colette's story
 A note from Colette:
Last spring I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My particular case of breast cancer is known as triple negative. Over the next 8-months I went through chemo, radiation, a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. By December last year, I was considered 'clean' - ready to start anew for 2010 and leave 2009 behind. Yahoo!
In February of this year the cancer returned, spreading to my bone structure. Today, I'm in a category of breast cancer patients known as Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.... treatable for life, but not curable. I'm doing very well and ready to be a warrior to the disease! I will fight every day for a cure for breast cancer by showing the world that it doesn't have to take your spirit or your mind with it.
My girlfriends have graciously worked very hard to support breast cancer research by putting together this fundraiser event.
Whether you're coming into town for the Boulder High Reunion early or you live in the area and just want an excuse to get out for some beautiful scenery and exercise join us for a morning hike!
Click here to read a newspaper article about Colette (when it was stage 3).
An update about Colette: (7/13/10)
The week before traveling to Colorado, Colette had a full body scan to see if the chemotherapy she had been on for the last two months was working. Unfortunately they found that the cancer had spread and the chemo was not working. Luckily, her doctor knew of a new, targeted chemo drug trial and had her apply for it. She was accepted! She is now waiting for her name to be drawn in a 'lottery' of sorts; which will allow her to begin the new trial drug. We anticipate she will begin soon and we are hopeful that this new treatment will have positive results. The results of the first trial of this new drug had amazing results for other triple-negative breast cancer patients like Colette.
An update about Colette from her husband Michael: (8/27/10)
Hello everyone,
I know many of you have been wondering and the last few days have been difficult to get out information. Her health has been deteriorating steadily the last few weeks, and on Wednesday morning we brought her to the ER. The cancer has taken over her lungs and she is having a harder and harder time breathing every day. She is on oxygen full time and a morphine drip for pain. The doctors and nurses at St. Vincent Hospital have all been wonderful, but they have run out of treatment options for her.
Yesterday we decided to start hospice / end of life care and hope to bring her home in the next day or two. She likely has a few days left to be with the massive amount of family and friends that have flown in from around the country in the last few days. This is an extremely difficult time, but having everyone here has been such an amazing help. The outpouring of love and support truly speaks volumes to what an exceptional woman she is and how many lives she has touched.
The kids are doing well and are extremely resilient. While they have an understanding of what's going on, they are happier playing at home with family and friends then being at the hospital - and I can't blame them. Children have a different way of dealing with pain, and I wish it were as easy for us.
I'm sorry many of you will learn this via Facebook as I haven't had the chance to get the word out, but this seemed to be the best avenue for right now.
I will update you all soon. Colette is being kept comfortable and out of pain. It's so SO hard to see such a strong and amazing woman be so devastated by this unfair and unjust disease. There are just no words...
An update about Colette from her husband Michael: (8/29/10)
Colette Krol: A love beyond words: 10/22/71 - 8/29/10
 I've been sitting here for what seems like an hour staring at a blank screen trying to put into words what the world lost on August 29th. Colette passed away peacefully in my arms with her parents Jerry and Sandy by her side just before 8am. Before she passed she spent 4 days surrounded by family and friends that had flown in from all over the country, just to spend a few last moments with her, to laugh and tell stories about how she had changed their lives.
Colette had a connection to powers beyond - the amount of positive energy she gave to everyone she touched simply could not have come from one human being. She spent her life giving so much, yet never asked or expected anything in return.
Her outer beauty was beyond words, and her inner beauty was simply blinding. Triple Negative Breast Cancer had ravaged her body for over one and a half years, yet she never once complained. Never felt defeated. She propped up those around her that were trying to understand how something so horrible could happen to someone so amazing. She was an inspiration to everyone she touched, and their lives will never be the same.
I think the best way to sum up how Colette affected all of our lives is a saying a good friend of ours uses every day: "What Would Colette Do?" Any time he is met with a difficult client or situation, he asks that question and figures out a way to turn it into a positive situation. And that's exactly what she did every day with everything that came her way.
I don't know how I became so lucky to have been blessed with her by my side. She changed my life in so many ways - and I'm a better person and a better father for it. Her biggest gift by far is our two children, August and Sophia. Two incredibly happy and vibrant children who will carry her within them - touching and inspiring others the way she would have herself.
Thank you, Colette. You will be missed beyond words, but your legacy will live on forever.
"We can do no great things, only small things with great love."
-- Mother Teresa
|
