From Ginny’s perspective:  (Karen hasn’t felt well enough to blog in a few days but wanted me to update everyone.)  She is still walking (taking her laps around the “Y”).  She is absolutely exhausted and is very nauseated.  The nausea has increased greatly today.  She awoke to vomiting (the first time since chemo began) and has had to have Ativan and other meds round the clock to combat the nausea.  She doesn’t have a long attention span and can’t converse for very long at a time before she is utterly exhausted and must sleep for a while.  We have to encourage her to get up and sit or walk but she is doing it especially when the meds for nausea take effect.  They tell us that movement is important to ward off pneumonia that would complicate the chemo treatments.  It is a dance of sorts between the symptoms and fatigue.  I thought at one point she would throw me out of the room for questioning her if she wanted some crackers…she snapped and asked if “we had to talk about that right now!”  I understood the irritability to mean that she is very sick for that moment, because later she needed me to be the big sister and crawled up on our recliner with me and cuddled…just like when we were little girls.  When she was little she used to come and get in my narrow twin bed with me when she was scared or needed to cuddle in order to go to sleep.  At times as a young girl I would get aggravated with her and saw her as “dependent” and “needy” even though that was probably not the words I would have used back then.  Maybe “a pain” would have been more like it!  She is and has always been so small and when I hold her she is like a little sparrow.  She spent a while today cuddled as we talked about how she felt and how she wanted this to be over and resume her life again.  After a while, she was too tired and needed to get back in the bed for another nap.  It is funny that as an adult, I would hold her FOREVER!  Isn’t it interesting how God shows us mercy and  enables us as adults to show mercy, love, tenderness, and patience to our loved ones if we let Him.  I sure didn’t show these qualities to her when I was young.  I was telling dad today about us sharing a room when we were pre-teens and how I would tape off her side of  the room and DARE her to cross the line…I am not even sure if “my little shadow” had an exit (with all the tape) to the doorway.  I am sure that her “issues” of exit were probably not of my concern…(Ha) and yet I would have fought to the death for her if anyone else treated her as I did.  I wish that I could take this from her…but I don’t know if I would have her strength.  She truly is a fighter and I am so proud of her and her strength. 

She did have a few bright moments today…we applied a little makeup…she was so beautiful!  I spent some time massaging her back, brushing her hair, and holding her hand.  I love her so much!

Back to the chemo:  This evening the last bag (#7=7 days) was hung for the second round of chemo…Tomorrow is day one of the third chemo.  Her mouth is sore but she is still eating pretty well…some meals better than others.  She still has her hair but it appears to be changing.  A little wispier and I am finding a few peices here and there.  It looks a little thinner in places but we can brush it.  The chemo has made her “neutropenic” now so she is considered “immuno compromised” and extra diligent care has to be taken not to expose her to any germs.  She has to wear a mask out of the room.  Strict handwashing is observed.  She can not eat yoghurt (due to the cultures), no fresh fruit or veggies, no fountain drinks, no softserve icecream.  Basically, she can’t have anything that hasn’t been pastuerized or sterilized in some way. 

She misses her family…she talks about the kids coming to see her.  She is worried that she won’t have the energy to converse and spend time with them.  I told her it will be ok.  They will be patient and wait for the moments that she will be able to.  I hope that I am right!

Thanks everyone for the encouragment and prayers!  She is fighting the fight with strength and courage and grace that only God can give to someone in her shoes.  Again, thanks and love to you all.  May God bless you and keep you.  Gin

Hi everyone,  computer  is working for now.  I love a miss everyone.  thankyou for all the calls and comments and prayers.  I am really tired but so far so good.  My stomach gets to hurting some but they are really good here about bringing in medications to help.   Thanks for the pony Lisa M.  It is adorable!  I will be sleeping with it.  I look forward to when I can come home and things will be back to normal.  love you all Karen

Don: I thought I should take a moment to tell you all a few things about communication with Karen.

Comments posted on the web site will be available to the Public. Karen is very happy at all the notes and prayers she is receiving from friends, family and co-workers.

If you want to be sure that something is not posted on the web site then you should email her. KCornelius@mchsi.com

Flowers are not allowed at the cancer unit but if you desire to send a card the address is:
Shands at the University of Florida
1600 SW Archer Road
Gainesville, FL 32608
352.265.0111

I included the phone number to the hospital and Karen does have her cell phone. She is starting to sleep more than be awake so please don’t take it personal if she can’t talk to you when you call. One of the family will likely answer the phone and we are happy to take messages and let you know how she is doing.

Don: Karen told me this morning that the laptop is not working. Now, that is a drag! I talked to her about 3 times today though. Let me fill in the blanks on what happened today.

Laura went home this afternoon.
Ginny arrives tomorrow.
Ken bailed on them about 5:30pm.
Mom spent the night with her.
Karen felt pretty good all day and took a couple extra laps around the floor.
She is already tired of the food and has started ordering off the menu. I do mean ‘off’. She is ordering then that are not even on the menu. Tonight she had tomato soup, grilled cheese and mashed potatoes. She is still eating pretty well but tastes are changing from the medication.

Forgot to tell you all yesterday, they moved her into a new room. This one has a shower and a toilet! No more going down the hall for a shower or having to use the port-a-potty behind the screen in the corner. Seriously, this was a big deal to us!!

Good night, Karen. Hope you get the computer to work tomorrow. No telling what I will tell the fans if you aren’t here to tell your own story!

Don: I did, in fact, head back to Panama City. I called Karen during the lonely ride home. She was having a great visit with her sister Laura and Crystal, a family friend! Glad she has her sisters there all week. I will be back before you know it. I need to get a few more of her more talkative friends to visit and/or call during her treatment. There is nothing Karen likes more than deep conversation. I am a man of few words. Any one that wants to help out can just call her cell phone. For the PC people that isn’t even long distance!

Don: I am not a big fan of football and an not an alumni of any college so I don’t always get it. You know, the “my school is better than your school and our sport team is gonna kick your sport team’s butt” kind of it.  I did get a small taste of it this weekend though.

It was Homecoming at UF on Saturday. Friday they had the Gator Growl. Saturday they had the game and won by a field goal near the end. I don’t remember the exact score but I was told both teams were in the 20’s. Sounds like it would have been an exciting game, if you like that type of thing.

Today Karen’s parents came in and we all watched Karen eat. She may be starting to lose her appetite a little but she still ate pretty good. She is sleeping a little more during the day but who wouldn’t? Put me in the bed when I don’t feel good and I just want to sleep until it feels better.

After lunch I took about a 3 hour walk all around the UF campus. It is huge! You can’t help be at least a little impressed. You might even go so far as to be a little jealous of all the students who are going to school and preparing for their future. Let’s all hope they take full advantage of their time here for more than social engagement and watching sports. Looking at all the Halls and the map I found at the official gateway to the university, you are led to believe that they have anything you want to earn your degree in! Best of luck to all the students. They may be researching all types of illness and finding cures or better treatments.

Hi Everyone,  I am really tired.  They say it will probably get worse.  I have occasional nausea and some pain where they put in the central line but for the most part I am doing  well.  I think I am so scared of what is to come that I have some trouble staying super positive.  I feel like I am in a tunnel…I am so thankful for Don, and mom and dad and all of you.  We cannot pray enough!!  I walk twice a day and move around the room the best I can.  I am hooked to this giant Iv pole which makes everything more difficult.  I am so Happy, Laura is coming in today and Ginny is coming for a week on tuesday.  Don is hoping to go home for a little while to work at his job so he can save some time off.  I will miss him… But the girls will keep me entertained and nobody is leaving me alone while I am here.   continue to pray.  I will be home soon.  I miss my boys and girl.  please keep in touch.  and yes I still have my hair.  I will probably loose it around day ten…. I don’t really care anymore, I just want to live… love everyone , time to go shower.  ps. Ginny and Laura will probably be screened for potential bone marrow donors while they are here, keep your fingers crossed 🙂

Don: For those of you who aren’t here, let me draw a picture in your mind. We are in an area that has hallways that make a ” T “. Karen must stay inside that space. We are on the top part of that T and sort of to the left. When we step out the door we usually go to the left for about 80 feet until we get to a set of double doors. We then turn around and go back the way we came for about 240 feet and we meet another set of doors. Walking half way back (120 feet) we turn to the left (the nurses station is on our left at the corner) we walk to the end of the hall (130 feet), turn around, walk back, turn left for about (40 feet) and then we are home.

If you add all that up we only walk 740 feet on one round trip. We sometimes do a little more instead of stopping at the door. We have read all the posters and plaques and viewed all the pictures and photos. We will be moving to the new Shands Cancer Hospital on November 1, 2009. It is right across the street and they bulit a tunnel under the road to connect that hospital with the existing one. More on all of that later!

Don: Everything is a little foggy for me. Being a Martian (you know, the Venus/Mars comparison), I think I am supposed to be given some facts, make a decision and fix the problem. That is just not the way it works when it comes to Leukemia. There is a set method of treatment. That treatment seems to make you much worse but the hope is that you come out the other side with all the bad stuff (and all the good stuff) gone so that they can start to build you back up with only good stuff. While this is a good plan for the Doctors and the patient, it leaves me feeling more than a little helpless.

My job from here on is to just be here, be supportive, make sure that she knows she is not alone in this fight and love her. The nice thing for me is that she is from Venus. She doesn’t expect me to fix this, she just expects me to do my job. I can do that.

I expect that Karen will be filling in a few more of the details of the last few days, from her view, today. It is Sunday morning and she has been on chemo since Thursday. The 7/3 treatment has completed the “3” part. Now we just keep getting the remaining 4 days of the “7” part. For me, I have brought you up to date on what I can pull from the fog of my mind. Karen has eaten breakfast and is taking a nap. When she wakes up we will take our walk.

Don: This is going to be a long procedure. On one hand things are supposed to move very quickly. On the other it seems that they are going very slow. To me, it seems that Thursday jumped straight to Saturday. There really hasn’t been much difference in the last three days here.

Karen get’s up and takes a walk a couple times a day. Her appetite is still pretty good. We watch a moive at night from a bunch of selections the hospital has on VHS tape or that her parents had on DVD in the camper. That would explain why we may miss a day during this time period, the days are just so similar.

Friday was a little different for me. I got up at 4:45, visited with Karen for about an hour and then hit the Interstate headed back to Panama City. I got home just in time to brush my teeth (even though I hadn’t eaten anything yet), jump back in the car and drive to the dentist. About an hour later they had finished pulling a tooth, gave me a persciption and sent me out the door. I got the pain medicine and headed back to Gainsville. I got back to Shands about 5:00 their time. Of course I never ate that day. All I took for pain was two Tylenol right after the appointment. I at least got lucky that I don’t have a lot of pain from the tooth.

Saturday seemed just the same as the other days to me. I sleep in a chair that makes into a bed. Karen and I wake up, talk, eat breakfast, watch a movie, eat lunch, her parents come in, we visit, I ran to Wal-Mart, when I get back we visit and then they leave around 5:00. Karen eats dinner, we talk, I watch a movie and she goes to sleep. Now it is time for me to do the same thing.