2007 Year In Review and beyond

Happy New Year, dear diary.  Yesterday, on New Year’s Eve, Kelly and I hiked to the top of the cliffs which overlook the dam and lake spillway and enjoyed the view on a beautiful blue-skied day.  The photo is titled "Contemplation".

I thought a "Year in Review" entry would be good to record some of the events of this past year.  2007 was the first entire calendar year we dealt with and lived with Kelly’s ovarian cancer.  We entered 2007 with her last CA125 score being 514.  During January, Kelly received chemo treatments on the 8th and the 29th.  January also saw our daughter Lindsey turn 25 and our son James reach his 23rd birthday.  Our Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl in February and Kelly had a CT scan on the 12th and chemo on the 19th.  Also during Feb., we helped Lindsey move her belongings from Evansville back to Jackson County.  March saw Kelly receive chemo on the 12th and our good friend Vermonter 57 turned 50!  We started gearing up for the upcoming MLB season.  April was a busy month as Kelly had chemo on the 9th and 30th, preceded by a CT scan on the 2nd.  I was in Columbus, OH from the 15th to the 19th attending company meetings.  My father turned 73 on April 1st….Palm Sunday and we celebrated the risen Christ on Easter Sunday the following week.  Kelly was the guest "preacher" at the Methodist Church on the 22nd.  Back on the 5th, we froze to death in Cincinnati with Kelly’s oncologist…Dr. J.  watching her Reds beat our Cubs.  Kelly attended the AST state convention at Methodist Hospital on the 28th.  During May, our daughter was married on the 12th.  What a special and unforgettable day that was.  Kelly received chemo therapy on May 21 and left the next day for tha National AST convention in New Orleans.  She returned on the 27th.  I purchased the "Sea Rayder"…a small 14′ jet drive boat on the 30th.  June was important.  Kelly had a CT scan on the 4th which was all clear.  No sign of any abdominal or ovarian disease.  Wow!  We celebrated with a "1 year survior" party on the 30th.  Dr. J came down and we celebrated life with her and a bunch of Kelly’s colleagues and friends.  Also in June, Kelly had chemo on the 11th.  We celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary on the 16th.  July started in a bad way, smashing our celebratory moods as a CA125 score went up on the 2nd.  Chemo was received on the 2nd and on the 23rd.  We enjoyed an Alison Krauss concert on the 14th and Kelly "spoke" at our church on the 22nd…giving her testimony as to how her faith helps her face a terminal illness.  Kelly turned 47 year young on the 27th and we again saw a Cubs/Reds game in Cincy with Dr. J and her family.  August was a good monh.  Chemo was on the 13th, then we spent the 15th-18th in downtown Chicago with Dr. J enjoying the city and a couple of Cubs victories at Wrigley Field.  WE SOLD OUR BROWNSTOWN HOUSE on th 30th!!  On a not so fun note, a CT scan on the 31st showed Kelly’s cancer was back.  September was pretty quiet, Kelly was removed from the clinical trial she was in and she went back on carboplatin chemotherapy.  Chemo was received on the 4th and 28th.  During October, I had a 1-inch long splinter removed from the bottom of my foot.  Kelly had to begin receiving rabies shots due to cat/raccoon bites.  Chemo was received on the 22nd and I had to go to Lexington, KY from the 29th thru Nov. 2nd for meetings.  Kelly went to the AST state convention the 26th and 27th.  A November CAT scan on the 5th showed good response to the chemo, thank God.  Chemo was received on the 12th.  IU beat Purdue to bring home the "Old Oaken Bucket" and earn their first bowl game in 14 yrs.  The last rabies shot was endured on the 1st.  December saw a lot of vacation time for me and chemo on the 3rd and 28th.  We celebrated the birth of Jesus on the 25th and spent time with Huhner, Hughey, and Vuke after chemo on the 28th, then had brunch at Dr. J’s house on the 29th.  I added up the numbers and they include 17 trips to Indy for chemo and 5 trips to Indy for CAT scans.  At 196 miles per trip, that adds up to 4,312 miles driven in pursuit of life!  Before I forget, we entered 2007 with Kelly’s CA125 score being 514 and we left ’07 behind with her score at a much improved 156.  Perhaps we can get it down to double digits in ’08…a little closer to that normal range of 0 to 35.

All in all, 2007 was a good year.  My hope is that 2008 is an even better year for Kelly and for you as well.