Meet Rosemary Bennett Tracy!

Kim went into labor on the due date, 11/12/15.  Somehow we were surprised because we had talked ourselves into believing Brim would be late.  Kim's minor contractions in the morning/afternoon progressed rapidly in the evening and we were in the hospital by about 11pm at night.  It was a long, sleepless night.  Kim was an absolute rock star going through labor with the help of some excellent nurses.  At 10:53 am on Friday, November 13, 2015, Rosemary Bennett Tracy was born and placed in her mother's arms.  Rosemary's eyes were wide open and, for me, to witness mother and child seeing each other for the first time was incredible.

Rosemary is named after my great Uncle Bob's late wife, Rosemary Sidur.  She was my grandma's best friend and was also my Dad's godmother.  Uncle Bob is an incredibly wise, humorous and generous man.  I do not remember meeting my Aunt Rosemary (and she may have passed before I was born), but my entire life Uncle Bob always talks about what an amazing and kind women she was.  We also absolutely love the name.

We left the hospital 24 hours after Rosemary was born.  Taking her home and welcoming her to our home was incredible (We have a roommate!).  She has already met a lot of her family and friends who have showered her with love.  There are many more of you for her to meet.  She told me she can't wait to meet you all!

We are now trying to figure this whole parenting thing out.  So far she is healthy, nursing and giving us plenty of diapers to change so we are doing something right.

We couldn't have gottten through the ups and downs of this pregnancy or the first few days of being parents without the help, support and love of so many of you.  Thank you.

[More photos to come soon.  Our friend,  Amy, took some higher non-phone photos a couple days ago and we will post some here.

2.5 weeks to go

2.5 weeks to go and we're getting to know Brim better with every day as we can see each tiny movement with the ever-shrinking living space for him/her.

Honestly, it's been hard to sit down and write an update because life has been a little crazy. We've been busy with people in town helping us to get ready for the baby. The goal for October was to get ready for the fast-approaching Brim.  And, knock on wood, we're about there! Stroller, crib, car seat, and plenty of cute things to boot.  I am feeling pretty good aside from my feet. They swell up to clubs by the end of the work week. Brian is still plugging along in the second cycle of chemo. We're still on "Plan A."  The effects are up and down, but he's staying as active and positive as he can. The support from others certainly helps. There is no way we could have been as ready for Brim as we are now without friends and family coming in from all over. We're grateful for all of the love that folks are sending in so many ways.

Brim's nursery in progress

Our friends call a due date more of a "due period" so we're mentally preparing for the baby to come any day, taking time to appreciate the moments we have now, but also with major anticipation to invite Brim into the world. The hospital bag is packed...

Chemotherapy Cycle 1 DONE!

Today was the final chemotherapy drugs I take for the Cycle 1.  I did an infusion at the SCCA this afternoon.  The disclaimer is that although the drugs are consumed, it is also near peak of the effects so I might feel crappy for a while.  I get 2 weeks for my body and blood counts (platelets and white blood cells) to recover and then chemotherapy drugs will start all over again for Cycle 2.

Getting IV for infusion today.

Overall I am happy with how I am holding up. I went for an outrigger canoe downwinder yesterday (about 6 miles) with friends and have been riding the stationary bike and the real bike around the neighborhood.  I'm working as much as I have energy for. Most importantly, I still feel myself.  So I am glad to complete the first step of chemotherapy, and I will be a pro for the cycles to come.

This is the canoe, but not a photo from yesterday. It was windy and cloudy yesterday.

Now the exciting updates!  Kim is incredible.  She is teaching 7th and 8th graders while growing a baby and being 7+ months pregnant.  Seriously if you had to simply choose the physical effects (leave out all the cancer details) of chemo vs. Kim's pregnancy and teaching, I might choose chemo!  Kim and Brim keep me motivated.

Brim is kicking all the time and we are in awe as we see and feel more and more as he or she grows.  Less than 2 months until Brim's due date, so we are really starting to get the house more ready fit a baby or more appropriately all the baby's stuff.

Last, my good friends who run the MFG cyclocross race series in Seattle named a race after me!  It should be fun day, so if you are around Seattle come check out the scene.  Info here:
http://www.mfgcyclocross.com/events/brian-tracy-experience/

Padawan

My favorite Yoda quote these days is "Patience you must have, my young padawan." In working through Brian's treatment, I need to constantly remind myself that we're in this for the long run. In this case, I am certainly the padawan.

We are packing in the appointments before I start the school year. Monday, Brian and I saw his neuro oncologist to review Brian's general health, blood count, and a current MRI.  After a few weeks to recover from radiation, we were told to expect the MRI scan to look about the same as it did before the biopsy, or slightly larger because of swelling. This was exactly what we saw.  The shape looks a lot like Casper the Friendly Ghost, or a Grateful Dead dancing bear (which seems fitting). So these results, paired with Brian's general good health, leads us into phase two of treatment: Brian started chemotherapy treatment Monday night.

Of course, all day I've been asking Brian "How are you feeling now?" and the truth is that these drugs will take some time to work into his system and the symptoms will progress throughout the 6 week cycle. Again I'm reminded: Patience, my young padawan. The easy and hard times will come and go. It's all temporary. As for Tuesday, he felt well: woke up to meditate and hop on the spin bike, and then paddled on the OC-2 with Nick this evening.

Thank you all for your continued support and concern. The messages, T-shirts, visits, stickers, and thoughts and prayers all lift our spirits. Thank you for keeping us positive!

Bullet Points

We have been bad about updating you all via our blog the past month or so.  Instead of boring you with the details, here are the important updates along with a few photos:

• We made it to Jarod and Laura's (JOLT) wedding in beautiful Colorado.  It  was amazing.  Literally, rainbows appeared when Laura walked down the aisle.  We were so grateful to be there and participate in the whole weekend of events.  It wasn't always easy with altitude, radiation effects and pregnancy, but we did our best.

• We celebrated our 5-year wedding anniversary in Colorado the day before the JOLT wedding.  I am proud to know we are such a good team together.    
• After Colorado, my Mom came back to Seattle with us to observe the 4-year anniversary of Dad's death.  Time goes fast, but August 11 is a day that our family will not forget.  Dad's spirit was radiant at the JOLT wedding and it was in Seattle too.  We went to see Wilco, which was one of Dad's favorite bands.  I had a blast.  Mom was reminded why Wilco was Dad's favorite band but not her's.  The most important thing was that we were together.  I think Brim is a Wilco fan, and we know Dad would have bought the onesie.

• Radiation effects have been the most difficult after it ended.  Don't worry, this is common and what doctors generally expect.  I really had low energy 2-3 weeks after finishing treatment.  It feels like my energy level is finally improving this week, so we will call that a win.
• The Be Positive movement just keeps rolling along, and is amazing to watch.  Stickers are getting plastered from the top of ski areas in Colorado to our local bars and restaurants we frequent in Seattle (and of course on boards and other gear).  The freaking Avett Brothers even wore the stickers for their show in Washington D.C. last week thanks to Aunt Linda and the Kushners.  It really does give Kim and me a lift.  Thank you!  (If you want stickers, let me know.)

Photo by Rebecca R. Photography (http://www.rebeccarphotography.com/)

• Chemotherapy is planned to start on Monday, 8/24.  I won't get into details, but here is the summary:  Each cycle is 6 weeks; It is mostly pills, with a few IV injections at specific times of the cycle; The side effects are difficult to predict, especially the first cycle(s).
• Brim is doing perfectly according to the doctors and from what we can tell with all the kicking and activity that we feel in Kim's belly.  Kim is in the sweet spot of pregnancy, as she puts it.
• We went to our first parenting/childbirth class last night.  We are also preparing for Brim's arrival by starting to rearrange some rooms in our home to set up the nursery.

Love to you all.

Radiation Complete (and TV)

My 33 radiation treatments over the past 6.5 weeks are complete.  My last day was Tuesday, 7/28, and now I am in recovery mode.  It feels like a nice milestone and accomplishment, but at the same time it is only the first step.  The doctor did say the peak of side effects is when treatment ends and I believe her!  I am feeling fatigued and generally low energy this week.  My health objective for August is to recover and heal as much as possible to go into chemotherapy strong.  Chemotherapy is scheduled to begin 8/24.

Cannot wait to celebrate Laura and Jarod at their wedding next week!  As we know my sister is an amazing planner and I know the wedding will be absolutely spectacular.  And we get to officially welcome Jarod into our family.  Add to that all the amazing energy that family and friends will bring.  I am very grateful that my treatment has worked out so I am on my "break" next week.

Last night Kim and I were on the local Seattle news, King 5.  A reporter contacted us because she heard about the Be Positive movement via word of mouth through my friends in the standup paddleboard community.  We decided to give it a go because putting some energy to a positive cause gives Kim and I energy and motivation to keep moving forward.  The reporter, Natalie Swaby, and cameraman, Eric, came to our house yesterday afternoon and interviewed us in the backyard.  They were super professional, very nice and I think were genuinely interested in us and our story.  We think they did a great job in creating a nice piece that is consistent with our approach.  It is amazing to see the Be Positive message starting to spread to more strangers and in particular people that have been affected by cancer.  It makes us feel even better that funds from the shirts are going to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA).  We have even met with SCCA fundraising staff to make sure Kim and I can be involved with earmarking these donations so they are used to have the most positive impact possible.

Here is the TV link:  http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/seattle/2015/07/30/be-positive-cancer-patient-/30868413/

Be Positive 2

It has been amazing to see photos of everyone with the Be Positive t-shirts.  I am sure I missed some photos, but I tried to grab as many as I could find.  Keep posting the photos and add #btpositivity so we can find them easily.

Some friends and family missed the first round, so a second round is live (link below).  Feel free to spread it on.
http://www.booster.com/be-positive

Love to you all!

Strength in Numbers

So much of life is centered on community: family, friends, neighbors, people on the bus, etc. We are constantly forced, and also choose, to interact with others. Brian and I are seeing the purpose and importance of this everyday as he works through treatment, and Brim grows bigger.

One of the attributes that most attracted me to Brian was his ability to build community. He throws dinner parties, inviting friends and neighbors, without worrying about the fact that the table only fit 6, or that we don't have enough plates. He will learn a new sport, and instead of dabbling in the hobby, he jumps all in with competitions, gear and training, and doesn’t hold back from bringing people with him and making new and lasting friends. With calm confidence, Brian marched his way straight into my heart, and I’ve seen him do it with countless others. We both have benefited from this attribute with the amazing friends and close family connections that we have.

Recently, we’ve been able (with the support of family) to travel to be with our families.  We spent the 4th of July weekend in Chicago, saying goodbye to Brian’s childhood home (because Marla is selling it) and hello to friends and family who needed to “lay some eyes on us.” We felt so loved.The following weekend, we flew into the Redmond Airport to spend a couple of days at Cultus Lake - the favorite Bennett vacation. We got to spend quality time with the village that raised me. It felt so good to be in a space that is a home away from home, and to reconnect with close friends and family.

Here at home, our community feels stronger than ever. In short amounts of time, you have all raised over $7,000 in Be Positive T-Shirts, and raised money to pay for a two-person outrigger canoe. The inspiring and supportive comments on these websites fill us with hope and love each day. This push to be positive truly seems to be the key to managing cancer treatments and difficult times. People continue to remind us of this as we meet others going through treatments at the proton center, and from friends and family who have survived cancer threats. 

After the seizure, Brian kept saying that if we put enough positivity out there, then that message will keep coming back to us as times get hard. This is what we’ve seen, and we cannot thank you enough for that. We’re learning to be okay with feeling crappy or tired, and to find the love and light in the little things during this gorgeous Seattle summer. We are grateful everyday for the community that we have around us. You are a comfort that continues to keep our spirits high as we start down the road of dealing with cancer and starting our family at the same time. We love you!

Treatment Update and Additional News

Proton radiation is going well.  I am in my second full week of treatment.  7 of 33 treatments are complete and I will have 5 more this week, Monday through Friday.  I work with the same people each day and they are really good folks who care a ton.  Nobody wants to be getting radiation for cancer and the people that work at the proton center do everything they can to make the experience as smooth as possible.  So far, side effects have been minimal.  But side effects are cumulative so I expect to have more fatigue as treatment continues.

Talking to my good friend, Scott, we realized that the Ghostbusters used "proton packs" to deal with the ghosts/demons/etc they encountered.  One of my oncologists said that the objective of treatment is to transform my brain tumor into a "ghost" of a tumor since it cannot be surgically removed.  I actually think is a beautiful analogy for how I have to learn to live and thrive in harmony with the tumor.  So the Ghostbusters theme seems very relevant at the moment!  We will have to re-watch the movie soon since it is such a classic (we already have been watching Star Wars).  #whoyougonnacall

Additional news and updates: Kim felt Brim moving around for the first time last week!  That was really, really exciting.  Kim will be 20 weeks pregnant this week and that is the halfway mark!  She is doing an amazing job balancing growing a child with everything else going on.  We also made a quick trip down to Portland over the weekend to see friends, family and Lizzie and Blake's new home.  It was a good test since we have not moved too far from home for a while.  We passed.  

Lastly, thank you for the continued support.  It is absolutely amazing and has helped keep our positive attitude and spirits sky high.

Love to you all, Brian

Be Positive!

Brian Tracy has cancer. 
It is in his brain. 
It might be a part of him forever. 
If that’s the case, he is not going to fight himself.
He is going to love it instead.
Love it into submission.
Be one with it.
This kind of positivity should not go unrecognized.
Help the cause by spreading the good.
http://www.booster.com/be-positive

Many of you have already seen this through the power of social media.  Brian's co-workers and friends surprised us and created this Booster page to boost the outpouring of love and support right before treatment began.  Treatment was smooth today and radiation is underway successfully!  The support has been beyond amazing, and the shirts look really, really cool.

The primary goal of this is to spread the message of positivity into the world.  If we see one of these shirts in Seattle, or the Tracys see them in Chicago or the Bennetts see them in Portland, it will absolutely make our day.  The Booster site is set up to raise funds, but that was not the primary goal.  The idea with any funds that are raised is to find positive ways to make the world a better place.  John Herzog (whose name is on the Booster) is Brian's good friend and co-worker and organized the site.  Part of the proceeds from shirts will be used to make other fun items with the logo like decals/stickers that could be distributed to friends and strangers in Seattle, Portland, Chicago and elsewhere.  Surplus funds will go to a positive mission that we identify.  It could be donated to cancer research or maybe directly to people facing the challenges of cancer that they meet during Brian's journey through treatment.

Radiation Treatment Starts Tomorrow

Hi Everyone,
Just a quick update.  Brian will start treatment tomorrow (June 11).  The first round of treatment is radiation over an approximately 6-week period.  Treatment will be 5 days a week Monday through Friday for a total of about 33 treatments.  Radiation should be complete near the end of July.  Appointments will be quick, at about 30 minutes total, and he will meet with a radiation oncologist once a week.  Sidenote: The radiation oncologist is brilliant and maybe the best doctor we have met.

He is actually doing proton therapy radiation which is a slightly different technology than typical radiation (called photon radiation).  The technology for proton therapy is pretty incredible and there are some major advantages compared to typical radiation especially since the tumor is in Brian's brain.  We are super lucky because the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance's (SCCA) proton therapy center is located about 10 minutes from our house and there are only about 14 of these facilities in the entire U.S.!  Here is some information on the SCCA proton therapy and the technology if you are interested:  https://www.sccaprotontherapy.com/proton-therapy

Brian is working on some meditation and visualization techniques (AKA Jedi skills) to use during the treatments to enhance the effect and to stay still!  Side effects of radiation differ from person to person, but it seems likely fatigue will be the biggest issue.  The side effects are cumulative, so the first couple weeks might be fine with fatigue increasing as more treatment is administered.  A friend who has gone through radiation for brain cancer suggested to "embrace the nap".  Whatever happens we will be taking it one day at a time as treatment begins.

Lastly, Brian may be in need of rides to treatment.  The schedule is dictated by the proton therapy center and may vary week to week.  We will have a schedule for the next week every Thursday.  As needed, we will send out email blasts and maybe set up a Google calendar link or something for people to sign up to volunteer rides.  You may want to check this place out!  And many thanks to everyone that has already offered to help.

Overall we are happy to begin the treatment.  It will be a long road, but it will feel nice to start.

Sending our love.

Here is Brian's custom mask that he wears during radiation treatment to keep his head still.

Diagnosis Update

Hi folks.

Last Wednesday (5/27), we met with doctors at the UW Medical Center to hear the results of Brian's biopsy.  There was hard news and hopeful news.  In the spirit of our approach to this whole experience, we're choosing to stay positive. As Yoda says, "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."  We're choosing love and light and positivity.

The hard news: Brian's tumor was diagnosed as brain cancer. It is a grade 3 tumor (on a scale of aggressiveness from 2 - 4).

·         Note! Please be careful in Googling brain tumors in general as there are lots and lots that all act differently.  Keep in mind, as one doctor told us, Brian's brain tumor is unique to only him and the names/grades/statistics are simply categories.

The hopeful news: Of the grade 3 tumors, research shows that Brian's is one that can respond to treatment. Due to the location of the tumor, it is not surgically removable. The goal is to stabilize or shrink it so that the tumor stops growing and Brian can continue as himself. The tumor will always have to be tracked.  We have an amazing team of doctors working for and with us at UW and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and we are incredibly confident in their abilities.

The plan: The doctors have a very clear plan for us.  We are looking at about a year of treatment. He will have 6 weeks of radiation starting within 2 weeks, a 4 week break, and then up to 3 rounds of 4-6 week chemotherapy treatments.

Support: We will need you! We will need your continued positivity, hopes, thoughts, prayers and messages. We will need rides to the doctor, food (in moderation) and visits in the backyard. We are so thankful for the wide net of support we have, and although we may not have returned your emails yet, we deeply appreciate your thoughts and words.  We are really lucky people and you fill us with love.

Follow Brian on Instagram! Link here: https://instagram.com/b.tracy22/

Lots of love to all of you,

Kim and Brian

Stirring the Pot: Volume 3

A quick introduction: Stirring the Pot was born in 2008 (as Volume 1) when Kim and Brian decided to mix it up and travel/volunteer in Peru and Bolivia for about five months. Our amazing family and friends wanted to follow our adventures, so we obliged and posted photos and stories from our travels.

Volume 2 was launched in 2010 to serve as our wedding website and get the family and friends prepped for that epic weekend in Oregon. Damn! That was a good party and wedding.

Now we have decided to re-launch Stirring the Pot as Volume 3. The current setting: Kim is pregnant with the first Kimybrian offspring, lovingly referred to by the nickname "Brim." He or she is set to make an appearance in November 2015. Brian has just recently been diagnosed with a serious disease and has a long road of treatment ahead.

What has not changed throughout the volumes is our amazing network of family and friends that care so much about us. We have received an absolutely humbling amount of love and support in the last couple weeks. We will use Volume 3 to update you all on our progress and may use it as a way to request support when needed. While we have very much appreciated all the emails and Facebook messages, we think it would be easier for us to manage this blog and have all your messages in one place. Please feel free to comment on our posts and we will be checking frequently.

Brian is also updating his Instagram account. Visit for near daily updates and life observations: https://instagram.com/b.tracy22/ We love you all so much! Thank you.