Surgery Plans

 Running Update:

Week of 12/21/2020	25.5 mi	4:04:51
Week of 12/28/2020	30.8 mi	5:06:46
Week of 1/4/2021	30.6 mi	5:03:57
Week of 1/11/2021	23.4 mi	3:48:55
Week of 1/18/2021	28.9 mi	4:44:52
Week of 1/25/2021	23.8 mi	3:56:45

It’s been a long enough time since I lasted posted that I figured I’d group my runs by week rather than individually so as not to bore you.  I’ve kept up a higher weekly mileage than usual these past two months, for no particular reason other than I enjoy it and it is a form of stress relief for me!  I still have no in-person races for which to train.  However, I’ve made a tentative race/fund-raising schedule for 2021:

(Virtual) NYC Half Marathon—March 20-28

(Virtual?) Vermont City Marathon—Sunday, May 30

New Haven Road Race Half Marathon—Monday, September 6

New York City Marathon—Sunday, November 7

I’ve restarted my fund-raising page for the Children’s Tumor Foundation for 2021, so feel free to start donating again!

www.KRath4Jane.com

 

NF Update:

If December was a flurry of activity from the standpoint of Jane’s health, then January was one long stand still while waiting to formulate plan with NIH.  Finally, plans are coming together.  At the time of my last post, we had preliminary results from Jane’s PET scan indicating that the abdominal tumor was not malignant.  However, because of its rapid increase in size over the past six months, Jane’s team of doctors at NIH are still recommending its removal as soon as possible.  Given its location pressed up against Jane’s kidney, the larger it gets the more trouble it can cause, and the harder it will be to remove.  For these reasons, Jane is scheduled for surgery at NIH to remove the tumor the second week in March. 

We met virtually this week with the two surgeons who will be operating: Dr Chittiboina, a neurosurgeon who specializes in neurofibromatosis, and Dr Valera, a urologic oncologic surgeon. We will have to travel to NIH a few days before the surgery for preparatory tests and we will have to stay there for a week following the surgery, so all in all Jane and I will be in Bethesda for about 10 days.  The goal is to remove the tumor laparoscopically—the surgeons estimate this will take about 3-4 hours.  Jane will be in the hospital 4-5 days; the remainder of the visit we will stay at the Children’s Inn at NIH. 

We’ll have lots of COVID testing before, during, and after our stay!  Thankfully, we’ll be able to do all of the necessary testing (MRIs, blood work, and heart and eye exams) for Jane’s semi-annual “restaging” visit as well, so hopefully after this trip we won’t have to travel back to NIH for another six months.

Meanwhile, Jane’s toes are acting up again.  After a year-long battle with paronychia in 2019, we don’t want to mess around.  Jane’s MEK-inhibitor is on hold again while we try to get her foot to heal.

 

Jane and Family Update:

We spent a quiet New Year holiday at home together.

Jane on a hike with a friend in the New Year

Helen is now safely back at school and the country is now safely in the hands of a new president <3

Henri helps drop Helen off at Mount Holyoke

Alec and Jane returned to in-person school the third week of January, only to be kept home again earlier this week because of a blizzard!  Hopefully the pandemic and the weather will cooperate enough to keep them in school for the rest of the winter.

Speaking of the pandemic, I am happy to report I have completed my vaccination series!  What a relief!  I am so looking forward to everyone having the vaccine available to them so we can put this pandemic behind us!