life

Hello, 2016!

By Kate / January 4, 2016 /

We rang in the New Year up at my mom’s cabin in northern Minnesota as we so often do. It was cozy—just D, the girls, my mom and step-dad and me. We cooked and ate and read and did puzzles (in an obsessive way that was somehow still relaxing). The girls and D skated in…

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thankful

By Kate / November 25, 2015 /

I would be lying if I said that the last few months (or year) has been an easy one for me. It hasn’t. I’m still in that place of not-knowing, of guessing and experimenting with food, supplements, exercise—anything. Still, I’m trying to be grateful for good days. I have a new acupuncturist, and she’s fabulous. That…

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showing up

By Kate / October 26, 2015 /

I’ve started a number of blog posts over the last couple of weeks. Each time, before I could finish the post, things with my health would change and I’d abandon it half-written. A week ago I was feeling better—not perfect, but better. I could lift a basket of laundry, put the full Brita back into the…

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update

By Kate / September 15, 2015 /

Thanks so much for all your thoughts and good vibes last week. Surgery went well (though geez, I would have happily stayed the night in the hospital. There’s nothing like being rushed home completely drugged up, nauseated and in pain.) The first night and day weren’t fun, and heck, the second wasn’t fun either. But…

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dear gallbladder, goodbye.

By Kate / September 8, 2015 /

I know that I am supposed to want to keep all of my organs, and believe me, I do. I’ve tried, I really have. I changed my diet (and then changed it back), I’ve done weekly (often twice a week) acupuncture, I’ve ingested many herbs and enzymes, minerals and fermented foods. I’ve meditated. I’ve cried.…

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when a break is a break

By Kate / April 29, 2015 /

I said I was going to take a two-week break and unplug, and somehow it is four weeks later and I am only now getting around to posting here. Yikes. The good news is that the break was a real break. I packed up the girls and we flew down to Costa Rica, where we spent a week…

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holding steady

By Kate / March 20, 2015 /

* Disclaimer: This post is full of health-related over-sharing. Proceed at your own risk. Though I took a small break for Zoë’s birthday festivities, it feels as though once again most of my time is dedicated to navigating my health issues. Last week I had a double colonoscopy/upper endoscopy, which was, um, lots of fun.…

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update

By Kate / February 25, 2015 /

Well, I’m holding steady. The good news is that I met with a wonderful gastroenterologist on Friday and he did not recommend surgery. He said that in cases like mine, gallbladder removal only improves symptoms in *one third* of patients. One third has the same symptoms after surgery and one third gets worse. Hell no.…

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holy gallbladder

By Kate / February 17, 2015 /

Last Tuesday I craned my neck to stare up at the monitor above my head. It was awkward because I couldn’t move my body; if I did, the picture from the gamma camera positioned inches above me might end up fuzzy. On the screen, a white star throbbed like a bright lung breathing in time…

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hello, blog!

By Kate / January 30, 2015 /

Well hello, friends. Once again I’ve been absent for too long, but I’m back and committed to spending more time here this year. I’m not sure what that will look like yet but I hope to post about reading and writing and life at least once a week. It’s taken me a while to check in partly…

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