with a special Survivors Lap. I have already registered Kim for this. If any of you know of other survivors who would like to participate, please let them know. I know it is going to be a very special thing.
The purpose of the whole event is to celebrate life, raise awareness and generate donations for the American Cancer Society... by keeping a runner (walker, jogger, etc) on the track throughout the whole 12 hour event. I am hoping to raise $200 as a team (though the website, if you follow the upcoming link, does say $1000, I’m setting my sights a little lower.) If any of you can make a donation, it is very easy to do so through the website, through our team name:
KEEP RUNNING KIM
:) I thought you would like that. I considered calling it, "Kim Kept Running" or some such thing, but she still has a long way to go- the race isn't over yet!
Please pass this information along. I will gladly welcome as many team members as I can find. I don't know if I can make it the whole 12 hours on my own- once again, I need your help!
Here is the link:
relayforlife.org/utahstateuniversityut
Thank you all so much!
Love, Emily
The Story of our Beloved Kim (May 30, 1991 - March 31, 2011) and Her Battle with AML Leukemia
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Today's Update
Kim got results back from blood tests taken today (by Carol!) Her ANC is now at 600. Yay! She can start cutting back on antibiotics and can start thinking about getting out! However, her red blood cells and platelets are still low, so she is going up to Logan Regional for a transfusion in the morning. She will have another check up at PCMC on Monday.
She is still having some problems with cutting back on medication without freaking her body out. Fortunately today we figured out that one of her anti-nausea medications also works as an anti-anxiety. This manages to keep her calm, and she doesn't feel so sick. (Actually, it goes so far as to make her a little loopy! We've been having to keep an eye on her- she already stood up too fast once, and ran into the wall, and fell off of the couch, and hit her head on a table!)
I have one more piece of big news, which I am going to devote a whole new post to, so... here we go!
She is still having some problems with cutting back on medication without freaking her body out. Fortunately today we figured out that one of her anti-nausea medications also works as an anti-anxiety. This manages to keep her calm, and she doesn't feel so sick. (Actually, it goes so far as to make her a little loopy! We've been having to keep an eye on her- she already stood up too fast once, and ran into the wall, and fell off of the couch, and hit her head on a table!)
I have one more piece of big news, which I am going to devote a whole new post to, so... here we go!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Update
Dear Friends, thank you all for caring about Kim even as she is through the worst of it all! (Finally!)
Having Kim at home is so wonderful. It is interesting, though, to see her as she is now. She still has a lot of recovering to do, and is taking so, so much longer than she ever used to before. It's like this whole experience truly has taken her right to the brink of what her body could physically handle.
Her ANC is still just at 300. She isn't allowed to "leave the house" (go places, anyway- going outside is fine as long as it isn't Snowing!) until her ANC is at 500. She went to Logan regional hospital on Thursday to have a transfusion of platelets, as she has been very low. She is still very weak. On one of the two walks she's been on outside, she pulled a muscle in her leg and had to spend the rest of the day laying down. And, as you know, this is still just killing Kim- she wants to be out there working out and building her body back up again. It's hard for her to still be having to do so just by resting.
She went back to PCMC on Monday for a check-up. Aside from being slow, they think things are going well.
The biggest problem she is facing right now is in regards to medication. She has been on so many, that her body has become dependent on them. It's been very difficult trying to figure out the best way to get her off of them completely, even for her doctors. Today has been very difficult for her. And it is very frustrating, when she wants so badly to just throw everything out the window, to still have to be taking medicine, just because her body is used to it, and not necessarily because she needs it.
But, overall, things are amazingly better. I will try to get some pictures on soon- I know how much all of you care about her. Thank you!
Love, Emily
Having Kim at home is so wonderful. It is interesting, though, to see her as she is now. She still has a lot of recovering to do, and is taking so, so much longer than she ever used to before. It's like this whole experience truly has taken her right to the brink of what her body could physically handle.
Her ANC is still just at 300. She isn't allowed to "leave the house" (go places, anyway- going outside is fine as long as it isn't Snowing!) until her ANC is at 500. She went to Logan regional hospital on Thursday to have a transfusion of platelets, as she has been very low. She is still very weak. On one of the two walks she's been on outside, she pulled a muscle in her leg and had to spend the rest of the day laying down. And, as you know, this is still just killing Kim- she wants to be out there working out and building her body back up again. It's hard for her to still be having to do so just by resting.
She went back to PCMC on Monday for a check-up. Aside from being slow, they think things are going well.
The biggest problem she is facing right now is in regards to medication. She has been on so many, that her body has become dependent on them. It's been very difficult trying to figure out the best way to get her off of them completely, even for her doctors. Today has been very difficult for her. And it is very frustrating, when she wants so badly to just throw everything out the window, to still have to be taking medicine, just because her body is used to it, and not necessarily because she needs it.
But, overall, things are amazingly better. I will try to get some pictures on soon- I know how much all of you care about her. Thank you!
Love, Emily
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
KIM IS HOME!
Hey Everyone! Yesterday was a wonderful day: Kim was able to come home! Her blood counts were looking good enough to the doctors, so they decided she'd be alright to finish her recovery at home! She's already doing so much better now that her blood is 'beefing up'. Her bed sore and ankle wound are making leaps and bounds in their recovery, and she has more energy every day.
She's still on quite a few medications, including those through her central IV line. She won't be able to have that removed until after she goes in for her bone marrow test in a few weeks (once her blood counts are high enough.) As soon as they've double checked that her leukemia is still not coming back (which the doctors are sure it won't, just because she's done such a great job of beating it back up to this point) they'll remove the lines, and she'll be a free woman!
Until then, it's still the same old routine of being careful about germs, avoiding crowds and sick people, etc... but it's all so much better now that we've finally come to the end of it all.
I expect that we'll wait until we have the final bone marrow test results, and Kim is allowed a little more social freedom... and then you should all be expecting some wonderful party invitations!
Thank you all for everything! We did this together.
Love, Emily
She's still on quite a few medications, including those through her central IV line. She won't be able to have that removed until after she goes in for her bone marrow test in a few weeks (once her blood counts are high enough.) As soon as they've double checked that her leukemia is still not coming back (which the doctors are sure it won't, just because she's done such a great job of beating it back up to this point) they'll remove the lines, and she'll be a free woman!
Until then, it's still the same old routine of being careful about germs, avoiding crowds and sick people, etc... but it's all so much better now that we've finally come to the end of it all.
I expect that we'll wait until we have the final bone marrow test results, and Kim is allowed a little more social freedom... and then you should all be expecting some wonderful party invitations!
Thank you all for everything! We did this together.
Love, Emily
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