Heather is back in the hospital but will hopefully be moving to her father’s place soon.

Please consider helping and sharing this with others. Any amount would be wonderful.

Thank you very much.

Donation information: https://www.vwdreamer.org/support

There had been a delay in her chemo as the doctors decided which new chemo was best and when to start it. The cancer took advantage of that delay.

New chemo started on September 14th and will continue every 3 weeks for only 5 sessions because this stuff is particularly hard on the heart. The doctors said her heart is strong enough to handle this.

She stayed in the hospital for two weeks. Friends and family came to be there when information came in, helping keep track of procedures and medicine, advocate for proper care, give comfort, allow Jerald to leave to shower and do laundry.

Her need for higher oxygen went down - again! - and she was able to leave the hospital on Monday, September 26th. Yay! She and Jerald are back at home in Keizer with her brother Aaron and all the kitties.

Chemo continues through the end of December and Keytruda (immunotherapy) is still on the table.

They are working on their house in Tigard - yard work, dump runs, sorting through stuff to sell and donate, etc. If you’re in the Portland/Metro Area and would like to lend a hand, please reach out.

And, of course, donations are greatly appreciated.
Please go to this page for ways to help: https://www.vwdreamer.org/support

They rolled into camp in their VW Bug late Tuesday/early Wednesday of event week and we got them unloaded set up as quickly as possible while they told us their tales of melting parts, a failing fuel pump and an unexpected stay in the hospital prior to leaving for Burning Man.

Heather’s coughing had gotten more intense so they got scans and x-rays to see how things were looking. Nothing new had cropped up that they could see but they felt she may have an infection and put her on antibiotics and sent her on her way. I am paraphrasing what I was told and I know it was a much more serious interaction but in my head I hear Heather telling the doctors to just give her the meds so she could get on her way.

The heat, wind and dust kicked everyone’s ass this year for sure but Heather’s safety and comfort were a priority. The bug was Heather and Jerald’s disability vehicle so they were able to explore BRC together. We had great community shade in camp so there was a comfortable spot to sit and catch up with friends.

Since I left early this year, I only know stories about their experience at BM. They saw lots of cool stuff and renewed their vows in camp but also dealt with equipment that couldn’t keep up with the heat and dust and, ultimately, they had to leave quickly. Luckily, our camp mate - and nurse! - Marlena spoke with medical staff about Heather’s condition and they were allowed to leave at a different exit point with no issues.

The bug had its troubles on the way home too but you all know how amazing Heather and Jerald are at doing repairs on the fly! They made it home to her brother’s in Keizer where they are staying along with Daisy, Forest and Thomas.*

*I’ll mention here that Cheyanne and Betty are being adopted in Portland by my friend Lindsey. Lily is being adopted by LeighAnn and we’re working on an indoor home for Deja-Vu.

I visited Heather and Jerald on Saturday, September 10th on my way up to Portland transporting Cheyanne and Betty. I brought the girls in and they hung out in the bathroom and chilled and Heather and Jerald got to spend some time with them.

They had a meeting with oncology doctors at OHSU in Portland (they have sarcoma specialists) on September 6th. And again, I am paraphrasing….the meeting went well and it was the day before the tumor board met so they are discussing the tumor in her heart as well. Sounds like there will be a new chemotherapy starting up and although she didn’t qualify for a medical trial it looks like she’s a good candidate for immunotherapy using Pembrolizumab (Keytruda). They are hoping to start that as soon as possible.

If I remember correctly, Keytruda is given as an infusion every three weeks. Each infusion session is around $10,000!!!! The OSHU doctors are going to work with Kaiser to get the cost covered by their insurance. Hopefully that will happen but even if Kaiser covers 80%, that’s still $2000 each session. I think Jerald said she needed three sessions…although it may be more. I know Heather said she’d be done by January.

Heather went to the ER before I arrived in Keizer as her coughing was getting worse and she felt pain and pressure in her heart. Scans showed nothing new but there’s a concern that she picked up Valley Fever, possibly in Nevada, which is an infection caused by the fungus Coccidioides. Since she is considered medically fragile, she’s more susceptible to a serious infection. As of today, she’s waiting to get tested for that, to start the new chemo and find out when she can start on Keytruda.

As always, any financial assistance is greatly welcomed and appreciated.

Thank you.

Or whether new ones pop up”

Me:
I asked about the brackets used to hold her head in place during the procedure and whether they had put her under and what was next.

Heather:
“Just screwed tight to skull, I haven't taken bandaids off yet. Was not put under. Just put into a machine, similar to MRI tunnel, attached to a bracket on bed

Chemo next week, and my brother just got here, so more work on property, fencing, etc. We need to find homes for more animals.... 

It's not feasible to fly back with 2 dogs and 8 cats”

Me:
I asked whether friends could fly back with some of the animals. I think she’s going to check into that.

She’s heading to Kona today for some recovery time. Her dad is her escort. She's got a portable oxygen machine rather than a tank and will have wheelchair service curb to curb with the airlines.
Yay!

Thursday, July 7th
From Heather’s father, Raymond:

Hello everyone. I am with Heather in Honolulu now, she's receiving her second dose of chemo therapy. That should take a couple hours. it's now noon on Thursday. The good news is they are going to discharge her  Saturday. I will fly her back to the big island. She will be staying at an Ohana of a friend's very near the Kona airport and the Kona hospital. They found 7 spots in her brain that they are going to treat with a gamma radiation knife next week. We will come back next week as an out patient for that treatment. We hope to be able to fly back to Oregon in 3 to 5 weeks. Thank you all for your love and support.
Raymond

I spoke with Heather and Jerald on Friday, July 1st. 

Heather sounded great! And she's stoked that she has been progressively needing less oxygen assistance.

The hospital is allowing Jerald to stay with her at night, but it’s on a day-by-day decision basis. They have two Burner friends on Oahu who are giving Jerald a place to stay and a car to drive as needed.

The hospital is also allowing Heather access to outside food so she can stick to her dietary needs (no dairy, soy, corn, pea protein, among other restrictions). Jerald has been picking up groceries for her and bringing it back to the hospital so she stays nourished. She said she got super excited about a taco salad that came via Uber Eats yesterday.

They said the outpouring of love and support, including generous donations, has blown them away.

Thank you all.