Hey Everybody!
March certainly did come in like a lion...dropping a decent amount of snow over various parts of New England. I think I speak for everyone when I say that I'm ready for spring!!
As I mentioned last time, Ken has begun hospice care. Lisa, his hospice nurse, is wonderful. She is a young, spunky nurse who fits into this crazy situation just fine! She is coming to see Ken daily. Primarily, her job is to check vitals, order medication and manage Ken's pain. She has ordered him a hospital bed and oxygen, both of which have made him much more comfortable. Recently he began taking liquid morphine, which makes it easier for Ken to breathe.
He has had many visitors in the past few weeks and we celebrated his 38 and 1/3 birthday! Brenda made Ken's favorite, carrot cake...AND Ken finally got that pony he's always wanted.
Again, thank you to everyone for traveling long distances, making food, and of course your continued love and prayers.
March is colo-rectal cancer awareness month. Please, please talk to your doctor about whether or not you should be getting an early screening...it truly could save your life!
XOXO Ken & Nicole
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Saturday, March 2, 2013
10 Months at a Glance
Hey Everyone,
We know it's been close to forever since our last post...but life just sort of happened. So, we're going to try to bring you up to speed as best we can.
MAY 2012-
This was a busy month, Nicole finished Grad School and to celebrate, we took a trip to Telluride, CO, with our friends Sean and Maryann, and their dog, Cricket. We stopped at the Sand Dunes....
It almost didn't look real! The sand was hot...but the mountains were in the background...just beautiful!
Over Mother's Day weekend, Ken made a trip home to NH and met with a colo-rectal oncologist at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, in Hanover, New Hampshire. Dr. Pippus seemed extremely motivated and excited about treating Ken. After that trip, he flew back to Denver, packed up some things and prepared to travel back east...but not without the company of the doggies and big sister, Brenda! Since paperwork for long term disability wasn't finalized, Nicole stayed in Denver and continued working....
JUNE 2012-
Ken began his new regiment of chemo, the harshest one yet. The side effects were staggering. He lost all of his hair, broke out with painful acne, had bouts of vomiting and was extremely sensitive to the sun.
JULY 2012-
Ken continued to go to chemo treatments. He was approved for long term and social security disability. Nicole's friend, Maureen flew to Denver and they made the 2,000 mile trip back east...but not without causing a little trouble and stopping in Chicago to meet up with Tara!!
AUGUST 2012-
A CT scan revealed that the harsh chemo was not working...and the tumors continued to grow. The only option Ken was left with was to wait for a clinical trial pill form of chemo to become FDA approved.
But, Ken didn't wait idle...
He fished with Philip and Brenda
He also helped do some stone work around the base of the Danbury House...
SEPTEMBER 2012-
Finally, the new pill form of chemo begins. It, with it's own weird set of side effects. For some reason, it made Ken's bones ache and made it hurt to move. We were hoping for the ole adage, no pain, no gain!
OCTOBER 2012-When Ken didn't feel like he was 100, he tried to get out and enjoy the New Hampshire foliage. Here he is on his way back from hanging a camera in the woods, in hopes of capturing some photos of the wildlife...
NOVEMBER 2012
Ken wound up in the hospital over his birthday with a cyst and fistula that had developed in his bootie. Surgery was necessary in order to solve the problem. Before they determined what was wrong, the hospital ran a battery of tests. A CT scan of his chest found that his new pill form of chemo wasn't working and that one of his tumors had nearly doubled in size. Surgery was performed and the situation was resolved. A few weeks later, we met with Ken's oncologist. He gave us the paralyzing news that there were no more FDA approved chemo options for Ken. He said that there may be one more clinical trial out of Boston if we wanted to go that route...Ken opted to not. So, it was then the gauntlet fell...and Ken was told he had 6 months to live. We went on to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family...and tried to focus on all that we had to be thankful for.
DECEMBER 2012-
It was pretty much business as usual...we were busy getting clerical things taken care of and of course Christmas shopping. The holidays were wonderful and many happy memories, and perhaps, even traditions, were made! Here is a picture of Ken putting together some Lego's with his nephew.
JANUARY 2013-
Happy New Year!! Ken was able to spend sometime snowmobiling with his brother in New Hampshire...Come to find out though...Ken was functioning with only one lung. Shortly after this trip, Ken found himself in the ER with over 4 liters of fluid in his right lung. They drained the fluid and prepped Ken for surgery. They went in and scraped Ken's ribcage, blew talc powder into his chest cavity and hoped that his lung would stick, thus allowing the lung to drain on its own. He was in the hospital for 5 days with a chest tube. We met so many wonderful people...thank you so much to the incredible staff at St. Francis Hospital!!
FEBRUARY 2013
Ken continued to rest after surgery. But there were no complications and the surgery seemed to take. Hospice care began. Ken has a young, energetic hospice nurse, Lisa, who fits right into this crazy situation perfectly!! She has been very helpful in educating all of us about the disease process. But it wasn't all, doom and gloom. On February 11, Ken, Philip and Noah went to the Bean Pot, in Boston...an event Ken has wanted to go to since forever. Here is a picture of them outside the rink...
We also finally got to take that trip to Mohegan Sun that was planned for way back in November...better late I guess! Here's a picture of the view from the room we stayed in.
So, that's it...the abridged version! We'll get into what's happened since then in a little bit. Take time and let this all digest. We thank each and every one of you for your continued love, support, kind words and prayers. XOXO Ken & Nicole
We know it's been close to forever since our last post...but life just sort of happened. So, we're going to try to bring you up to speed as best we can.
MAY 2012-
This was a busy month, Nicole finished Grad School and to celebrate, we took a trip to Telluride, CO, with our friends Sean and Maryann, and their dog, Cricket. We stopped at the Sand Dunes....
It almost didn't look real! The sand was hot...but the mountains were in the background...just beautiful!
JUNE 2012-
JULY 2012-
Ken continued to go to chemo treatments. He was approved for long term and social security disability. Nicole's friend, Maureen flew to Denver and they made the 2,000 mile trip back east...but not without causing a little trouble and stopping in Chicago to meet up with Tara!!
AUGUST 2012-
A CT scan revealed that the harsh chemo was not working...and the tumors continued to grow. The only option Ken was left with was to wait for a clinical trial pill form of chemo to become FDA approved.
But, Ken didn't wait idle...
He also helped do some stone work around the base of the Danbury House...
SEPTEMBER 2012-
Finally, the new pill form of chemo begins. It, with it's own weird set of side effects. For some reason, it made Ken's bones ache and made it hurt to move. We were hoping for the ole adage, no pain, no gain!
OCTOBER 2012-When Ken didn't feel like he was 100, he tried to get out and enjoy the New Hampshire foliage. Here he is on his way back from hanging a camera in the woods, in hopes of capturing some photos of the wildlife...
NOVEMBER 2012
Ken wound up in the hospital over his birthday with a cyst and fistula that had developed in his bootie. Surgery was necessary in order to solve the problem. Before they determined what was wrong, the hospital ran a battery of tests. A CT scan of his chest found that his new pill form of chemo wasn't working and that one of his tumors had nearly doubled in size. Surgery was performed and the situation was resolved. A few weeks later, we met with Ken's oncologist. He gave us the paralyzing news that there were no more FDA approved chemo options for Ken. He said that there may be one more clinical trial out of Boston if we wanted to go that route...Ken opted to not. So, it was then the gauntlet fell...and Ken was told he had 6 months to live. We went on to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family...and tried to focus on all that we had to be thankful for.
DECEMBER 2012-
It was pretty much business as usual...we were busy getting clerical things taken care of and of course Christmas shopping. The holidays were wonderful and many happy memories, and perhaps, even traditions, were made! Here is a picture of Ken putting together some Lego's with his nephew.
JANUARY 2013-
FEBRUARY 2013
Ken continued to rest after surgery. But there were no complications and the surgery seemed to take. Hospice care began. Ken has a young, energetic hospice nurse, Lisa, who fits right into this crazy situation perfectly!! She has been very helpful in educating all of us about the disease process. But it wasn't all, doom and gloom. On February 11, Ken, Philip and Noah went to the Bean Pot, in Boston...an event Ken has wanted to go to since forever. Here is a picture of them outside the rink... 
We also finally got to take that trip to Mohegan Sun that was planned for way back in November...better late I guess! Here's a picture of the view from the room we stayed in. So, that's it...the abridged version! We'll get into what's happened since then in a little bit. Take time and let this all digest. We thank each and every one of you for your continued love, support, kind words and prayers. XOXO Ken & Nicole
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