ANDREA FISHER UPDATE

On behalf of the Fisher family, I want to thank everyone who has sent words of love and support for Andrea and the family during this very difficult and challenging time. Your prayers have meant very much to everyone.

Sadly, Andrea's condition has taken an unfortunate turn. Shortly after the last round of chemo and radiation, Andrea's doctors performed a scan to see how she had responded to the last round of treatment.

Unfortunately, the scan revealed several new tumors in separate parts of her body, including her liver. These new tumors had grown in a very short period of time and during her chemo. Shortly thereafter, doctors let Steve and Andrea know the cancer was pervasive and that the prospect of it being cured was no longer possible. They advised them to discuss the situation with their three children and to begin getting Andrea's affairs in order.

This latest news has confirmed a reality everyone has feared. It is heartbreaking.

There is no clear expectation of how things will progress and the family is taking things day by day. Her parents, Al and Mary, have come to stay with Andrea and to support the family.

Andrea's comfort is the priority now. She is tired and often cold and in pain. She is taking oral chemo and other drugs that often make her drowsy. We have all had the chance to visit with her and she is as beautiful and kind as always.

The grace and thoughtful dignity she brought to our lives when healthy has never been more evident than now in her moment of fading strength. She is still managing her family, choosing outfits for her daughter, Katy-girl, encouraging her eldest son, Ryan, to finish his homework and loving her youngest son, Miles, with the same gentleness and open heart.

I have written in this blog that although her husband, Steve, has and always will be my very best friend, Andrea has, in fact, become just as important and meaningful in my life. She has supported and loved me through my darkest hours without question or judgment and has loved my daughter, Keats, like her own.

I have tried for weeks to avoid writing this update knowing it would bring up the emotions I have tried so long to avoid. As I write this, I am realizing that my lingering cold, my lack of motivation to train, my overall dullness and need to seek distraction are all related to avoidance: my denial of what I now must learn to accept.

A life without Andrea.

She is not gone yet and there is still time to spend with her. Her friends all privately grieve for her and are, like me, trying to make sense of the world. We are all sad and, I am sure, have moments of deep sobbing. This, I think, is further testament to the impact Andrea has had on so many lives.

Yeats once wrote:

Think where man's glory most begins and ends,
and say my glory was I had such friends.

More specifically, I think, we can all try to find some small comfort in sharing our lives with Andrea and for being loved by her in so many ways.

Your continued prayers and good thoughts are important. Please continue to carry Andrea in your heart as she needs support more than ever.