I want to personally thank each and every person who has supported our family throughout our journey. The kindness shown to our family was heaven sent and I hope each one of you know how much you helped us. Your kindness and generosity enabled us to focus on the "now" while also solidifying our future. While I will never be able to reach every person individually, I want you all to know that I will never forget the kindness shown to my family and I am proud to call you all friends. This will be the final post on Kristin's blog though I will leave the blog open for learning and remembrance. Remember to always keep believing big! Love, Dan
I want to express my deepest appreciation and thanks for those who attended Kristin's memorial service. I hope you were as touched by the ceremony as I was. It was wonderful seeing so many people there to support Kristin's legacy and our family. Father Sam and Father Tom both gave a beautiful tribute to Kristin. The service truly reflected Kristin's life and was a beautiful welcome to heaven for her.
The lunch after the service also turned out wonderful. My family and I hope you enjoyed each others company as you remembered Kristin. The food was amazing. Special thanks to Kim, Benny, and Charcoal Deli for organizing such a perfect lunch on short notice! Kristin would have been proud!! Please forgive me if I am a little slow responding to messages or calls nowadays. I try to dedicate some time each night to responding but sometimes its just too late or I fall asleep holding my phone :( Life has really changed for me and it has been quite a whirlwind. I am still getting used to things how they are and I am still trying to figure out how to juggle my days I will ultimately be closing Kristin's Facebook account. I don't know exactly when but I need to close it eventually. If you want to continue following my family and I, I created a page under my name, Dan Kohnle. I resisted creating a page for many years but I feel the time is now right. I want to stay in touch with our family, friends, and support network and I realize Facebook is an integral part of staying in touch nowadays. Feel free to "friend" me if you like. Again, thank you all for your support over this difficult journey and beyond. Love, Dan Kristins memorial service will be held on Monday June 30th at 11am. The service will take place at Our Lady of Grace church located at 18310 Middletown Road Parkton, MD 21120. All are welcome to attend. A luncheon will follow in the adjacent church hall where finger foods and refreshments will be served. Bring your best memories of Kristin and lets join together to celebrate her eternal life with God.
Stay tuned for details on the celebration of life party in late July or early August.. Details will be forthcoming as arrangements are made. Thanks for loving Kristin, Dan Kristin's arrangements are pending and I should have everything finalized tomorrow. We will be having a memorial service on Monday or Tuesday at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Parkton, MD. All are welcome. We will also be hosting a celebration of life event in either late July or early August. The event is still in the making but expect a casual, family friendly event to honor and remember Kristin. She wants the event to be fun, not sad, so expect lots of great food, drinks, and fun for the kids. I will post details as they become available.
Special thanks to everyone for your caring words, deeds, and thoughts. They do not go unnoticed and both my family and I appreciate everything. As I stated before, this journey would have been unbearable without all your love and support. For this, I am forever grateful. As I sit here alone in bed, I again want to reiterate how important it is to hold those close to you dearly. Life can and will change in the blink of an eye and we sometimes have no control over the direction. Take nothing for granted and appreciate each day for what it is. Lean over and give your loved one a big kiss goodnight and be thankful you have them in your life. Talk to you soon, Dan On 6/26/14 at 4:20am, Kristin finished her journey on earth and went home to heaven. She faded from this world while her mother and I held her tight. She passed without pain and left this world with the same courage, strength, grace, and dignity she showed throughout her life. I am proud to have such a wonderful wife and I will miss her dearly. I was blessed with two wonderful children by Kristin and I will have a part of her forever in them. Please keep Kristin and our family in your prayers as we move forward in this world with her watching and guiding us from above. Love, Dan
Kristin continues her battle with strength and grace. Kristin's liver is failing her and fluid continues to build in her body. With liver failure comes severe fatigue and confusion. Kristin struggles with her thoughts now so we must be patient and cherish her few words. Kristin has expressed thanks for everyone who has visited and provided support. I read her your messages daily and it always makes her smile. If you send Kristin a message and don't receive a reply, just know that your message was read to Krisitn. She cherishes your messages, she just doesn't have the energy to reply. Sometimes we may not know God's plan but we must trust that he has one. As I sit here holding my beautiful wife, I know that his plan was for me and all of you to be here for her in her time of need. Dan
Just a little update on Kristin. The cancer has caused a large amount of excess fluid to build in her body. The excess fluid causes her additional pain, fatigue, and nausea. She was drained of fluid on Friday and felt better. She is likely going to have a permanent abdominal drain put in this week so she doesn't have to make repeated trips to the hospital. She continues to fight through her pain to watch her children grow and live life to its fullest. We attended the Alison Krauss concert on Saturday and had a blast! We even got to dance to our wedding song! It was a wonderful evening out with a wonderful person. Special thanks to all who helped make it possible! Remember to give thanks for your family and Dan
My beautiful wife, best friend, soulmate, and mother to my children was placed on hospice due to the progression of her disease. The past year of therapies, treatments, and disease progression have taken their toll on Kristin's body. While no one likes to hear the word "hospice", it is a part of this cancer journey that we cannot control. Though hospice was activated, it does not come with a set of "must follow" instructions or guarantees. Kristin's doctors simply do not have any more answers and her disease progression/body condition indicate hospice is applicable. Though Kristin is weakened from her fight, her spirit is strong. Kristin continues to fight her battle with grace and composure and possesses an extremely strong will to live. Each day, Kristin fights through debilitating pain and fatigue to be the best wife a man could ask for and the best mother children could ever be blessed with. Throughout this journey, she has kept her faith in God and her head held high. Kristin never forgets to give thanks for our wonderful support network of family, friends, and strangers. My wife is a true model for living with your disease and making the most of every day.
PLEASE remember to cherish your loved ones and never underestimate the power of family, friends, and community. Kristin and I are proud to be the benefactors of your time and many generous gifts. Without our support network, this journey would not have been possible. Keep Believing Big, Dan This update is long overdue however the past month has afforded Dan and I little opportunity to write and journal. My cancer has been reminding me of its existence a little too often lately. Debilitating pain has plagued me recently. Between my wrecked gall bladder and the tumors pressing on my nerves, the pain is constant. I try to work through it with medication and positivity but sometimes it stops me in my tracks. I have learned that my journey can be very consuming and unpredictable. Some days I am left with barely enough energy to hold my head up and other days, I am supermom (or at least I like to think so). Sometimes the most mundane household tasks are impossible. I am constantly reminded that life is full of turns, obstacles, and things to conquer. You just say a prayer, take a strong step, and keep moving forward. You never know what is coming the next day so always give each day your best and never miss a moment with your loved ones. I am currently taking oral Dilaudid for my pain. Since Dilaudid is a very strong pain medication, life must be constantly balanced and juggled while on it. Sometimes the stuff works great and other times its feels like I missed a dose. Sometimes the medication makes me very sick and other times it does not. There is no rhyme or reason and its a constant battle to feel "good". Sometimes when I think that I have lost track of what "good" really feels like, I look at my husband and children, and I know that "good" is to be with them. I am currently in the recovery period for my first Temodar and Xeloda chemotherapy round. Its too early to know if its helping. My oncologist wants to give me a little more recovery time so I am not going to start a second round until at least next week. While at my appointment today, I learned that a trip to either Europe or Duke University Hospital could be in store for the future. Doctors are exploring whether I would benefit from an experimental radio-peptide radiation. The treatment is very specific for some forms of neuro-endocrine cancer and is only available in the U.S. via clinical trials. My doctor is exploring whether Duke University has an active trial. If Duke does not, the treatment is widely available in Europe so I might have to go there. We'll figure out how later!!! Lets pray that if I need this therapy, Duke is taking participants!!! Natalie had her first birthday last week!! It seems like yesterday when Dan and I were anxiously awaiting her arrival at the hospital. It has been an amazing year watching her grow into a beautiful little girl. God has so far blessed me with the opportunity to raise my daughter and be a part of her forever. Our little girl is maturing so fast, right along with out little man!! I can't believe that on May 25th, it will be a year since my diagnosis. Thanks everybody for pitching in to get us through this last month and year! Without everyones support, we would not be where we are today. Please know that we appreciate every kind gesture towards our family and we will never stop believing big. Love, K I had a CT and MRI this week to evaluate my last TACE procedure. After a whole day of scans and bloodwork, Dan and I met with the doctor. I guess the two hour wait was worth it because he said the cancer in my liver has responded well to the TACE. He even said the response exceeded his expectations. Of course, he wants to do more. I guess one can look at this as a positive because the dumb poison is working. I have trouble thinking about more of those procedures as I have constant pain & nausea that seldom leaves me alone. It can be very severe; actually quite debilitating. At first, we blamed the TACE & my cancer for the pain however my scans this week reveal my gall bladder is damaged. This can be expected with Sandostatin treatments (I really don't like it when the treatments add to my problems). I will likely need my gall bladder removed so hopefully they can also reverse my colostomy at the same time. If they can reverse the colostomy, it will make my day, month, year, and life!!!!!!! I think we are going to evaluate my current chemotherapy for at least two rounds before any other procedures are done. We gotta try to get my lung cancer under control. This means I gotta live with the pain for now. I'm headed to bed but first a small prayer to God thanking him for another day with my family, friends, supporters, and the inventors of Oxycodone and Compazine. K
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