Surgery Update

Dad's email:

All,

Connie is out of surgery and in recovery. It went well. The surgeon removed the lump and surrounding tissue to achieve clean margins. He also removed lymph nodes as some had cancer cells. It was about as he expected. I should be taking Connie home in a couple of hours.

The plan will be four months chemo followed by radiation.

We continue to be optimistic. We will beat this disease with some help from a very skilled medical team.

Sad News from Home

This email from my dad explains it:

Connie has breast cancer. Her last mammogram revealed a lump which was biopsied and determined to be malignant. The mass is about 2 cm and the stage of the cancer is either IIA or IIB depending on if it has spread to her lymph nodes. The good news is that it was detected early. The bad news is that the cancer cells are a fast growing type.

Connie is scheduled for a lumpectomy on January 27. She will have some additional testing to include an MRI to see if they can determine if the cancer has spread to her lymph nodes prior to surgery. The surgeon may take some nodes or all depending on what he finds. The surgery is fortunately a day surgery and she should be finished at the hospital in about four hours with relatively little discomfort. She will undergo about 4 months of chemotherapy followed by about 1 ½ months of radiation therapy.

We are positive. We are going to beat this. We are going to take it one day at a time and not let it control our life. I know we have support from all of you and that is comforting. I know Connie will appreciate hearing from you. I can’t tell you anything else and, frankly, I don’t want to further discuss the disease, the treatment, or the prognosis because at this point, you know what we know.

Thanks for your love and support.

2010: Gird Your Loins

Ladies and Gentlemen I have a very important announcement; in 2010 I, Paige Beckley, will be gainfully employed. My new title is Studio and Event Manager at Urban Light Studios at the Greenwood Collective. This year the Greenwood Collective is shifting from a coworking office to a studio and event space managed by Urban Light Studios. My task is to help Kevin and Julie Law develop the space into the place to book photo shoots, art shows, concerts, weddings, parties, conferences, and other events. This position is a bit off the career path but it is a valuable opportunity to learn more about marketing, business, event planning, and other skills that could serve me well when/if I transition back into international health.

My last two months as a self-employed person was very productive. I squeezed in one last sweet trip down to Arizona to visit my grandparents and friends Colleen and Kate. I also had a really great Christmas break with my family and second family, the Rudmans, in central Oregon. While in Seattle, I had time to snatch up a boyfriend, Justin. We’ve already had some fun adventures in the short time we’ve been dating; I have the feeling that he will be a regularly featured person on this blog. Of course no one could ever take the place of the biggest paigedeut.blogspot.com star: Oliver Beckley.

Taking the Plunge!

Every New Year’s Day at noon Seattle Parks and Recreation hosts the Polar Bear Plunge at Matthew’s Beach. In addition to our commemorate badges, the photo below is evidence that Kirsten and I entered the water. The photo shows the scene of rando Seattilites with hippee leanings and Kirsten and I screaming our heads off to the right. We’ll be back for more next year. Giddeeup






Brian and Kim got engaged! They’ll be tying the knot this summer. Yay! (Photo www.explosion5000.com)

Salsa New Years

The up side of Julie living in Philly is that every time she comes to visit is a reason to have a party. We brought in the New Year watching the fireworks from the Space Needle, socializing with randos, and dancing salsa until almost 4 am.

Christmas with family

I got in four awesome days of skiing at Mt. Bachelor with my family and the Rudmans.



I gave Oliver an awesome balance bike for Christmas. (Balance Bike = little bike with no pedals so children learn to balance by running and sitting on the seat.) I was upstaged, however, by my brother who gave Oliver a play vacuum cleaner. He likes cleaning in addition to dancing, snuggling, and swimming! He just might be the perfect man; now if we can get him potty trained.

Make new friends but keep the old

This isn’t Europe, this is a classy establishment called Sloops Tavern serving Ranier or Budlight. Sloopersize me.



OMSI just got Samson, one of the most complete T-Rex skeletons. Justin and I checked him out while visiting friends in Portland.



Colleen and I call this our lesbian Christmas card photo.



The girls in my core group continue to amaze me.