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Carrie at a recent swim meet 

Well, here we are on Thursday. We have had quite a wild ride here at UWMC. As you know, Carrie was admitted on Sunday/early Monday due to an excruciating headache. She became increasingly non-verbal throughout that morning and became completely non-verbal and seemed to sleep for three nights. There were many visitors on Tuesday, and they gathered around Carrie and told story after story of their experiences with Carrie. It was amazing. Every once in a while, Carrie would crack a smile, but said nothing. She opened her eyes, but didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular.

Our children, my Mom,  and Carrie's Parents have been regulars in the room. It's so nice to have the kids around, though it gets hectic pretty quick when they're around. They are so full of energy and we love them so much. They are such resilient little beings. The girls continued to attend swim practice and swim meets. They have been kicking tons of tail and breaking their own personal records on a regular basis. I am so proud of them. I want to thank my Mother, Andrea Ivy, as well as Salley Anderson, for being there with Astrid and June, and sometimes West at the practices and meets. Kyle (Carrie's Mom) has been an extraordinary help with our 2.5 year old, West. He can be quite, how do I say this.... spirited at times, especially when tired, and she hangs with him and has it under control, even though he spends most of his time with no pants on :)

Westy Boy visiting Mama at UWMC

Astrid and June at a recent swim meet

Back to the story...
The team of doctors and palliative care workers told us earlier Tuesday morning that Carrie would likely never talk again, and that she would slowly slip away.

Later Tuesday night after everyone left, once of the nurses asked Carrie if it was ok if he turned her on her side, and she responded, "yes". That was the first time in days she said a word, which was definitely something to celebrate. This confirmed that she actually could hear what was going on around her. I thought that was great. Also that night, right before I went to bed in the cot next to her hospital bed, I went in for a the millionth kiss, and she tried to punch me, or push my face away. Dejected, I plopped down in my bed and went to sleep.

Wednesday morning, I woke up, gave Carrie a kiss, and she looked at me and said, "what are you doing?"! What am I doing? What was she doing? Ha. She was talking! Ho-ly shit. I called Carrie;s parents right away and told them the news and they were here as quickly as they could, given that heinous I-5 traffic. I also told my Mom to bring the kids up ASAP instead of taking them to swim practice. They were all here and we enjoyed the sound of Carrie for remainder of the day, along with many, many others that were able to come visit.

We spent Wednesday celebrating with friends and family; rehashing the week's events, unable to believe what we were witnessing. There were lots of tears, hugs, and kisses, but mostly we filled the hospital belly laughs and joy. I thought we were going to get kicked out, personally, but the nurses said it wasn't a problem. She ate her first meal that night; the first since the lunch we had at Spud's on Alki the Sunday before. Pretty amazing.

On Thursday, Carrie was still doing great, though she does still get spikes in pain and she has been on a continues IV drip of pain meds. We received news today that if everything continues to go well, Carrie will go home on Saturday! Hospice will be set up at our house and Carrie will be surrounded by our children in the comfort of her own home. So nice. That's it for now. I am certainly leaving out many details, but I am tired and going to bed.

Thanks again to you ALL. There are many factors at play in Carrie's miraculous comeback, and I am convinced that your continuous prayers and positive emission of energy have a lot to do with it. It could have also had something to do with Carrie wanting to explain her electric purple (magenta?) hair color. Her explanation of why she colored her hair? "Because I do whatever the f*&k I want."

It's all true.

Love Breck

(not spell checked or edited for grammar, so shutty)

Blur

Carrie is in the hospital and I am by her side. She isn't doing well. She is actually quite peaceful and seems comfortable, but the doctor's outlook for her isn't good. We don't know how long she has, but the cancer is taking up too much space in her brain and seems to be slowly shutting down her systems. Her pain seems under control now thanks to the tremendous team-work of her doctors and nurses.

I ended up taking her in on Sunday evening due to an incredibly debilitating headache, and it went rapidly downhill from there, She was admitted and given a room, and we have been here ever since.

Carrie was surrounded by family today, and our three children were able to visit for a good length of time this evening. 

It's been quite a while since I posted an update on Carrie. It has all been a blur; good days, bad days, ups, and downs. We went on a trip to Mt. St. Helens, camped for the 4th, spent Father's Day weekend on San Juan Island, and cheered on Astrid and June at their swim meets,  Carrie's unwavering resolve to make the best of her time on this Earth, spending time with her children, family, and friends is inspiring and should be a lesson to us all. She got it right. This is one amazing women. An amazing mother, wife, daughter, friend, and co-worker. When you read this, light a candle, raise a toast, hug a loved one, and/or give a shout to the skies in honor of my best friend,

That smile. 

"Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right" - Hunter/Garcia