Last year was certainly busy but looking back it seemed pretty uneventful in regards to Travis’ health.  Don’t get me wrong, I am more than thankful that he is defeating his tumor but I feel somewhat removed from the caregiver role.  I am not sure that I will ever “retire” from being a caregiver but Travis is significantly more independent than he was a couple of years ago.  He is now in school full time and is working full time.  He still lives with chronic pain in addition to other permanent adverse effects stemming from his tumors and the surgeries. However, over the last 12 months or so he has really learned how to manage his conditions in a way that allow him to live a more typical lifestyle. This does not meant that he does not have bad days; he still does from time to time.  But he has more good days than bad.

This year we went on our first major vacation as a couple. Hawaii.  I was nervous about going because I was worried he might not be able to participate in the physical activities that Hawaii is known for.  He ended enjoying the ocean and snorkeling so much that within a month after we returned home he became a certified open water scuba diver another month later he became a certified advanced open water scuba diver.

This July 13^th will mark the 4 year anniversary of Travis’ second (and last) surgery to remove his brain tumor.  I doubt that when he was laying in the hospital trying to recover from surgery that he ever expected that he would be well enough to be doing everything that he is doing now.

As I reflect on the last 6 years I realize that the old saying, “no news is good news” pretty much sums up why this website had been on hiatus.  I never thought that life could or would go back to normal for us but I was obviously wrong.  I hope that this post gives you strength and encouragement that things can get better.  Please do not ever hesitate to contact me regardless of the length of time in between my posts.  I receive inquiries and comments from many people with many different stories and I am always willing to listen and do my best to help.

Trina

-The King family

Much has changed in our lives over that last two years. Travis has retired from the Marine Corps. We moved out of our old apartment into the one that we are living in now. Travis had CyberKnife radiation. Victoria started middle school. We received AMAZING NEWS that Travis’ pesky Schwannoma tumor succumbed to Dr. Adler’s treatment. NO MORE TUMOR!!!! I started back at work and went back to college.

Travis accepted his dream job at Northrop Grumman. He entered through a wonderful program called Operation Impact. Since retiring from the Marine Corps. Travis has been seeing new doctors. He struggled through Methadone withdrawal and is now 100% METHADONE FREE. He has a prescription for Vicodin to use for breakthrough pain but he has not taken any since June 30th. He has come a long way from his daily doses of 3000mg of Neurontin and 10mg of Methadone.

Our offer was accepted on our first home. (We are in escrow right now.)

Travis came down with Diverticulitis and then suffered from a secondary infection as a result of the antibiotics given to him to treat the Diverticulitis.

So much has happened over the last two years.  Life sure has not been easy but things seem to be turning around.  We are learning to see the glass as half full rather than half empty.  I expect that we will continue to face hurdles but what I have learned is there is nothing that Travis and I cannot accomplish if we put our hearts into it.

We were at Balboa Hospital for follow up appointments. We had also planned to meet our new counselor advocate. We met with him and he was very patient and pleasant. The three of us sat together and Travis and I told him about everything that we have been going through. He gave us his undivided attention and listened to everything that we had to say. He advised us of different ways to get help and offered us suggestions and advice. He mentioned a program called Computer/Electric Accommodations Program (CAP). Taken from their website, “CAP provides assistive technology and services to people with disabilities, Federal managers, supervisors, IT professionals, and Wounded Services Members. We buy it, we pay for it, we get it to the users, it’s just that simple.” Our Counselor advocate noticed Travis’s memory loss and felt that Travis would benefit by using a PDA. The counselor advocate, Mr. V told us that there were other devices that Travis may benefit by using. Mr. V sated that he would do his best to get Travis a PDA and informed us that he would contact us when he received the device.

After meeting with Mr. V we couldn’t believe that we had met this person who showed so much concern for what we were going through. Mr. V has a huge heart and we are so thankful that we were fortunate enough to meet him. We walked over to the pharmacy to wait him Travis’s prescription. While we were waiting Travis received a call from Mr. V. He said that he wanted to meet us in the pharmacy. Mr. V found us and asked us to fill out a one page application form for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. I filled out the application for Travis and Mr. V explained to us that this organization may be able to get us the same PDA that we discussed minutes ago but that this organization could possibly get it to us quicker. We sat and chatted with Mr. V for a while until Travis’s prescription was ready. Then we went home. This was on a Friday.

Monday morning Travis and I were on base at Travis’s unit doing some paper work for our upcoming Trip to Stanford. When we finished in his unit we got in Travis’s car, and then he got a phone call. It was from a lady named Sondria. She was calling from the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. She introduced herself and asked Travis a little bit about himself and our family. He shared about the last two years; the surgeries, radiation, complications, our family, as well as my resignation from work. She asked Travis for his address and told him that she was sending him a check/grant as well as getting the PDA for him. Travis finished the call with Sondria and explained to me what had happened. Travis was in shock. He was not used to anyone doing anything for him. We went home and had dinner.

The next day we took Victoria to one of her medical appointments. On our way home we check the mail. There was an envelope from the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. Travis became nervous and did not know what to do. We sent Victoria upstairs so that he could open the envelope privately. Travis sat on the sofa with the envelope, he asked me to sit next to him. I patiently waited as he carefully opened the envelope. There was a signed letter from the organization and a check. Travis looked at the amount on the check and tears started to fill his eyes. I looked down at the check and noticed the GENEROUS amount. We were both speechless. About 24 hours after talking to Sondria, a check was in our mailbox. It has been a week today since Travis received this check and typing it today still brings those same feelings back. It is hard to put those feelings to words and it is hard to explain how my body feels. It is unbelievable that someone that we never met could do this for us and it is even crazier that there are many people who donate and contribute to this organization and makes gifts like this possible.

I am so thankful for this check because it means so much to my husband. These last few years have felt like everything was going wrong. After two years of trying so hard and fighting with all that we had left in us, we finally got a break. I can’t ever replay the people who made this possible. I wish that I would have video taped my husband opening the envelope because then everyone would have been able to see the beauty of his happiness.

Travis sent Sondria an email to thank her because he could not get through to her on the phone. She called Travis back on Wednesday morning. Travis thanked her over the phone. We were both still in shock over the generous gift. Sondria spoke with my husband more about our living situation and the sprung another surprise on us. She wanted us to go to Sleep Train, pick out a comfortable mattress, and have the invoice sent to her. Again, Travis got tears in his eyes. He is not used to anything like this. He has been supporting himself since he left home at 18 years old. Everything he has, he has paid for with money he has earned. Large gifts are not something he is used to.

This all seemed too good to be true. After two years of struggle we have been blessed by meeting these wonderful people who have lifted some of the stress off of our shoulders.

On Thursday we went to Sleep Train. We tried out many mattresses in the store and we found one that was like sleeping on clouds. Travis LOVED the mattress. It made me really happy to see him enjoying himself. We had a very nice salesman who we shared our story with. Travis like the salesman so much that Travis took a picture with him. The mattress was set to be delivered on Friday.

Friday Travis and I went to Balboa for some medical appointments. He had to see his oral maxofacial surgeon, the pain management clinic, neuro-opthamology and we met with Mr. V. We went to Mr. V’s office. He presented Travis with the new super cool PDA device. Needless to say we were very thankful for everyone’s generosity. We spoke to Mr. V about other things going on and without hesitation Mr. V offered us more help and advice on some issues that we were dealing with.

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I had a hard time writing this entry. I was having a difficult time finding the right words to accurately describe the feelings that we were feeling. The support and generosity still seem unreal to us. I will do my best to accurately update and hopefully I can make a video soon to share with you Travis’s true reaction to daily events.

Please take some time to read about the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. The website tells about who they are and has testimonials about what they have done. I am not trying to pressure anyone but if you are interesting in helping this organization to help others, you can donate by clicking here.

We will be traveling up to Stanford for a follow up appointment with Travis’s neurosurgeon, Dr. Adler. We have to stay over night for that appointment and luckily my sister offered to take time off from work to watch Tori. With so much else going on I have not really had time to think about what we might hear from Dr. Adler. Travis is getting an MRI when he is up there and I hope that we get good news. To be able to function I have been thinking positive. In my mind Travis is on his way to getting better and we are on our way to living a more “normal” life. I hope that we are told that the tumor has not grown.

I have been doing my best to keep up with school. I was really looking forward to starting classes again but I did not realize how hard it was going to be to fit them in our busy schedule. More than once I have wanted to quit the classes because I feel so overwhelmed. What keeps me on track is I remind myself of special people like Travis’ Flight Surgeon and a few other individuals who have really made a difference in this difficult time. I want to be able to give back someday and I want to be able to help out other people and other families the way that we have. When I remind myself of these goals and of my mentors I get the strength to continue with my schooling. I am nearing the end of my first semester back and I can’t wait to finish so that I can feel that accomplishment. This last weekend I took three quizzes, one exam, watched a foreign film, wrote a two page essay, and read my textbooks. I could not have found the time for this if I did not have the support of my family.

Today we had plans to go to base to get our orders for our trip to Stanford. After getting our orders we were going to go grocery shopping and then to the bank. Well as usual, things could not go as planned. While we were at Travis’s unit getting his orders Travis bent down to fix his shoe and he had a back spasm. He described it to be just as painful as the time that he was hospitalized initially for his back problem. We finished up our business with his unit and then Travis drove to Base Medical. Why was Travis driving and not me? Well he just started driving again, he was driving his car and it is stick shift and I can’t drive stick shift. So we were stuck. Anyway, we made it to Base Medical and he was seen by the doctors that we on duty today. They assessed the situation and gave him some pain medication and a shot so that he could be comfortable. We walked down to the pharmacy and waited to be called. We ended up sitting next to a nice man that struck up a conversation with Travis. He noticed that Travis was in pain and started asking questions. One thing lead to another both Travis and the man were sharing there horror stories from Balboa Hospital. This man suggested that we write to our Congressman and Senator about what happened and gave Travis a great pep talk about standing up for himself. The pep talk really touched Travis’s heart to know that a stranger took the time to listen to what Travis has been going through and that this man actually cared.

Also I should mention that today Travis got a call from a stranger. When I use the word stranger I intend no negative connotation. I use the word simply to imply a person that has no relationship to us, someone that has no obligation to us. And it overwhelming to us when a stranger opens up their heart to us. Back to what I was saying, a woman called him today from the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. She got our information from a case worker and called Travis to tell him how her organization could help him. Something this woman said really touched Travis’s heart and after he hung up the phone with her he was speechless. I hate that Travis has had these health conditions but considering the situation, nothing could compare to the way that we feel when we are approached by caring people. It really means a lot to us. Nothing can take away his tumor but caring people can certainly make living with it a lot better. The feeling these people give us also is a motivation and a reminder of how important it is to give back.

Click here to read stories of injured services member and how the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund assisted the service members and their families.

So that was almost two years ago.  There has been many tough days and nights.   There has also been a lot of rewards.  That day really changed me.  I have built up a lot of strength and I am now able to do things that I never imagined I would be doing. For example, this is what I did yesterday:

• woke up
• baked cookies
• did laundry
• ironed my shirt
• took a shower and got ready
• went to the bank
• put gas in my car
• went to a second bank
• went grocery shopping
• stopped to by myself some flowers
• played tennis with Victoria
• took Victoria to the pool
• painted my nails
• went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to buy a few things I needed for dinner
• went to World Market to get some containers for Travis’s tea
• made cheese ravioli from scratch with Victoria

Now that is everything those are the main things that I remember but there are also little things that I accomplished as well.  My point of sharing a day in my life with is…”The Show Must Go On!”

That cliche came to me this morning when I was washing the dishes.  Sure I could have spent the last few years feeling sorry for myself, sad, and angry.  I do have those days.  There are plenty of days when I cry and when I am frustrated.  But I try my best to remind myself that I have to keep going.  Feeling sorry for myself 24/7 and not going to make my life any better.  So I have to find the strength for myself and my family and do my best to carry on. 

Reflecting over these last two years I realize how much I have changed.  I am not so materialistic because I realize that in times like these even a designer purse or a fancy car can’t bring long term happiness.  I cut back on drinking.  I RARELY ever drink anymore because I am the only driver in the family and I have the responsibility to take care of my family.  I have found my passion in life.  Helping people and health-care.  I have had an interest in health-care for years now but it was more a curiosity, rather than the desire to learn and help people.  I have started my classes again at school. I am highly motivated to finish college (my goal is to graduate college before Victoria graduates high school) and submerge myself in the medical field where I can touch the lives of needy families much the way that Travis’s flight surgeon touched ours.

I hope that others will also find the silver lining in the dark cloud may have parked over their family.  Rather than blaming a “part of life”, be productive and push yourself to the limit.

I am thankful that he is getting better.  I was nervous that his eye would not correct itself again.  He beat the odds the first time after his initial surgery.  I thought that the chances of his eye beating the odds twice were slim to none.  Well I guess he is a lucky guy because his eye seems to be working hard to get back to normal.

Travis has also driven a couple more times.  He can’t drive by himself because he can’t see everything to the left of him.  As long as he has a “co-pilot” can drive pretty well.

Travis also mentioned the other day that the cold sensations that he used to get after he took his first sip of a drink are happening far less.  I think this means it is another area of healing.

All in all I could not ask for anything more.  Over the last two years our family has overcome more than I ever could have imagined.  So many steps of this journey have been a challenge.  So many times I could hardly get through the day.  Looking towards the next month or holiday seemed unreal.  It was hard enough just getting through the day.  A year and a half ago I could never have imagined that we could have got this far. 

We just celebrated Thanksgiving and there was so much that we were thankful for.  More holidays are approaching and Travis’s improving health is more than I could ask for.