Hi Friends! Well, it's been a minute since my last update, huh? Sorry about that, but it seems like life just keeps moving at a million miles an hour, and when it's not, well I just kinda want to sit on my butt and turn my brain off... I think that's what they call "being an adult". 

I think most of you are pretty caught up on our current situation by now thanks to social media, but I'm gonna recap it all anyway! My last update was right after Radiation had ended and we were hopeful that Jared would start to gain back some energy over the next 1-2 weeks. Unfortunately, we were wrong about that. As each week came and went, if anything his exhaustion just kept getting worse. He struggled every minute of every day to just keep his eyes open and keep going. He puts on a good front, but those that know him best could see that extreme fatigue coming out of every pore. The poor man had been through so much, we all just wanted him to have a few good weeks before his next round of surgeries started, but it wasn't to be. 

Jared rode that debilitating wave of tiredness right into his next surgery on February 9th. His amazing surgeon re-opened the original surgery site from the first tumor and removed a sizable amount of the surrounding tissue and muscle. Before they could close the new opening up, a pathology needed to be completed on the removed tissue, so they used something called a wound vac to keep the surgical site clean and dry, while still being "open". It was NOT a fun week for Jared being hooked up to a machine the whole time. Sleeping and showering weren't easy, and it also made suction noises that, to the amusement of the boys and myself, sounded like farting noises that would break the silence every now and then. 

But the pathology came back with negative margins (that's a good thing) and Jared was able to go back a week later for another quick surgery to remove both his port and the wound vac, as well as stitch up the massive surgical site. He still had a "drain" that was inserted into the wound for a good week or so, but eventually that came out, too. 

At that point in the process he was officially declared as No Evidence of Disease (NED). We wanted so badly to celebrate, but just weren't quite feeling it yet, since he was still healing from surgeries and uncomfortable. And I'm glad we didn't, because just a few days later we had the rug ripped out from under us once again when Jared's dad, Denny, passed away. While it wasn't unexpected, it was a punch in the gut to us, regardless. If you didn't know Denny, just imagine an older, more ornery version of Jared, and that was him. All of Jared's charisma and sass comes from his father, while his mother, Kay, was the one who softened all those edges, giving him his sweet and caring side. The two of them will be loved, cherished and remembered every day by so many people.

So, how do I wrap this all up? It's a good question and one I've been too shell-shocked to process until now. As Jared's journey wraps up and masks around the world are coming off, it seems like a good time to just slow down, take a deep breath and enjoy life. In all of the time that Jared and I have been together, we have been through a LOT of life's ebbs and flows. I am eternally grateful to him to be my partner and constant companion in our wonky little life boat. Cheers to some calmer waters ahead, my love!