Amie Update #6 - We fight again

Unfortunately, we got some bad news when meeting with Amie’s doctor this week.  Her cancer is, in fact, back.  This is obviously devastating since she fought so hard for 16 months through chemo and radiation, and we finished up with the difficult Ivor Lewis esophagectomy procedure.  She’s still learning how to manage eating and nausea since her stomach is so much smaller, and now she has to start chemo treatments again next week.  We’re trying our hardest to stay positive, and there are some definite positives.  It is the same cancer and not something new and scarier that is causing fluid build up in her left lung.  Therefore, we know the chemo drugs that she’ll be on are effective against it, and we know that Amie tolerates them pretty well all things considered. (It is still chemotherapy after all; not a walk in the park).  Those treatments should start reducing the amount of fluid and helping her breathe easier.  Her oncologist is also going to try some new immunotherapy drug (as long as our insurance quits fighting us) that we hope will teach her own body to target the cancer cells itself.  It would be a game changer for the long term.  That does mean that we have to make sure she’s getting a certain amount of calories and especially protein each day since it’s her own body helping fight.  It looks like that old culinary degree of mine is going to come in handy again.  I’ll do anything and everything I can to make it the tiniest bit easier for Amie.  The real difficulty is that she’ll, of course, have to miss time at work and things were already getting tight, and it obviously takes a toll on the whole family even though Amie is the one doing the real fighting.  I can’t thank all of you enough who have donated to help make the missing work / pay part easier.  I am truly humbled and forever grateful for all of the love, time, prayers, and hard earned money you have blessed us with.  It’s incredible to see just how many people truly care about you and your family.  I hope you never have to witness it first hand because of something like this, but you’d be utterly amazed like I am to see that so many people care.  SO many old friends and family members I haven’t even seen in literally decades have been so giving and supportive.  I hope you know we love and care about each of you too, and that we’ll never forget the grace you’ve shown.  

Anyway, that’s where we stand now.  I hope my next update can be happier and show some amazing progress I know Amie will make.

Thank you all again so, so very much! 💛💙💛💙🤍❤️🤍❤️
-Keith