the wee hours

Friends, Val had a painful night culminating in a trip to the ER at 4:00 in the morning. Three of us went with her. She sometimes gets these intensely painful muscle spasms in inexplicable places: around one side of her rib cage; along part of her spine… Last night’s was in Continue Reading

safely home

Dears, we have made it safely home to Portland. Our fabulous ground crew was waiting to wave us in, haul in the gear (including about fifteen heavy O2 tanks), bring us dinner, and envelop us in big hugs. The dog was ecstatic to see us and we to see her. Continue Reading

traveling

Dears, We are heading home to Portland for a short time. Betty probably has days to live, but Val’s energy and breathing are worsening, even with oxygen, so we need to get her back for treatment. OHSU is trying to get us an appointment with a radiation  oncologist for Thursday to see if Continue Reading

snow on Ksanka

We are still in Montana, taking care of one another during these rich days that are at once intense and domestic. Betty, Val’s mom, is holding steady in her weakened dream state, occasionally speaking, very occasionally occupying the same timestream as us. Val is very absorbed in taking care of her Continue Reading

all in Montana

Now I’m in Montana too. Flew in to Kalispell yesterday (thanks, S, for the miles), picked up the car at the airport (following Brooke’s photgraphic clues, feeling like a spy) and drove up to the ranch. At the moment the household contains siblings Val, Brad, Sandy and Jane; parents Miles and Betty; and Continue Reading

oxygen

Val’s been cooling her heels at the ER for over 6 hours and counting. They finally saw her around 9:00 and determined that yes, she could at this point benefit from oxygen. The current plan is for her to fly to Montana tomorrow, but it turns out the airlines require Continue Reading