Update on Kellie
shawn beaty
Back in October we let everyone know that Kellie had stepped into a battle with brain cancer. The pathology came back and told us it was what the surgeon thought it was. The type of Cancer she has is very aggressive so we elected emergency surgery and two weeks later we began a regimen of radiation and chemo. Currently, kellie is halfway done with her treatment
So how is she?
Kellie is doing really well. Because she was in very good shape the effects of Chemo and radiation have not been as debilitating as we expected. Currently she has not experienced any nausea and not much fatigue. Her hair is falling out but if you have seen her, she looks pretty hot in those cancer caps :) As a result of the surgery and radiation her speech is somewhat impaired. Depending on the day and swelling, some are better than others. She struggles articulating certain words even though she knows them in her head. She has been working hard with her speech therapist and is determined.
How is your Family?
The rest of us are doing well. We really try and live life as normal as possible. The Kids are doing well and they are having fun teasing her about her speech (Teenagers…) Our task right now is allowing them to continue to be kids and enjoy our time together. Last week we were given tickets to the San Diego Chargers (I know they are LA but they will always be SD to us) game.
So what’s next?
When the treatment is done in December her cancer team will look at the MRI and assess the next steps. We currently are working with doctors from UCSF and Duke. We have a request into USC as well. These will be the groups that will offer the best clinical trials.
How can we help?
We are so grateful to everyone who provided meals and gift cards over the last month and a half! We are currently not taking meals anymore because research has shown that a Ketogeneic diet can be helpful for her type of cancer. I have chosen to do the diet with her the types of foods we eat are fairly limited.
We covet your prayer for the following things
Full Healing. We believe that God is able to miraculously heal Kellie and if that happens we will give all glory to God. We are full of faith and trust but this does not mean we forgo medicine. The greatest gift we can give God is our trust. A trust that his will is perfect and our strength is made perfect in weakness. But a miracle would be awesome!
The Medical Team. That we would all have divine wisdom as we attack an aggressive form of brain cancer.
Kellies health as she travels to Israel in March. Kellie’s medical team thinks it would be okay if she travels with me to Israel in the spring so we are doing it!
Strength. Our family is resolute in glorifying God in all situations. Some days are easier than others. Stuart Scott is quoted saying “You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and the manner in which you live.”
We love you all
Shawn