june 3rd - back at it

Kelly started chemo again on Friday - this time it’s an infusion and then a pump that she comes home with for 48 hours. In true Kelly fashion, she handled it like a badass. We went to the beach and even had a city excursion after they removed the pump on Sunday. Ferry to Brooklyn, Photoville and flea market in Dumbo - and home exhausted (both of us!)!

This is a new part of the journey… chemo for 6 months, every other week. In that time will also be radiation and dealing with bladder cancer again. Please send all your good thoughts our way, we need strength and lots of energy to get through this again!

Love you all! xo Dawn

APRIL 11th - TIME FLIES!

Thought I’d check in, don’t know if anyone comes here anymore, but for anyone stopping by - hello! Kelly is doing well, she’s moved to immunotherapy once a month. She handles it well - maybe a little fatigue, but not so bad. Her thyroid is not happy from immunotherapy, I guess this is not uncommon. Her levels are all out of whack and they are trying to get them back under control with some medication. She’s currently got a thousand follow up appointments scheduled… so it feels like a lot going on. We did get a little break over the last few months - and enjoyed some fun trips! We went to MN to see family and friends (and grandma!), and had a fun road trip to celebrate Kelly’s birthday to see our friends in VT - during a crazy snow storm.

So here we go with all the doctor’s appointments. Will keep y’all posted on results - cardiology, scans, MRI (follow up on that old aneurysm), more immunotherapy…

Love you all! xo Dawn

January 17th - happy new year!

Wow, it’s been a long time! And a perfect time for an update - Kelly is doing really well! Eating is going better (not perfect, but better) and her weight is stable (still not gaining much, but consistent). Immunotherapy is going well, right now it is still every other week. Her thyroid seems to be reacting a bit, so she will see a doctor to address it - if that’s OK, they might move to once a month (double dose).

Kelly had a blood test that looks for cancer markers, and it came back negative, which is a great sign that she is cancer free!! She will get a new scan this Friday - and we will have more info on how everything is going post chemo/radiation/esophagectomy surgery.

Since our California trip was canceled due to Kelly getting Covid (I still went, but tested positive while in CA with my family), we were super excited to go two roadtrips - one for the New Year and last weekend. It was so great to see friends and get out of town.

Love you all! xo Dawn

DECEMBER 7th - UPDATE and back to work

Hi - I wonder if anyone is still here? Hello if you are! A very quick update to say that Kelly is still working hard on this crazy journey. She is doing immunotherapy every other week and officially went back to work on Monday - it’s day 4 (after about 4.5 months out of work) and she is holding up pretty good.

She had a set back with her weight last week after needing to fast for a procedure she had done. A few days of little food led to some weight loss - the last thing she needs right now. She seems to be back on track, but gaining weight feels a bit impossible at this point. There is still some pain and discomfort, but it feels it less after the procedure - hopefully that sticks. She added pizza back into her diet - maybe that will help?

We head to CA next week to see family - our first trip in quite a while!

Love you all! xo Dawn

NOVEMBER 19th - Immunotherapy and a port

I know I keep saying this, but wow, time is going by quickly! It’s probably a good thing, at some point we will look back on all of this and it will seem like a blur. So if that last blog post was a month post-surgery, we are now about 2 months out. Kelly started immunotherapy on 11/10, called nivolumab or Opdivo. It seems like it went OK, it’s been a week and maybe there was a little fatigue and headache? The IV infusion itself is pretty quick, 30 minutes. This first appointment she had her blood drawn, then the IV, we also saw the doc, so it was a pretty long day, but I think they will be much faster in the future. It was clear that Kelly’s veins were done cooperating, so on 11/17 they put in a mediport - it’s a port, under her skin on her chest that will stay there all year. It’s an easy access point where they can draw blood and give her the immunotherapy infusion, without poking her over and over again!

Eating is still a challenge, as is gaining weight. But it was a big surgery and I think it’s normal to have a few more months of healing and getting this right. She will be seeing 3 docs this week to make sure all is on track.

Also - we bought tickets to go see my family in CA in December! It’s on an in between week (the week off of immunotherapy) - and we are very excited. If that goes well, we will go see Kelly’s family as soon as we can.

Love you all! xo Dawn

OCTOBER 21ST - FOLLOW UP AND NEXT STEPS

Wow time goes by fast. It’s been a month since Kelly’s surgery! She is feeling a little better every day… more energy and more new foods. But it’s still a lot to process! Every meal is a bit of an experiment, but she keeps at it. Her body is healing from so many incisions (13!) and she is still trying to gain weight back. She isn’t working yet and we’re not sure when she will be going back, maybe the end of November if this next treatment starts smoothly.

Speaking of her next treatment - yesterday we went to NYU for Kelly’s a follow up with her chemo doctor, Dr. Chuy. It was a good appointment, she listened to our questions and explained next steps. Kelly will start immunotherapy on November 10th. It will be every 2 weeks for 3 months, then hopefully only once a month for the next 9 months - a full year. A little about immunotherapy - it boosts the immune system and helps the body find and destroy cancer cells. Giving immunotherapy after radiation and chemotherapy increases the chances of long-term survival.

Now we are wondering about travel during the holidays and hoping to see family and friends… will keep you posted! Come back here for more info around November 10th and reach out if you want to catch up with us!

Love you all! xo Dawn

October 7TH - At home

What a week! Kelly got out of the hospital on Saturday September 30th. We woke up and they took her chest tube out - that had been a main source of discomfort. We stayed at the hospital for a few more hours to make sure all was OK, then they sent her home. Leslie and Jamey showed up with presents and drove us back to the house, where Jean and Nuzio were waiting for us with Get Well balloons (they are our landlords who live downstairs). It took some time to settle in and get comfortable, but Kelly made it through the night propped up on some pillows in our bed. We were so happy to get home to our kitty, Harper - but he loves to sleep on Kelly’s chest at night, so we had to figure out a strategy to keep him off. Nancy and Tabby got her a cute, healing teddy bear (Gus Philbin), we placed him on her chest and that worked!

Sunday, Kelly’s sister Amy came to stay for the week (She left yesterday). It was so wonderful to have her here. Kelly was getting in little walks right away and we watched football too (the Vikings won!). Kelly and Amy got to hang out all week - watching more home renovation shows, walking, and coloring. We all went to a follow up with Dr. Bizekis on Wednesday - he took her last tube out and said that she was on track. We went out for lunch after to Veselka - Kelly helped me with vegetarian borscht!

Kelly’s healing is moving along… it’s a lot to figure out, but we will keep hacking away at it. She was on liquids for 3 days, then full liquids, now some soft food. It is going to take some time to figure this new GI system out. She is still very thin, so food is the priority. She is tired (and we probably wore her out while Amy was here) and she has a cough - but overall it seems like each day there is a little progress.

Sorry for such a long delay - I had to go back to work and this is all so much to take in. Text me if you ever want to know what’s going on, I’ll get back to you!

PS - I had tickets to Nick Cave at Kings Theater last night and we went! I think she’s exhausted today, but it was fun to get out of the house and hear his amazing voice.

Love you all! xo Dawn

September 29TH - still in the hospital, day 8!

Today they let Kelly try clear liquids! It’s the first “food” she has had this whole week (they did give her electrolytes and protein through an IV). Swallowing was a little uncomfortable, but that seems to be expected given what her body has gone through. Our day today looked like this:

• Redo an IV that “blew” (Kelly’s veins are fighting back at this point!)

• Nap/watch endless renovations shows

• 5 laps around the 14th floor

• Sip on water/jello/tea

• Nap/watch endless renovations shows

• More liquids (with some not yummy broth)

• 7 more laps around the 14th floor!

Dr. Bizekis’ team just stopped by! Looks like they agree the liquids are going down OK. This means they will take out the IV with nutrients now (that one is painful) and tomorrow morning, take out the chest tube (it’s connected to a drain box that we have been lugging around with us on our walks!).

There is a light at the end of the tunnel! We will go home tomorrow. Kelly’s sister, Amy, will be here on Sunday (until Friday - so thankful for her visit!). And the Vikings play on Sunday, maybe they will win as a special treat for Kelly?

Love you all! xo Dawn

September 25TH - 3RD DAY POST SURGERY

A quick update on a rainy Monday from the 14th floor of the Kimmel Pavilion (by the way, we have the most amazing view of NYC with the Empire State Building right in the middle). Kelly continues to make good progress, the docs are happy with how everything is moving along. There are definitely ups and downs (mostly around pain) and sleepless nights (some sleep, but interrupted constantly for new meds, blood work, docs checking in, x-rays, getting her up with a million tubes/IVs to scoot to the bathroom, etc.).

Today they took her for an esophagram (a test that checks for leaks in the new connection of her stomach/esophagus) and they found a small leak. They said there is no need for intervention, so for now, we keep doing what we are doing for another day before they test again. When there is no leak, they will try clear liquids and when they are tolerated, they will be removing this terribly annoying and painful chest tube. And home after that!

Love you all! xo Dawn

September 23rd - SURGERY COMPLETE & ONE NIGHT DOWN

Surgery is done - Dr. Bizekis says all went well! They took her yesterday morning at 11:30am and called me at 4pm to say it was done. It was a painful wait with Leslie - we cried so many tears of joy when we knew she was ok and we could see her soon. Last night was rough - lots of pain, not enough pain medication, then maybe too much… but she got a little sleep. And she is sleeping now. There were 2 doctors involved in the surgery, both sent their teams already this morning to check on her and report back. Her morning nurse got her out of bed and into a chair (where she is currently sleeping) and the PT person stopped by to introduce herself and is coming back later to get her moving.

On another note - today is the 4 year anniversary of Kelly’s ruptured brain aneurysm. WTF. My thoughts about this are that everything strange is now officially out of her body and she is on an amazing path to the best health and best life ahead of her. With me, her beautiful family, and all her amazing friends.

There is a lot of hard work for Kelly now - but she is so strong and determined! Please continue to send your amazing love her way.

Love you all! xo Dawn

SEPTEMBER 16th - GETTING READY FOR SURGERY

Hi y’all! Esophagectomy surgery is this Friday at Kimmel Pavilion, NYU Langone in the city. We will be in the hospital for 4-6 days, then home to recover. Kelly is feeling good and gaining weight - and she looks great (here is a picture to prove it!).

Please check back here for updates or text me if you want. I’m going to stay in the hospital with her, supposedly we have a private room and even a proper place for me to sleep and shower!

Send good vibes, healing thoughts, prayers, love, all of it our way!! Cannot wait for this to be over so that we can focus on healing and seeing all of you soon.

Love you all! xo Dawn

August 30th - SURGERY SCHEDULED

Kelly’s surgery is scheduled for 9/22/23. We’ve got 3 weeks to build her up - get her to gain weight and muscle. The surgery is so much scarier than we thought - more on that later. But if anyone is brave enough to look, it’s called an esophagectomy.

Between now and September 22nd there will be lots of doctor’s appointments to get her ready for surgery and hopefully some fun too! Maybe we can meet up in the backyard or outside somewhere? Is anyone still reading this? If you are, text me to say hello and keep me going! 917-754-1012.

And just so you all know that Kelly is doing well - feisty as ever - she started with esophagus puns the second we left the doctor’s office… “This is going to take a while to digest.”

Love you all! xo Dawn

August 25th - GOOD NEWS

Quick update and more to come on the 30th. Kelly had her PET scan Monday and we saw her radiation doctor, Dr. Shaikh. She was very happy with Kelly’s response to treatment. Everything shrunk a substantial amount! It sounds like surgery is a go. Seeing Dr. Bizekis, the surgeon, on Wednesday… we might know when surgery will be scheduled. Next week is also the genetics follow up and the chemo doc and blood work - feels like the next steps are coming together. Kelly is also feeling good - more energy, more eating. Her sister Amy is visiting this week from Minnesota, so great to see her!

Love you all! xo Dawn

August 19th - WAITING!

Sorry for the long delay! Kelly continues to feel better, it’s so wonderful to see her eat more and have more energy. I had this last week off and we made it to the beach twice and we explored Staten Island (the Ship Graveyard!) and the Coney Island Aquarium. Otherwise we are waiting for the next appointments - Monday is the PET scan and appointment with the radiation oncologist. Then in the next 2 weeks are more - the genetics results, surgeon, blood work, chemo doctor - and thrown in there is also a trip to her bladder cancer doctor to follow up on that. So more news soon.

Love you all! xo Dawn

August 5th - QUICK update

Kelly is feeling better and better! More energy and slowly she is able to drink more water and eat a little more real food (an egg salad sandwich minus the crust happened yesterday!). I am feeling hopeful and so excited to see her feeling more herself. My brother, Robert, is here for a couple days and we might even take a drive around Brooklyn today to practice for our trip to the Hamptons on Sunday and Monday to sit by a pool and celebrate my birthday and rest.

Love you all! xo Dawn

july 29th - update and next steps

Another quick update! It’s been 11 days since the end of treatment. They've been hard days, but yesterday she perked up a bit. We went into the city for IV fluids at noon until about 3pm. When we got home we worked on a puzzle and she ate a piece of toast with peanut butter, it was a good day!

I looked at her appointments in the NYU app this morning and see her PET scan is scheduled for August 21st. From there we will find out how things are going and when her surgery will be scheduled. This is all moving along, but that scan is sooner than I thought. I guess it’s good to keep this moving along, the sooner the surgery, the sooner we can move forward!

More blood work this coming Tuesday!

Love you all! xo Dawn

july 24th - Heading towards healing

A quick update. It’s been 5 days since the end of treatment - that’s the good news. But the doctors said things could get worse before they get better, and that’s where we are now. Kelly has been sleeping endlessly - which is great, I’m sure it’s just what her body needs. When she isn’t sleeping, we’ve been bingeing on Ghosts and The Righteous Gemstones. She’s having a tough time getting liquids down, even water and Ensure, so we are getting some stronger pain medication today. She has blood work, fluids, and a check-in with the Medical Oncologist tomorrow - to make sure she is on track. This is not fun, but I don’t think that the medical team will be surprised by any of it… it seems like Kelly is right on track from what they shared with us. Now to get through another day…

Love you all! xo Dawn

july 18th - Last day of chemo & radiation!

We are here now, it’s 5pm - chemo bag #1 is done and we are waiting for bag #2 to finish so that we can go to radiation at 6:15pm and be done with EVERYTHING (for now)! It’s unreal that this is week #6 of Kelly’s treatment, it went by so fast - I barely remember any of it. Even Kelly says it’s a blur for her. The next 2 weeks are still going to be a challenge for eating… Kelly is at her lowest weight right now and it’s important keep steady. She’s using medicine to get food down (and by food, I mostly mean liquid at this point), there’s a pain med and a numbing med - it’s not fun. BUT it’s 2 more weeks and she is inspired to get through it.

Talking to Dr. Chuy (medical oncologist) this morning, it sounds like next steps are the PET scan in about a month (we have heard 4-8 weeks), then meeting with the surgeon. Until then… Kelly needs to rest and get through the next few weeks, focusing on nutrition/weight. Hopefully she feels better for at least a few weeks before the next steps so that we can enjoy the summer a little - maybe get to the beach and see some of you!

I’ll still update here once a week, hopefully nothing too exciting, but timing and what is next.

Thanks for all the love today!

Love you all! xo Dawn

july 11th - Chemo #5 of 6 & Last day of treatment 7/18!

It’s Tuesday, a big day around here, chemo AND radiation. Margie went to Perlmutter Center with Kelly today to get her situated (thank you, Margie! BTW Leslie came in with Kelly last week - thank you, Leslie). I left work a little early and got to chemo just in time to watch Kelly get a neck and shoulder massage (how nice!). I also brought her some weird looking overnight oats that she ate a few bites of before she didn’t want them anymore (I finished them). 

We found out today that Kelly’s full treatment is over on 7/18 (not 7/21 like we thought) - that’s next Tuesday! That means one more chemo and 5 more radiation treatments total. Chemo next week is dependent on her blood work results that are taken next Tuesday morning, so let’s hope it’s all OK.

The doctors told us that Kelly’s gonna feel worse this week and next and that the bad symptoms might last for another 2-3 weeks after treatment is over. But that means she might start feeling better around the 1st of August (just in time for my birthday!). Then we wait for the follow up PET scan to let us know how well treatment worked and what next steps will be (probably surgery). They won’t schedule the PET scan for 6-8 weeks to give time for the inflammation to go down, that feels like a really long time to have to wait! 

Most importantly, another chemo and radiation day is behind us! Go Kelly!! 

Love you all! xo Dawn

july 7th - Last day of week #4

I hope this journal is getting to some people now! It’s Friday and the last day of radiation for Week #4. We were warned that these last 3 weeks might get harder and it seems true. Kelly is tired, but still headed to work this morning. The chemo (or maybe it’s the radiation?) is wreaking havoc on her ability and desire to eat… that seems like it’s going to be the hardest part of these last 2 weeks. Please send good eating vibes her way. If anyone knows of tasty, soft foods that are easy to eat, please let me know!

Love you all! xo Dawn

july 3rd - chemo #4 (of 6) & radiation day

Kelly's treatment plan is chemo 1 day a week (usually Tuesdays - except this week with the 4th of July) and radiation 5 days a week (after work), a total of 6 weeks. So today is a big deal - #4 chemo is done and the 4th week of radiation has started. For those who don't know, Kelly is being treated at NYU Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center in Manhattan. They have been amazing and we both feel very taken care of by the team there. If all goes as planned, this treatment will last 6 weeks, then she will have about a month off before surgery. 

Overall she is feeling good. She goes to work M, W, Th, F and does radiation after work those days (Tuesdays are chemo and radiation). The evenings she is tired (who wouldn't be!) - she takes the subway to treatment and back home. Chemo days we have been driving in (valet parking!) or taking the subway. Today she ate a bagel and watermelon during treatment... then they gave her Benadryl and she fell asleep for a good portion of the drip that takes about 2-3 hours. When chemo was done, we walked 4 blocks to radiation. Radiation takes about 20 minutes and then we head home - back in Brooklyn around 7:30 pm. 

So this is what we have been up to. There are ups and downs - it's challenging to eat, she is working hard to keep her weight stable, and she is fatigued in a way that she doesn't understand (anyone who knows Kelly, knows that she has always has endless amounts of energy!). But it's temporary and she has an amazing attitude about it all. 

Right now we don't need anything but all of your love and good healing energy coming our way. If you have any questions or want to reach out to me or Kelly, please do (but don't expect a prompt reply)! 

Love you all! xo Dawn