Backpacking

Meg's medical life revolves around infusions every 2 weeks,  rounds of chemotherapy / doctor & physicians' assistant visits every 4 weeks and MRI's 2 months out of 3 (don't ask!). This last week she had NO medical appointments, the weather finally improved, Andrew got his teeth-cleaning rescheduled, and we got to go off on a backpacking trip, precisely 8 months after she was admitted to the hospital.

We drove to near a pass about 75 miles east of Seattle for a 2 night stay in the wilderness area. It was midweek and we saw very few people. It was a good first trip as there were 2 lakes on the trail: we aimed for the further & higher one, but were happy to stop at the nearer one when it became clear that the 2,000 foot elevation gain with the packs was all that we were up for. As we approached Surprise Lake, a forest ranger appeared (as if by magic) and led us to the most wonderful campsite on the shore of the lake.

The next day was gorgeous, we were fully recovered, and we greatly enjoyed a not too strenuous hike up Surprise Mountain, which we'd been admiring from our tent door! We had a relaxed, and solitary, lunch on top, admired all the surrounding mountains, and returned to our tent in time for dinner. Meg had fun playing with her Buff head-scarf, finding imaginative ways to keep the voracious and numerous msoquitos at bay. 

On the 3rd day we packed up and hiked back to the car: we both greatly enjoyed the trip and were relieved that Meg was able to do so well, despite her ongoing chemotherapy. We're now deciding where to go and what to do in the next medical-free week in a couple of weeks.

You can see some pictures on this Facebook album.

Health news; assorted family visits

Health: Meg continues to be in excellent health, with occasional chemotherapy-related fatigue her main symptom. This month's checkup at the hospital included a functional MRI, which showed that the part of her brain that controls speech is not in the area where the tumor was - Dr. Jost will be able to operate again, if the tumor ever regrows. Next checkup, with a regular MRI, in 3 weeks.

Andrew met with Dr. Foltz, head of the Ivy Center for Advanced Brain Tumor Treatment, and one of his associates, to learn about their molecular characterisation of Meg's tumor. They sent him away with several scientific papers to read  and with the good news that, from what they can tell,  Meg's prognosis is very good and she should continue to respond well to treatment.

Family:  June and July were very busy for us:

• Elspeth stayed with us and did fish research at the Hutch, and worked at Trader Joe's.
• Nick & boyfriend came out for a wedding and stayed for a couple of extra days.
• Meg's sister and her 2 daughters visited for a few days - Meg's brother came up for dinner one day.
• Elspeth's girlfriend visited over the July 4th weekend.
• We went camping and hiking with a friend of Andrew's from graduate school and his wife. 
• Meg's parents visited us for several days, and we were joined by Meg's brother and sister (again) so we had the whole family together. Everybody had a great time.
• We bought a (new to us) car from a departing colleague, and donated our most ancient car to a colleague.
• They've now all left - we're enjoying the peace and getting ready to go backpacking.

Photos of the assorted family comings and goings await you.