On the Water today!

You will be hearing from Kelley soon, but I wore her out today, so am doing the Blog tonight. We went out in my double sea kayak today in Lake Natoma (with our pups Wilbur and Roscoe of course). We were out for about an hour. After getting through some initial trepidation dealing with the logistics of entry, we were on our way. Kelley got stronger and stronger throughout the hour, and by the time we were heading back we were cruisin! It felt really good to Kelley to be on the water, and I am leaving the boat down so she can start going out regularly. More later, but it was a GREAT DAY! Sue

April 23 Update

Well just had a good conversation today with Kelley, we had a bit of catching up to do since I had been gone on vacation for a week. Not to much has changed, she still has intense nerve pain (particularly between 3 to about 5 pm), but is staying on top of PT before that kicks in. She is particularly enjoying her pool PT, and says her balance and ability to move her legs in the pool continue to improve by small degrees. She also thinks she may have found a good acupunturist, this is #3 right now. It is frustrating how many not so good acupuncturists and chiropractors there are out there, because when you find a good one you really "get" the magic they can accomplish when they really know their stuff. ....So we got some plans for this weekend, since I haven't seen her for a few weeks. We are going to try to paddle this weekend at lake Natoma, (in some sort of lake kayak), and I am going to show her how to post on this blog so she can start telling her own story....

Many of you know her friend Spencer who is fighting his own battle with cancer right now, and have been following his blog. Kelley has incredible admiration for his unique ability to tell his story through his own difficult challenge. I will continue to help Kelley with her blog,and she will tell her story differently then Spencer, but you can expect to hear from her directly more in the future.

I have also been reading Spencers blog regularly. As sad as it is that these two special people are facing such trials right now, being part of this experience has been incredibly powerful. Spencers wisdom and heart, Kelleys strength and perseverence, and for both, the courage and grace that keeps breaking through as they face there individual challenges has profoundly affected many of us. I know my life and perspective has been forever changed. So with the sadness and fear about what lies ahead, there is also hope and inspiration. The next blog will be from Kelley, so stay tuned.... Sue

April 5, Update

No big news to report since the last blog. Kelleys condition is about the same, and she is continuing to push herself more to get out and do things despite the nerve pain discomfort and the effects of the drugs. Last weekend we had a fairly lengthy outing at a local park, to check out the vernal pools and let the dogs cavort at the dog park. Its still a tough go though, and the drugs make her very tired sometimes.

We are continuing to schedule fundraising efforts to make sure money does not become an issue. So far things are stable relative to that. Her insurance is awsome, and her NTAF account balance currently adequate to pick up what insurance doesn't cover. However her physical therapy and accupunture insurance limits are likely to run out well before the calendar year is over, and they are critical to keep going.

So thinking ahead, there are a few things coming up. The Yampa trip donated by OARS over Memorial Day weekend is almost full. George (the owner) is going to donate all the profit from the trip to Kelley. A special bonus for that trip is Julie Munger and her partner Abby are going to come, and are working on getting permission from the Park Service to bring riverboards for the customers to use with them as guides/instructors on the trip.

We also are going to show the 3 women, 3 hundred miles DVD at the Louden Nelson Auditorium in Santa Cruz, on Saturday June 7. Will send a reminder as that gets closer. I also have gotten 100 copies of this DVD to sell. See details for that to the left side of the page if you want to purchase, 90% of the proceeds go to kelley from the DVD sales. Thats all for now, Sue