Journal entry by Katie Dale —
Hello, all!
Just checking in as tomorrow Laura celebrates a HUGE milestone—her last day of treatment!!! It’s hard to imagine it was April 8, 2020 when Emily dropped her off at the curb at Emory to have a brain tumor removed. Despite the scariest of diagnoses made worse by trying to live though a global pandemic, Laura was resilient and stayed strong. Not that there weren’t bumps (and bruises and broken bones thanks to a bike wreck in August). She coined a new word “chemotional” to describe the overwhelming feelings brought on by exhaustion and general yuckiness as a result of the drugs they made her take—in increasing doses as she went through a year of one-week-per-month treatment. The good news is she did it! She’s currently “cancer free” (praise the baby Jesus!!!). During the most recent meeting with her oncologist, Laura learned they are very pleased with how treatment went and have a fairly positive feeling about her prognosis longer term than most with her diagnosis. You don’t go through this experience and ever really feel “safe” from the big C, but it’s the best news we’ve had since last spring, so we’ll gratefully take it!
I’d like to personally thank each of you who prayed for her, sent good vibes, meals, cards, Venmo and the myriad other ways you supported her (and all of us) in this process. A special thanks to our dear Anthony who not only knew something was wrong and got her to the hospital after her seizure, but also acted as a constant friend and support through chemo weeks when family or other friends could not be there.
Laura isn’t quite ready to make a post about this monumental moment, but I didn’t want to let it pass without saying thank you. Please go hug someone you love, forgive someone you don’t and practice a random act of kindness tomorrow on Laura’s behalf. One thing this experience has taught me is not to take the gift of life for granted. I plan to spend tomorrow practicing that intention.
I’m damned sure glad this chapter of her story is over, and know she looks forward to celebrating as soon as she feels up to it. XOXOXO to all of you!
Just checking in as tomorrow Laura celebrates a HUGE milestone—her last day of treatment!!! It’s hard to imagine it was April 8, 2020 when Emily dropped her off at the curb at Emory to have a brain tumor removed. Despite the scariest of diagnoses made worse by trying to live though a global pandemic, Laura was resilient and stayed strong. Not that there weren’t bumps (and bruises and broken bones thanks to a bike wreck in August). She coined a new word “chemotional” to describe the overwhelming feelings brought on by exhaustion and general yuckiness as a result of the drugs they made her take—in increasing doses as she went through a year of one-week-per-month treatment. The good news is she did it! She’s currently “cancer free” (praise the baby Jesus!!!). During the most recent meeting with her oncologist, Laura learned they are very pleased with how treatment went and have a fairly positive feeling about her prognosis longer term than most with her diagnosis. You don’t go through this experience and ever really feel “safe” from the big C, but it’s the best news we’ve had since last spring, so we’ll gratefully take it!
I’d like to personally thank each of you who prayed for her, sent good vibes, meals, cards, Venmo and the myriad other ways you supported her (and all of us) in this process. A special thanks to our dear Anthony who not only knew something was wrong and got her to the hospital after her seizure, but also acted as a constant friend and support through chemo weeks when family or other friends could not be there.
Laura isn’t quite ready to make a post about this monumental moment, but I didn’t want to let it pass without saying thank you. Please go hug someone you love, forgive someone you don’t and practice a random act of kindness tomorrow on Laura’s behalf. One thing this experience has taught me is not to take the gift of life for granted. I plan to spend tomorrow practicing that intention.
I’m damned sure glad this chapter of her story is over, and know she looks forward to celebrating as soon as she feels up to it. XOXOXO to all of you!
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Laura on a camping trip in March
Laura & Ginny in Miami in May
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