Comments:
6/8/2021 - Is anyone still updating this site? I just received the request to keep current, but have to wonder if I'm the only one.
I wouldn't say the past year and a half offers a lot to report on. We stayed at home most of the time. What happened: started using delivery services for groceries and occasional restaurant meals, tried to do limited exercise, kept in touch with family, missed our granddaughter's wedding in Utah, finally got vaccinated in February 2021. We will celebrate our 58th wedding anniversary on June 15th and are looking forward to a special evening out at one of the best restaurants in Bellevue WA. I hope everyone still on this site has kept safe and well. Lastly, we hope to make a visit to Maryland in the not too distant future. We still have family there and it would be great to get back.
Now living in an apartment in Issaquah, Washington. After one year at University House (a senior residence) we realized we weren't ready for that lifestyle. Our second move since 2018 was a much better fit. Trying to continue wearing our masks and social distancing. Trips to the supermarket at 6 in the morning are worth the effort. Hope everyone from Patterson is staying safe.
September 30, 2018 - Glad to see that several classmates continue to comment on this site. We are leaving Orcas Island and moving to the mainland. Our beautiful home and residence for the last 19 years sold this summer, and we are moving to an independent living residence. Our lot was purchased in 1988 and the house was completed in 1995. This has been the place where I have recovered from three serious surgeries, met some of the loveliest people and made special friends. Living on an island has its limitations, and it is now time to be closer to medical services as we age. After life-threatening surgery (again) in December 2016, more chemo in 2017, I am relatively healthy and NED. However, recurrences occur with mantle cell lymphoma and commuting from here to Seattle is never a day trip. We are excited about our new location.
Per Paul Trattner's request, I am providing an update. Now that 2013 is upon us, my only New Year's resolution is to prevent my husband from being my caregiver this year. In both 2011 and 2012, he has been burdened with taking care of a sick wife. Following the July 2012 Swedish SummeRun, I developed an extreme case of pneumonia necessitating being airlifted off of Orcas Island. After a four-day hospital stay, I was discharged to home and had to be on oxygen for several weeks. I remained home-bound for two months. In addition, I was diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia in January 2012 and remained iron-deficient until December. My last blood draw of the year was normal - the best Christmas present I could receive. I trust my next update will have good news and wish you all a very Happy New Year.
Update July 4, 2012
As previously posted on my profile, I am a 13-year stage IV ovarian cancer survivor. Since 2000, my family's team - Warriors - have participated in the Swedish SummeRun to support ovarian cancer research. This year, we are doing it again. I'm hoping you will make a small donation to our team. $5 or $10 will go a long way. This is one of the rare events where 100 percent of fees and donations go to the cause. Please help if you can. The link provided will get you to our team page to make a donation. Thanks in advance for considering supporting this cause. http://community.swedish.org/page.aspx?pid=489&tab=0&frtid=913
Where did the time go? After graduation, I worked in Baltimore as an executive secretary for the Director of Training at Sun Life Insurance Company. During that time I met and married my husband Carl who was in the army. When he was discharged we moved to California where he resumed his position with the Los Angeles Police Department. We lived in California from 1964 to mid-1981 when Carl retired from LAPD and we moved to Washington State.
While in California, I attended community college and court reporting school and worked from my home as a transcriber. Unable to find a court reporting position in Washington, I started working for Northwest Emergency Physicians, which contracts with hospitals to provide emergency department physician staffing. In 1983, I became the physician recruiter/scheduler and continued in that position until early retirement in 2000. Carl continued his career in law enforcement, serving as the police chief of two small Seattle suburbs and also as the director of the State's law enforcement academies.
I am fortunate to be an 11-year late stage cancer survivor. In December 1999, I was diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer and following radical surgery, started a four-year course of chemotherapy. A relapse in 2006 was treated with another course of chemo and since then I have been cancer free. In 2001, Carl was diagnosed with prostate cancer, had successful surgery and has been in remission since then. For the past 11 years, our family has been supporting The Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research. This is a locally-based foundation with world-wide reach that funds research into the early detection of ovarian cancer.
Carl and I have been blessed with a daughter and son and two grandchildren. We now live on Orcas Island, which is in the northwest corner of Washington State and one hour from the mainland. Orcas is one of the San Juan Islands which are a major tourist destination offering rare opportunities for recreation in one of the Northwest’s most spectacular settings. Our home was built in 1995 and we have been full-time residents since 1999. I am an avid knitter and for the past 10 years have been successfully selling my crafts at our annual Holiday Fair. Carl worked for the 2010 Census in 2009 and again this year. I did a brief stint with Census on an eight-week assignment between February and April this year.
1/4/2012 – I chose not to post this update before the reunion. On March 21st, I had emergency, life-threatening abdominal surgery requiring a two-week hospital stay and over a month’s recovery at home. A tumor had caused an intestinal blockage, and my surgeon was concerned it was an ovarian cancer relapse. Instead, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. That wasn’t good, but it wasn’t the death sentence ovarian would have been. Lymphoma is a serious cancer, but I was fortunate that it hadn’t gone into my bone marrow. I have been undergoing IV Rituxan treatment since April and am currently on a 3-month maintenance program. My recovery from surgery was remarkable and I was in very good health when I attended the reunion.
I am so glad I was able to go to our 50th reunion celebration. It was the highlight of 2011 for me and something I had been planning for a year. Having lived on the West Coast for over 45 years, I had lost touch with my Baltimore high school roots. It was great coming back and reconnecting with everyone.
In July, my family participated in our 12th walk for ovarian cancer research. The balance of the year was quite uneventful which was fine with me. July, August and September were spent tending to the house and yard. In October, my husband and I drove to California to visit family and friends and attend his 55th high school reunion. In November, I was a vendor at our annual holiday craft fair selling specialty hand-knitted items. It was a fun and profitable day. We had a quiet Thanksgiving and Christmas blessed with mild winter weather. December marked my official anniversary of being a 12-year stage IV ovarian cancer survivor.
I wish all of you a healthy and happy new year.
