She's home!

She's home!

Homecoming

After a meeting with the palliative care team at UC, we have made the
decision to bring Karyn home where she belongs. This is, after all,
the goal we have had from the very beginning---to get her home and to
have her here with us. As I type this she is most-likely in an
ambulance for what is probably her final trip across the Golden Gate
Bridge, through southern Marin and eventually into our beloved home
in Fairfax. I can't express in words how happy this decision has made
us---there was something about being in such a cold and sterile place
never felt right.

We do not know what kind of timeline we are on right now, but we are
told it will not be all that long. As you can all imagine, this is a
very difficult time for us all and we know you are all sharing in
this sadness with us. She is a beautiful human being, an amazing
mother, a real woman..... and a true angel among us.

You can all rest easy tonight knowing that, for the first time in
nearly six months, she will be sleeping in her own bed with me right
there alongside her and her children and close family all under the
same roof. And when they carry her in through the front door this
afternoon, one thing will be for certain.... she will know that she
finally made it home.

~Julian

MRI Results

Jim and I met with Dr. Chang yesterday to go over Karyn's latest MRI
from July 2nd. Sadly, the tumor has spread and is causing a massive
amount of swelling in the brain. In the opinion of both Dr. Chang and
Dr. Parsa, there is no real hope for recovery at this point and
recommended that we switch our focus from curing her to keeping her
comfortable in her final days. It is all speculation at this point,
but Dr. Chang felt that we are looking at days or weeks and not months.

Currently we have not figured out how to proceed and what hospice
option to select, but these decisions will be made in the near
future. While we realize that many people may want to visit her, the
truth is that she is barely awake these days and it is probably best
that your last memories of her not be in this state. As you can
imagine, her family and I are going to be spending as much time as
possible with her now and privacy is important to us.

Somehow we will all get through this, and I want to sincerely thank
everyone for all their help, support and concern over the past 6
months. This is surely the hardest thing any of us have ever had to
face, and knowing that we have the love and support of our family and
friends is a help to us all. Karyn would be very proud of you all.

I will post more details as they become available.

~Julian

Out Of ICU...Moving Forward

Karyn was moved out of ICU today and onto the 8th floor at UCSF. Her
condition has stabilized to the point where she no longer needs the
level of care that they provide on the 11th floor.

Jim and I met with Dr. Parsa this morning and discussed the most
recent MRI results with him. While there was no real growth in the
tumor mass, he is fearful that there may be activity going on on a
cellular level. Therefore, the plan is to focus all efforts on
getting her off antibiotics and back on chemo----most likely Temodar.
For the next few days he will be monitoring her neuro symptoms and
seeing how the shunt is effecting her.

Hopefully we will have more news soon....

~Julian