Kelly Kicks Cancer in the Ovaries: November 2016

Update by Tim:

It’s Thanksgiving on the beach. The sun makes its way across the sky before diving into the western horizon in a breathtaking orange-colored glory, over a glow-in-the-dark light-blue ocean horizon. The waves roll, swirl, and crash—sometimes ever-so-gently, and other times tumbling and chopping; but they all end up spreading thin, crawling up the shore with the rhythm of the tide. They’ve always been there, and they will always be there. The days turn. The waves churn.

We come to this place every year to celebrate God’s gifts of love, grace, peace, mercy, and each other. Prayers for the intentions of friends and family are offered up, with so many reflections on the past year—a year which has tested our faith over and over again.

There’s something about gathering in one home, in one room, around one table on this day that always takes the soul into a whole new dimension. The scene freezes. My father-in-law, brother-in-law and I are watching the game—my brother-in-law and I are talking fantasy football playoffs, while answering my father-in-law’s questions about the intricacies of it all. My mother-in-law gives one last stir to the turkey dressing as she cuts it up with my sisters-in-law about the week’s adventures. There’s laughter and energy in the room. I glance over as I bring the final chair into position at the table, and see my beautiful wife—my world—my ultimate gift from God. She glows with a proud and confident radiance as she leans into my arms.

Eight months of being flipped, battered, grinded, and pulled in multiple directions both physically and emotionally, she flashes her world-changing smile anyway. We then bless the meal and give thanks to God. At that moment, everyone seemingly has a tray of chopped onions sitting under our eyes.

I think about the love of the family, and how it’s manifested itself during these months. My mother-in-law Tricia, the superwoman she has been especially throughout Kelly’s battle, always there for her around the clock, keeping her steadfast to a seemingly 24/7 regimen—a task that no one else can handle without going completely insane. My father-in-law Ted always makes the multiple shopping runs to pick up supplies and food fitting to Kelly’s diet, and continuously ensures she has everything she possibly needs, when she needs it. More than once, he made the 4 hour round trip during chemo treatments to pick up something that was forgotten at home. Her siblings Taylor, Patrick, and Alice each have shown the unconditional love toward their sister which entails so many sacrifices of themselves. They’ve all surprised Kelly at one point or another, traveling hours from school or from home just to be with her for a few days, or even one night. Taylor, along with helping care for Kelly, has been managing this blog, and also coordinated the ordering and distribution of over 700 “Teal Team Kelly” shirts, just to take that burden off of us so we could focus on Kelly’s treatment in its early stages. There’s no better brotherly support than that from Patrick as he, Ted, and cousin Christopher Carmichael re-sodded our entire backyard so that I didn’t need to. Alice is Kelly’s sous chef and fellow caretaker with mom, never leaving her side when she is home from school in Dallas. She was up early on the days she was home to care for Kelly so that I could get ready for work. My brother-in-law Sam (Taylor’s husband)--who is probably the smartest person I know--led initial research in March to help discern the direction we would take for Kelly’s treatment. I am thankful for the love and care represented on this special day.

It’s the team coming together after a hard-fought contest; but not knowing if it is truly the postgame, or just halftime. We don’t know—we never will know. What we do know, is that God’s love, grace, and mercy is the ocean. It will ride ever-so-gently at times, with the calm hush of the waves swooshing through each other. It will also tumble and chop recklessly, blocking the horizon and destination from sight with fierce power, challenging us to exercise our faith. The sun will rise, introducing the day ahead, in all its brightness; and then it will set, yielding to darkness. And it’s the darkness which brings about the beauty and power of our faith. The waves still swoosh, roll, and tumble ever-so-gently. Tomorrow happened today. It always has. It always will.

It’s Thanksgiving on the beach.

We’re so thankful to God, and to all of you for your prayers, support, love, and faith. We continue to pray for you, your families, and loved ones.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Update by Kelly:

We have been on the go non-stop for the last month and a half learning about and educating ourselves on health and how to live a preventative lifestyle to keep this cancer thing kicked. About a week after I got my stomach port removed, we hit the ground running. Taylor, Mom, and I went to Dallas to visit Alice and to attend Ty and Charlene Bollinger’s Truth About Cancer Symposium. We went to classes all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and learned about a wide range of areas from preventative steps to take in disease prevention, focusing on finding the cause of cancer in the individual in order to find the cure, the importance of diet and nutrition in health, and how big of a role stress plays in cancer progression. The speakers included a lot of heavy-hitters and outside-the-box practitioners that we have been following throughout this health journey such as Dr. Axe and Dr. Mercola. One thing that really has stuck in my head is that there is so much research and evidence coming out about the dangers of mammograms and how there are other options out there such as thermography that are more effective than mammograms with early detection. It was an amazing weekend and I got to see so many friends in Dallas, as it was also my 5 year college reunion! We’re still sorting through all of the information we learned at this event!

A few days after returning home, my Mom and I packed up for a 3 week trip to Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, FL. We didn’t know too much about what we were getting ourselves into, just enough to know it was where God was leading us at this time to further our knowledge base. It wasn't quite the “relax by the pool, catch up on some much needed sleep, go to the beach” kind of vacation. It was quite the opposite! There was so much to learn and we figured that out very quickly. The co-directors at Hippocrates are a husband and wife duo who are insanely brilliant and very down to earth. They gave a lot of the talks but also had other people come in to lecture as well. The main focus is on diet and lifestyle in prevention of illness. There were people there who are battling cancer, MS, diabetes, fibromyalgia, and brain injuries as well as people who come there just for overall health and prevention. In our “class” alone, we had something like 10 different countries represented in a group of 20 people. Everyday we ate a lot of sprouts and other raw vegan cuisine. The premise is that you truly are what you eat, so why put junk in your body? They recommend 100% raw “living” foods (sprouts, vegetables, etc.) especially when battling some sort of disease - like cancer or even a common cold. One of our weeks there was a separate class called Comprehensive Cancer Wellness Program (CCWP). It was led by Dr. Janet Hranicky and the week focused on mind and body wellness. We learned about the effects of stress on our bodies and how this stress can lead to cancer. I also learned what seems so obvious, but needs to be said. We are not our disease. The cancer I have/had does not define me. What I do, what purpose I serve on Earth, what God has called me to do is who I am.

Our favorite night was going to the home of one of the chefs where she prepared (not cooked because its all raw vegan!) a 5 course Thanksgiving meal for some of us. It was so delicious! It was a good chance for us to see how to incorporate this raw foods lifestyle into everyday life. We met so many lovely people from all around the country and world who were and will continue to be instrumental in my life. I am so thankful that God put them in my path!

We are looking forward to having some downtime in order to sort through all of our notes from our two big trips. I know that God has led my family and me on this path of healing and health. I also know that healing is not about a destination…as if one day it’s I’M HEALED so back to normal life. It’s more of a journey that I plan to be on for a very long time. The things we learned from both The Truth About Cancer Symposium and from Hippocrates Health Institute will be applied in my life. There are so many things I want to do with my life still and I feel so rejuvenated after these trips. Also, MY HAIR HAS REALLY STARTED TO GROW BACK! Still blonde, a little wavy, thick, and longer in some places than others. Maybe a little goofy looking, but its hair and I’m so happy. I’m hoping my curls come back as it gets longer, so we’ll see!

Thank you all for your continued prayers for me and my family on this healing journey. I can’t express how much all the prayers have helped me over the last 10 months. I celebrated my 28th birthday on Halloween, and pretty much cried all day out of joy and happiness that I got to celebrate another birthday. I only THOUGHT I loved birthdays before this diagnosis!! I know that my story could have turned out many different ways up to this point, and I also know that the prayers, love, and support from everyone has been the most important tool that God has used and continues to use. I ask that you continue to pray for me especially that my CA125 decreases as it is still a little elevated. I have complete faith and trust in God that He’s healing me. I am praying for all of you as well and hope that everyone has a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving.