garnigal | Family Update

I realize I hadn't updated on Aunt Deb since April when we first found out her cancer had spread to her brain. She had a good summer, feeling well and making sure she lived life to the fullest.

Unfortunately, about 5 weeks ago she started having mobility issues. After a bunch more tests, they told us her cancer had spread down her spinal cord and was salted all through it in little nodules - not only inoperable, but also essentially untreatable. She's been told it'll only be a few weeks at this point (that was on American Thanksgiving).

So far she's been doing well, looking better than I expected when I popped up for a visit. She's expecting a second grandchild at the end of December, and she's determined to see him or her. She might even make it to her 47th birthday in January.

Obviously, this isn't the ending we hoped when she was diagnosed with breast cancer 2 years ago. But she's handling it with dignity and that's all you can ask at this point.