Kristin "Kourageous" Katich

Kristin went to the Huntsman Cancer Institute for her followup appointment recently.  Her labs are great. WBC 8.3 good, HGB 14.7 good, Platelets 224 good.  Pretty much normal would sum it up.  She still deals with the late effects that are inevitable. Life is good, very good.  Kristin and Nate will spend the summer with us while he works with a local judge and laywer. She hopes to spend time with me at the Northern Nevada Children's Cancer Foundation. School is going great and she loves focusing on her art.  She was 1 out of 10 students accepted into the visual arts program and she loves it. Her talent continues to amaze us.  The pictures above are from when we were fortunate enough to hear Mitt Romney speak when he came to town.  The drawing is of our dog Lucy. The bird is a piece that she worked on all last summer.  I wish you could see the detail as it is made up of tiny pieces of beautiful paper and then highlighte...

A December to remember sounds so cliche but my reflections on December 17, 2007 run so much deeper. In fact, I often find my self at a loss for the words to adequately express the depth of gratitude for the most precious treasures in my life. They seem so intimate, that at times I feel the only one who truly knows the depth of my gratitude is my Father in Heaven. Where is all this going? It was just four years ago that Kristin was officially diagnosed with A.L.L. She continues to live by her motto of ...you guessed it..."Live Happy." School is going great and married life is beautiful.....as things should be. Late effects of childhood cancer are what they are. She is learning to deal with them as any responsible young adult would.....(you can interpret that any way you choose) On her official "D day" she was running on a beach in southern California...quite appropriate. Back in 2007, the day was gray, chilly and drizzling a miserable rain that chilled you to the bon...

Here are the cliff notes, up-dated version, of what is going on in our home. 1 . Kristin is doing great. Labs are great, late effects are....well, it is what it is and that is all I have to say about that . 2. Junior at BYU . 3. Married the the talented and amazing Nathan Sumbot . 4. HAPPYHAPPYHAPPYHAPPY! 5. She blogs her little heart out at www.bite-ology.com You should check it out. All those days watching Food Network in the hospital and spending days on end at home with me in the kitchen has inspired a new passion in her...cooking. As for myself....I have taken on a new career. I never thought I would love anything as much as teaching, but I do. I now work passionately for the Northern Nevada Children's Cancer Foundation. Each day I am blessed to assist other families as they journey through childhood cancer. It is humbling to say the least and I absolutely love every minute of it. ( www.northernnevadachildrenscancer.org ) I posted a promotional movie I helped produce. I wrote...

The following is a promotional video which we unveiled at our 7th annual golf Tournament of Hope. It was my goal to depict life before a diagnosis, the devastation and then the mission of the foundation. I penned the script from my heart as only a parent who has traveled this road could. A big thank you to Kelly Dack for his talented skills and to Paul Cardall for his permission to use his beautiful music. Kristin spoke at the tournament's reception. She has amazing. Her closing remarks to the 150+ crowd...."Now I am doing great. I am happy and this is all my own hair!" She received a standing ovation. I wish you all could have been there. I will post pictures soon. I promise.

I am happy to report that Kristin was released from the hospital yesterday. The pain is not as intense, sores appear to be retreating, fever has subsided, and she seems to be slowly improving with the exception of some sore gums. It seems the worst is over. I was able to talk to the doctor and asked what exactly she has. She said it was the hand, foot and mouth virus...aka coxsackie. Who knew? A big thank you Grandma Inza and Nate for their TLC . Thank you for the prayers offered on her behalf. X & O to everyone .

"Mom, I have this sore throat, but don't worry, I can handle it," Kristin reported earlier in the week. Well, I have no doubt she knows exactly what to do and that she is more than capable. Unfortunately the unassuming sore throat turned into much more than anyone expected. While visiting her Grandma, the pain became severe and they went in for a strep test Friday afternoon. The test was negative and some meds were prescribed but by Saturday the pain became unbearable (on the handy dandy pain scale she put it at a 9, which is pretty bad) making it too difficult to swallow the meds, and fever reared its ugly head during a nap. A trip to the ER was necessary. Some iv pain meds, other "stuff", fluids and labs were ordered. I was anxious to see the numbers. (and yes, I am hundreds of miles away, but I know Kristin is wanting and learning to take on more of her care herself, it still is hard to be so far away) At first we were told that her WBC (white blood cell coun...

I think my heart skips a beat or two as the days approaching Kristin's clinic visits approach. Restless sleep consumes the nights preceding the checkup. A simple song on the radio brings torrents of tears . My mind races through all the fears of the unknown, oh no's and what-if's. Am I the only parent who feels this way? I do not think so. I know there are thousands of us who live this scenario every day. I pray that as time and research marches on, that there will be fewer parents who are members of this not so inclusive club we are a part of. I have hope that this day will come. Well, all sentiments aside, Kristin's clinic visit was, " STELLAR! " I was terribly anxious until I had the much anticipated labs in my hot little hands. This was with good reason as Kristin had some crazy bruising going on. Our dog had jumped on her while she was visiting. This, in and of itself, should be of no concern, but the naughty pup left some alarming bruise...