𝓕𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓛𝓲𝓯𝓮 𝓤𝓹𝓭𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓼

The last time I placed pen to paper or in this case thoughts to keyboard was in May of this year. That is wild. If you follow me on other social media platforms you know that the last 6 months have been wild. For those who are new here, or who do not follow me on other social platforms, it is time I provide a few updates and share where I have been the last 6 months.

Where do I even start… I guess the best way is to break it down by month. Let’s see what I can remember.

Ｍａｙ: I promised I would start writing monthly recaps. While the intent was there, the commitment was not. I apologize! At least by end of this year we will get back to monthly recaps. Some positives of May were I launched my app programs and started vlogging again on Youtube. If you have not checked my latest videos out you can view them here:
– Fashion / Clothing Hauls & Reviews
– Cooking Through Cookbooks
– Adventure Vlogs
– and so much more!
May was just starting to get good– but then the unthinkable happened. We got a call from my mom– my dad was in the ER with immense stomach pain, we thought oh shit, appendicitis? GI Issue. It was more than that. My dad had a mass pushing on his appendix causing his appendicitis, it had to be removed fast so off to emergency surgery he went. So on the first flight out of UT, my sister and I flew to California to be with him. What happened next is unimaginable. My dad was diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastatic Colon Cancer. Yeah, you heard me. Metastatic. The one thing that made me smile in May was my Binks turning 15. But from May to now… my months started to run together and I just couldn’t get myself to write these blogs. It felt like time was standing still.
June came anyways.

Ｊｕｎｅ ／ Ｊｕｌｙ: These two months just seem to run into one another. We spent majority of them back home in California. Getting Dad ready for treatment, working with his doctors, managers and employees to make sure he felt supported during this time.
We took dad to the lake, he had his first chemo appointments and he still was doing the things he loved, like building his models. He encouraged me to continue to do what I love which was train for this half marathon. To be honest, the running has helped me cope and in July I ran my 10k in prep for my 13.1 in November. It marked the half way mark of my training. Dad continued to fight and kick cancers ass.

Ａｕｇｕｓｔ ／ Ｓｅｐｔｅｍｂｅｒ: End of summer beginning of Fall came and went in a Flash. Dad was still kicking cancer in the teeth but the first treatment did not work. They started him on a new treatment. He still was fighting an uphill battle. Our Kona girl also was battling being sick. She has been for sometime, suffering with hip dysplasia and she also had a cancerous tumor removed this year. Kona and Dad fought together. Everything was going well so we tried to get back to some sense of normalcy and planned a few trips in September to celebrate Levi and Lo’s birthdays. We were able to make it to Southern Utah to be with friends and enjoy nature but after we returned, all hell broke lose.

It was a series of emergencies that seemed like it was out of a movie. First, we lost out sweet girl Kona. It was the most tragic thing to have to go through. She fought so hard and long but it was her time to meet Bucky over the rainbow bridge. It was tragic, the last weekend we drove out, never would have thought it would be my last with her. The following few weeks were even more traumatic. Mom had to have a procedure done to place a stent in her bile duct to help her pass gallstones. We had known this was coming, it was a simple out patient procedure all was to be well. Tuesday she is back home recovering and my dad gets sicker– high blood pressure, fast heart rate, pain again– off to the ER they go. Tuesday night my sister and I are on a flight back to California, Seattle trip canceled. Dad has two blood clots (PEs) in his lungs. They had reached their final destination but now he would be on blood thinners for his life. He is doing well, all is good, I stay with him the second night we are in town and at 3am my mom ends up in the ER on the first floor below us. She is in immense pain and then that day, has emergency surgery to remove her gallbladder. Recovering the next day in the hospital she is doing well so they release her. We are all back home, recovering and Saturday happens. My mom is back in the ER with a Blood Clot in her lung. Another WTF is happening moment. She is too placed on blood thinners monitored over night and release the following day.

That leads us all the way to present day.

Ｏｃｔｏｂｅr: It takes a village and we could not have done anything without the help of Our neighbors Pauline and Dave and my dad’s friend John that week/ Weekend. It was a series of WTF moments but I can say that everyone is back home and safe and recovering. Dad has his 4th treatment on this new Chemo drug and while Mom is still recovering, she is a true super hero taking care of my dad. Her strength is stronger than anyone I know.

If you stuck around this long I appreciate you and thank you for supporting me, my family and this blog. It is so appreciated. For October, Fall has arrived and we are trying to live each moment, for us, for my family, for life. Because life is so short and it should be lived.

If you would like to help my dad fight his cause, he has a GoFundMe page. We appreciate everyone who has donated so far. It has helped him get things like medical supplies, his walker, nutrition supplements and pay for the co-payments for treatments. My family and I appreciate all of your thoughts, prayers and good vibes.