Five Weeks Later, Five Weeks Stronger

This weekend, I was finally able to visit Kevin, Kathlin, Mom and Dad in Santa Cruz. Mom greeted me at the airport with a button that says “CANCER SUCKS.” This button has become a regular accessory to my parents’ wardrobe, and I couldn’t agree more with its message.

Since I hadn’t seen Kevin for five weeks, I noticed a few major improvements that had occurred within that time frame. First of all, Kevin is re-integrated back into his environment. When I went back to school at the end of March, Kevin was not acutely aware of everything going on around him. Also, his attention span was pretty short; for example, he couldn’t watch the TV for an extended period of time. However, this weekend, Kevin was listening to every noise in his room, watching Food Network at every possible moment and starting conversations about the food or the hosts. All of these things showed me that Kevin is plugged back into his surroundings. He’s much more aware, his attention span has lengthened considerably and he’s noticing aspects of his surroundings and initiating conversation about them. He and I watched an hour-long snowboarding video, and he talked about skiing and snowboarding throughout the entire thing! His enunciation is not perfect, but he’s not letting that stop him from talking up a storm. He’s laughing much more, cracking a few jokes and smiling. I take this all to mean that emotionally and physically, Kevin is feeling much better.

Secondly, Kevin’s strength and movement looks much improved. He had this weekend off from therapy, so he rested a lot in bed. I only watched a few minutes of his physical therapy session today, but I was very proud of how well he was doing. His energy level is still pretty low because of his low potassium levels, but when he is able to exert some energy, I noticed that he’s much improved. His left side is still very affected and doesn’t move much, but I can now tell that the rest of the muscles in his body are trying to move that left side.

Kevin has been complaining about some of the wheelchairs being uncomfortable, so a therapist found the most comfy-looking wheelchair she could find, which happened to be motorized. On Sunday, Kevin practiced driving the wheelchair around the parking lot. He’s not a perfect driver—even he admitted, “I really shouldn’t be driving.” His double vision makes it hard for him to see where he’s going. Furthermore, the movement in his right hand is still not perfect, so the controls are a bit too sensitive for his abilities at this point. But he had a lot of fun zig-zagging around the parking lot!

Aunt Robin and Uncle Craig’s Brain Tumor walk on Saturday was a wonderful success! The weather was beautiful, and they said the event was filled with amazing amounts of positive energy, emotions and support. Thank you so much to them for walking and to everyone who donated to the National Brain Tumor Society!

I flew back to San Diego with more energy to take—and return—the punches life throws at us. As I watched the California coastline slide beneath me, I thought about how far Kevin has come since his ICU stay in February. Back then, doctors were writing Kevin off, but he’s still here, eating, talking and starting to stand with assistance. I’ve returned to San Diego with a “CANCER SUCKS” button pinned to my backpack and renewed hope that Kevin can beat off Bob and Steve.