Hi Caring Bridge family,

It’s been a while since we have written so I just wanted to send an update. As far as healing goes, I am doing really well in that department. Physically, I am feeling pretty good, and my energy is becoming more normal. Two weeks ago, I dusted off my fancy chemo shirt and started infusion again. Because we are no longer concerned about the tumors in my liver, my chemo regime was lessened, which was a very welcome surprise. I am headed back to chemo tomorrow (4/24) for round 16; sheesh! I am still so grateful that I am tolerating chemo fairly well, although it does make me pretty tired, but I can handle that.

Next week, I head back to Houston for more appointments. April 30th I will complete another round of scans and bloodwork. This will give us a new baseline and we will see how my (tiny) liver is healing. May 1st, I meet with the colorectal surgeon to discussion the options of surgery. May 2nd, I meet with the liver surgeon for a follow-up appointment and then with my oncologist. Hopefully after these few days of appointments, we will have a better idea of what the next phase will look like. At the moment, colon surgery is on the calendar for June 4th but that is just a placeholder right now. Not set in stone yet.

This past Saturday, April 20th, marked my 1-year cancer-versary. Can you believe it’s already been a year and in the same breath, has it been the longest year ever?! Often it feels like a lifetime. I still cannot believe that I have cancer. You would think after a year, this news would have sunk in by now, but not fully. We have been on the most unexpected journey and again, we thank every one of you for walking through this with us. I could get emotional thinking about how awful this year has been but at the same time we have been so incredibly blessed. It’s quite the paradox of feelings but this diagnosis has given us a new outlook on life. We’re here to live, right?!

Prayer requests: continued healing, minimal side effects from chemo and wisdom for my medical team as we formulate our next steps.

Thank you again everyone and we will keep you posted as a plan comes into focus.

-Laura