Believe it or not, it has been over a year since we started this adventure together.  We thought a quick recap of Kim’s voyage through the past 16 months would be appropriate for this update.

In February of 2021, shortness of breath and fluid on the lungs sent Kim to the hospital and started a cascade of events that led to a diagnosis of stage 4 ovarian cancer.  

On March 31st 2021, she had debulking surgery to rid her body of as much cancer as possible. After recovering from that major surgery, she started chemotherapy, in April 2021.

In all, there were 19 chemo sessions, starting April 2021 and culminating on May 31st, 2022.  The first 5 of these sessions were a very powerful combination of drugs designed to kill any remaining cancer cells that were not removed by surgery.  These toxic agents, while good for fighting cancer, also caused a great deal of discomfort and numerous side effects.  After those initial intense 5 sessions, Kim moved to the maintenance regimen of the chemotherapy, which include a single drug designed to keep the cancer from coming back.  Each chemo session she endured was 3 weeks apart and recently ended with the last infusion of a maintenance drug on Tuesday, May 31st, 2022. This was a bellwether event!  The end of chemo was celebrated appropriately with a visit from Kim’s family, including her sons Eric, Curtis and Joel, as well as her grandsons Jeremiah and Ollie.  Of course, her Parker family, Elizabeth, Jake, Max, Lincoln and Silas were also there, as they have been all along, to celebrate the momentous occasion.  Obviously, we all celebrated with a trip to In-N-Out, as well as a few days of fellowship together.

So, what is next on this journey for Kim?  There are great expectations for recovery and that the dizziness, tiredness, chemo brain and joint pain will gradually subside as all these cancer fighting agents do their job and move on from her body.  We are told that this process often takes a year or so.  Kim’s cancer markers continue to stay very, very low and so we know that it has been defeated in its current form.  We will continue to monitor those markers every 3 months, while staying watchful for any signs of additional symptoms.  We have had very caring professional support structure; we are confident in this plan moving forward.  The caregivers at Kaiser have been phenomenal…empathetic and very knowledgeable.

A serious illness like this causes a great deal of reflection and Kim decided early on to take things one day at a time, putting the outcome in God’s hands, while being grateful for the wonderful response from her kids, her grandkids and the many friends that managed to find numerous ways to support her.  She is deeply moved and thankful for the prayers, the encouraging notes, the homemade desserts and meals, the verses in the mailbox, the visits, the phone calls, the Bible Studies, and the many friends, community and family that made all that happen.  Both Kim and Gordon feel very loved and blessed by their community, so thank you SO much!