Most of you will have heard the WONDERFUL news that Vera’s September MRI looked IMPROVED from the previous one!

We cried, we celebrated. We are cultivating a fragile hope.

We are grateful.

So lucky that the tumor caused seizures when it was very small to alert us of its presence.

And that the surgeon decided it should come out when other neurologists assumed it was something far more benign and wanted to wait and see.

We are grateful the surgery removed nearly all of it. And it was only the size of a thumbnail.

We are very lucky that her tumor has a mutation uncommon to its type, but common to other, more high profile and well researched cancers, so there is a targeted chemotherapy drug that goes after cells with that mutation.

We are incredibly grateful for good science.

And she has a daily regiment of supplements and super plants to support her. We are grateful for the astonishing power of nature.

We are in awe of Vera’s strength and perseverance (see how her name is right in the middle of that word?). She is an awesome force of a spirit.

It has been a long time since I last checked in here, and mostly that’s because we are trying to relax into some sort of normal.

While it’s with us constantly, my instinct is that it’s a mistake to identify too strongly with the cancer, and Vera seems to naturally takes that approach too.

She is also very private. But I want to update you all and express our enormous gratitude for your care and support.

We had a wonderful summer, focussing on as much outdoor fun time as possible. Vera loves the water. And with a history of seizures, water is a scary thing. but she hasn’t had a seizure in a year as of this past July! So we indulged her with beach days and a paddle board.

We went to Vancouver Island and spent quality time with wonderful friends, the ocean. And Stanley.

Stan is the sweetest dog, but any of you that know him will know he can be a bit intense. We decided to bring him rather than board him and I was sure I’d want to toss him out the truck window within a few hours. I even booked him into kennels as back up wherever we were headed in case I needed a break.

BUT he surprised me. And while our vacation revolved around where he could run, swim and potty, and restaurants with dog friendly patios, he was an absolute treasure to have along. A huge comfort for Vera who can sometimes get overwhelmed on vacation.

And after a HOT and always too short summer, Vera is grateful to be back to “normal”.

She’s back in school. Grade 7! And moving somewhere along the steep learning curve of managing the intensity of the workload. She’s so diligent and works very hard. Too hard probably. We would rather see her enjoying herself more honestly. Heavy loads are harder to bear in the dark winter months. We are all trying to be kind to ourselves and each other.

Vera squeezes in as much time as she can around her school work to draw. Wow, the drive she has. A true artist with a non negotiable need to create. Her favourite spooky season has spawned some pretty incredible creations.

This week, we are focussed on Vera’s absolute favourite holiday, Halloween. And eating healthy, as many veggies and fruits as we can pack into our tummies each day. And SLEEP. We prioritize good sleep, it’s the most important way to manage stress well in my experience.

Her next MRI is at the end of November.

We are learning to embrace hope and faith. Anything else is a costly waste of time. Thinking ahead to imagine possible outcomes for her is something I discipline myself never to do. The present and where she is at is much too precious.

Thank you for being a part of our journey we are grateful for your friendship and support.

If you’ve just landed here, here’s where to start:

Chronology of the Nightmare we can’t Wake Up from: Part 1