Friday, October 22, 2010

On Tuesday October 26, 2010...

Kelly will be admitted to the hospital at 5:45 a.m. for her pre-operation MRI, which will be followed later that day by the operation.


That afternoon, Tuesday, October 26 at 5 p.m., St. Mary's Church in Balboa will be holding a special Mass for Kelly.  We would love for friends and family to come together at this time in prayer.  Kelly's best friend, Yoela, and her mother, Tia Maggie, have made this prayer union possible, for which we are so grateful. As soon as we know the outcome of Kelly's surgery, I will be in touch with Yoela so she can bring you up to date on Kelly's post-opt information.


As we read comments made by friends and loved ones, we bask in all the fun memories and delightful stories that you bring us about your experiences with Kelly throughout her life.  We are ever so grateful for having been blessed with someone in our lives who has such amazing energy, high spirits, and good health! This tumor will soon be a thing of the past, like one of our unexpected tropical storms.  We are sure that as soon as it passes, there will be once again lots of beautiful sunlight and blue skies overhead.


She is my warrior of warriors...both my strength and my weakness...for her I would do the impossible.


Please keep up the PMA (Positive Mental Attitude)!
Love, Ani

Doctor's, Rabbi's, and Family...Oh My!

Good Morning beautiful people :)
   Yesterday (Thursday Oct 21) mama wrote this update for you guys, but of course I had a bit of trouble settling into a new internet connection up here in the mountains so I was unable to post...no worries though, that is no longer an issue!  I promise that I will be posting something EVERYDAY from here on out.


So, here is my mama's message:


   Hi All, It's been crazy! But finally all is moving ahead smoothly. We spent all of yesterday (Tuesday Oct.20) in the hospital taking exams, meeting with doctors and trying to get the insurance connected with the hospital. Finished all this and we are now headed to upstate NY to Mountainville, Mark's brother's home for the weekend. Kelly continues in good spirits and we're moving ahead with lots of love and laughter.  The doctor says the tumor is a real biggy but he continues positive with his prognosis. There is a possibility that she may need approximately 6 weeks of radiation to assure all the tumor cells are removed after the operation.  Apparently she's got a kind of tumor whose cells reproduce, so if any trace of cells are left behind, the tumor will return. But, as all the doctors have said, everything is speculation until they get a sample to the lab.  No matter what, we know she is in very good hands and the professionals around her are super friendly and caring. It's been almost two weeks since Kelly's seizure, and we have been going non-stop. We can't wait to get to Mountainville, unpack and relax.  We have 5 more family members arriving on Saturday: Ian and Mary (My oldest child and his wife); Thomson (Ani's boyfriend); Suzanne and Ryan (My sisters daughter and her husband, both great friends of Kelly). Can you imagine getting everyone mobilized to move in the same direction! Whoa, some fun! 
In other news...
Dr. Stieg, Kelly, and Rabbi Goldwesser after her consultation on Wednesday Oct.20 
   The Dillons have adopted a new family member, Rabbi Goldwesser! He has guided us every step of the way from the first moment when we connected with him on Monday, Oct.11, shortly after Kelly got the results of the MRI.  We love him for all his very special attention!  He's been holding our hands so caringly through the worst of the storm and will be there with us to the end.  Ani has become his dear buddy and the two of them get along, royally entertaining all of us in the most serious of moments with their ongoing wise cracks and amusing opinions!  Ani announced today that she is going to name her first son after him, Laser! So, David Polonsky, thank you for introducing us to one of the biggest hearted, and kind people in the world! We love you, Rabbi (and so does everyone else in the hospital!). Thanks for being there for us. 
~Maria Lydia Dillon