Karyn Progress Update

Dear Friends,

I wanted to give you all an update on Karyn's progress.

Today marks the end of the sixth week of the radiation treatments.
However, due to a few monday holidays (and one missed appointment),
Karyn's last treatment will be next wednesday---what the department
likes to call "Graduation". It feels like these treatments have been
going on for months and I am amazed that she is only days from being
done. Thank god!

As some of you may know, these treatments rely on a custom, form-
fitting head mask that completely restricts all movement during the
procedure. This is to ensure that the beam remains focused on the
same location of the brain throughout the 6 week treatment cycle.
Once the treatments are over, there will never be a need for this
mask again and therefore we were told we are free to do with it what
we please. Right now Karyn's plan is to run over it with a car, but I
suspect something more creative will follow.

Progress-wise things are going very well under the circumstances.
Karyn's daily therapies are showing progress and her strength is
continuing to increase despite the effects of the radiation. Once the
radiation is complete, the side effects should remain for about a
month though they will slowly reduce as time goes on.

One thing Karyn has asked me to tell everyone is to refrain from
asking too much about her condition. I know these are the questions
we all want to ask, but they can be tiring when she needs to answer
them several times a day. Also, and more importantly, please don't
ask the "when" questions. We all see progress in her movement though
re-learning to use your body is a slow, tedious process. We all would
love her to get up and walk yesterday, but the reality is that she
may not have enough function in her leg to walk for several months or
more. So and you can imagine, to be asked, "When are you going to be
able to walk?" is a tough question to hear. It is also an impossible
one to answer right now simply because no one truly knows. What I can
tell you is that I have had her pushing against me with her left leg
with a great deal of strength. So there is serious progress being
made, but all of this will take time.

Things are going well here at home and we have finally begun to
settle in to our new reality. Again, we can't thank everyone enough
for all their support and assistance over the last 2 months. While it
seems that we have been in this situation for a long time, it has
only been a little over two months since we wandered into Marin
General's ER, Lieneka in her stroller and our whole lives in our hands.

So here's to Spring actually coming, the rain actually going away and
to Karyn getting better!

Have a great weekend everyone....

~Julian