Last Post!

Let me conclude the final post to this blog with an update on Isabella's medical status. Her MRI at the end of June (six months since the last) showed that all continues to be stable. GREAT news and so she will continue to be on 6 monthly check ups. Fingers crossed this pediatric brain tumor remains dormant and becomes a thing of the past. As 3.5 years since treatment moves towards 5 years and beyond, the check ups will hopefully become less frequent.

I have decided that this shall be the final post. Isabella turned 18, the day before her MRI in fact and she is about to embark on a new adventure so it seems appropriate to bring this blog to an end.  Thank you to all who have read this and allowed me an outlet to share our news about Isabella's health and our family in general. Twelve years on, nearly, we are very grateful for all your love and support.

In September Isabella will begin University in the UK. She is very excited about this new adventure. The journey to this point has been a bit of a rollercoaster in the past few months, and continues to be so...

Girls about Rome with nonna

Not sure if you heard about this thing called, covid?! It has caused a lot of disruption, pain and loss on many levels around the world and will not be quickly forgotten.  We sincerely hope that you have been spared tragedy and that there will be a vaccine soon. In our small world we are thankful for good health, supportive family and friends (if only visible virtually or from afar), jobs, food on the table and a nice house and garden. However, the past few months have certainly been a challenge for both Isabella and Matilde. School basically ended abruptly in mid-March. While the school was quick to adapt to online schooling, when the exams (IB for Isabella and IGCSEs for Mati) were cancelled almost immediately, there was limited incentive to study (let alone get out of bed for some). Then the milestone celebrations - prom, high school graduation, 18th birthdays took on a new way of celebrating. and were not at all how they had been imagined. Not to mention no sleepovers, no going out with friends...not fun for teenagers. Despite this tortuous ride, both girls have shown their strength, resilience and adaptability during the pandemic.

Isabella's high school graduation was postponed multiple times; thankfully in the end we were able to come together with her class, a few teachers and parents  - less than 100 of us - socially distanced in a football stadium. It was a memorable (hot) happy event. Then the following day her IB results came out. Like many IB students around the world she was disappointed by her results. In a year without actual exams, the method in which the grades were awarded defied belief. She did achieve very good results, and above what was needed for the university course, but they were not as high as predicted. Then her results were not communicated to UCAS and so there was a two week delay before she received confirmation of her place. A very tense and anxious time! Now all is resolved and the University seems determined to open physically in September. Fingers crossed. So Isabella and I finally booked our flights and are ready to complete our two weeks quarantine prior to moving in, in mid-September. It was always going to be an emotional event, dropping her at University, but 2020 has brought an added dimension.

Over the past few months (20 weeks, I noted today) we have been keeping ourselves busy, running,  nice walks and bike rides, tending to the gardens, clearing out cupboards, making new cocktails, off-roading the jeep at the beach, dress up Fridays with a theme and plenty of cooking (from perfecting foccaccia to jam making or Great British Bake-off worthy cakes to endless pasta making). There have also been many projects. The biggest one has been managing the works at our house in Umbria. I am pleased to say it is all coming together. Sadly we were not able to get over there this summer nor do we know when we will get there. Mati and I are dreaming of Christmas in Italy at this point. But no plans yet.  Thankfully we were in Italy during the February half term break for a week to see the grandparents and we managed to meet a load of people and discuss various jobs that needed doing. We flew back to the US as covid-19 was exploding in Italy and then shortly after that everything came to a grinding halt. When things did open up in Italy in May and June we were able to begin to some works on the house and garden. Our neighbor has a great help and provided regular updates and photos so we have been able to order lights and furniture, choose paint colors etc etc etc and keep things moving.

Of course we wish we were sitting relaxing in Umbria... this summer's escape will be a week at a cabin a few hours drive away. We considered many options but right now we are really looking forward to escaping the heat of DC and switching off and a complete change of scenery. The cell phone reception is not supposed to be great where we are going, so we are expecting a complete break with some nice hikes and picnics. I am sure we will recharge the batteries, ready to face whatever the next few months will bring.

We hope you are all well and coping with the challenges that this pandemic brings you.

With lots of love,
Emma and family xxx

Happy Christmas 2019!

'Tis the season...and get into the spirit one must. Until today we were definitely feeling like party poopers and unable to get into the spirit and look forward to Christmas. BUT this morning we were informed that Isabella's latest MRI shows that her tumor continues to be stable. This means that we will now be moving to 6 monthly check ups. This is AMAZING news, we have reached a new milestone. Not since we began this so-called journey (11 years ago) have we had such a distance between medical check ups. This is HUGE and wonderful news, we are so relieved to receive this update in time for Christmas.

On location in LA

This has been another rollercoaster year for the Impavido family. Mati passed her Maths IGCSE in the summer with flying colors and Isabella passed her driving test and has relieved us from swim practice drop offs and pick ups or nips out in the car when we run out of milk. Wonderful all round. It has also enabled Gregorio and I to have three long week-ends away this year on our own (Rome, LA and Barbados!) while the girls had fun at home with unlimited free access to the Jeep. The bonus for me was that the food shopping was done and meals planned for the week ahead when I got back. What is not to love about teenage girls?!

This autumn term has been intense with both girls in key exam years, Mati working towards her IGCSEs and Isabella her IB. Isabella has also been applying for University. To be honest, an excruciating experience as a parent, when you realise how powerless you are in the decision process and this is their life, they need to figure out which road to take. The path to a medical career for Isabella might not be as straightforward as she had hoped but we are confident she will get there. Stay tuned, we anticipate her studying in the UK or Europe next year but apparently Australia is also on the cards as a possibility.

Views from the Villa

All this paves the way for Gregorio and I becoming empty nesters in the next couple of years. Despite seeing this coming, it hit me like a ton of bricks on a wet November day, that this will be my 20th Christmas, this side of the Atlantic. Hard to believe. Maybe I too am ready for some change or my heart is in Umbria, where we are managing our new house project from afar. Yes, we did purchase the house in May. We had a bumpy start with the previous tenant deciding it was still his house and refusing to move out for the first month or so. The locksmith and carabinieri became our best friends and an alarm system was quickly installed. Thankfully we have moved on and had a great couple of weeks in the summer sorting out the house, fixing, cleaning, buying beds, sussing out local restaurants and gelaterie, buying basic kitchen equipment and even hosting our first party with friends. The work has continued over the autumn, the olives were harvested and we are hoping to visit early next year to sort out painting, furniture buying and and and. I hold out eternal hope of jumping in the new pool next summer. Gregorio is not convinced that building permits and contractors work on my timetable. The building of the pool may well form chapter two of this dream villa tale...let's just hope it's not chapter three, four and more! Suffice to say we hope that many of you will come and visit when you can and it will be a base for many hours of fun and laughter.

Emma in Casablanca

And talking of things Italian, I am one document, a translation and a rubber stamp away from joining them! I began the process the day after the referendum and given the ongoing shenanigans, I might just beat Brexit and remain a European without interruption. Viva l'Italia!

With the nonni in Iceland

Travel has featured heavily in 2019. This summer we had a great trip to Iceland with the nonni. We loved the light, landscape and clean air. Aside from our Italian house adventures, we could dine out on tales about renting cars in Italy too from this summer and Gregorio seemed to become very familiar with the A1 motorway between Milan and Rome. With some medical scares for our parents this was all in all quite an unforgettable summer. I traveled to the UK and France several times in preparation for the 75th anniversary of D-Day and sending several hundred clients to join the commemorations. In September I enjoyed a magical week in Morocco, an opportunity to shop for furnishings for our new house. And I concluded my autumn travels in Switzerland with a breathtaking couple of days in Zermatt and catching up with my brother and family who seem very happy in their new life near Geneva.

The Mighty Matterhorn at sunrise.

On the home front, we began the year with several goals, one of them was to eradicate plastic wrap (cling film/saran wrap) and we have more or less achieved it. We are now ready to take on the next challenge in the war against plastic. I would like to urge all of you to take on one of the National Geographic slogans (and the girls will cringe that I am broadcasting this out to a wider circle) "get the cup out of my ocean" or " get the fork out of my ocean" together "let's bag plastic!"

As always we are grateful to the many friends and family around the world, who apparently continue to check this blog for updates and send words of support. I apologise for not updating on a very regular basis. Perhaps when Isabella turns 18, the tumor continues to be stable and she flies the nest next summer, I shall resort to other forms of updates... #instagramfan.


Whatever your dreams and hopes may be for the coming year, we wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a healthy and bright 2020. May our paths cross somewhere in the world very soon.


Lots of Love,
Emma, Gregorio, Isabella & Matilde xxx

Still Stable

No need to read on!

Yep it is all stable and we are pushing the next MRI to the end of August. That will be nearly 5 months since this latest MRI...and that makes it 1.5 years since Isabella stopped treatment. Could the pediatric tumor have finally ceased activity? We certainly hope so. We will keep you posted if there is any change later in the year.

Since our last update we have been busy, of course!

We had a really relaxing trip to Stowe, Vermont at Christmas. Lovely New England village. The snow, sadly did not live up to expectations but most still skied, we enjoyed the scenery complete with covered bridges and Isabella learnt to drive the jeep in the snow. Gregorio bought all the kitchen essentials - the pasta machine and coffee maker, so we were well fed, happy and enjoyed our break. We begun the New Year with a magical and colorful performance of the Magic Flute at the Met in New York on our return.

Favourite pastamaker

Back in DC both girls have been working hard at school. Mati is focused on taking her maths IGCSE this summer and is still an avid swimmer; while Isabella has her head down focused on the end goal of getting into medical school next year. She is enjoying the IB course and still finds a lot of time for extra curricular activities that include tutoring and volunteering at Children's Hospital and the Nursing Home close by. And just before the Easter break, Isabella was selected as Student Body President (aka Head Girl for the English readers).

A Roma!

We are having a relatively quiet easter holiday here and we still haven't made any summer plans. What with all the medical school exams and....our latest project, it is hard to plan....Gregorio and I are trying to buy a house in Umbria. It is a long process but it did mean that Gregorio and I had a fun week-end in Rome earlier in the year. The sign of things to come: a week-end without kids, we left them back in DC having fun without us!

In February, Mati had a week's skiing with the school in West Virginia while Isabella went on a service learning project to Tanzania. It was a memorable journey for her, helping build schools and housing and then enjoying some time on safari.

Spring is here and we are gearing up to the annual Race for Hope. Team Impavido will be out in force  on May 5th, to raise funds and awareness for Brain Cancer and maybe get a personal best! Please join us physically or virtually. We are grateful for your support.

Lots of Love,
Emma, Gregorio, Isabella and Matilde. xxx

My favourite word: stable!

Much to our surprise but to our pure delight last week's MRI showed that Isabella's tumor continues to remain stable. So we move on with life for another three months. That takes us to two years without treatment. We will continue with three monthly check ups, given the blip in the early summer. This is a Christmas present we are extremely happy to receive. Thank you all for your continued support.

We've had a busy autumn, just for a change! Plenty going on with school and work. Isabella began her IB courses and Matilde her IGCSEs. Isabella is focused on her end goal of pursuing a career in medicine and has worked out where she would like to study and all she needs to achieve to get there - more as the plans progress. Meanwhile she has started learning to drive, though there was a short hiatus in October when she broke her foot (another medical field she gathered information on, from a patient perspective!) She is still singing with the choir and last Sunday we enjoyed a beautiful winter concert. It never ceases to move me, hearing such magical voices - I know I can't sing a note in tune. Meanwhile Mati is still focused on her free style and backstroke times.

Gregorio continues to derive much enjoyment from creating the perfect carb - sourdough bread and pasta in all shapes and sizes - and it is actually rather good. He even invited the world's top chef to dinner this week to check out his cacio e pepe - we spotted the chef's daughter had graduated across the street this week and posted on his instagram page. Well Mr Bottura you missed out but someone in the neighborhood (unknown to us) saw the post and is picking up her handmade fettucine tomorrow! His first official customer, rather than biased friends and family.

As we wind down the week we are looking for to switching off for Christmas. We are looking forward to a white (but pretty cold) one in Vermont.

The past few months have gone by in a whirl and we sadly didn't manage to organise our Christmas party this year (no you were not dropped off the list!) so we wish our dear friends near and far a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

With love,
Emma & Gregorio. xxx

10 Years on!

I was just six when this all began
With that September 22nd brain scan.
Each chemotherapy round
Was like a rollercoaster up and down:
ANC low, fevers, ER visits
and even a broken port,
But each time I have soldiered on and fought.
Now I am seven and I have survived
this year-long test.
Let's pray that this nasty weed
will now lay to rest

We are Impavido.
We will make this weed go

*********************************

We are very proud of Isabella and all she has been through these past 10 years.

Anxiety downgraded!

...and long European vacations prescribed! Much to our surprise and great relief last week's MRI showed that Isabella's tumor is stable. We compared it to three months ago, six months ago, one year ago and more and they feel comfortable with continuing to monitor the situation. After extensive tests with the eye doctor and visits with multiple doctors they all agreed it looks stable and we can relax and enjoy life. No treatment now. Next MRI just before Christmas.

Onwards with life!

Lots of love,
Emma & Gregorio, Isabella & Mati x

Anxiously Waiting....

For many on this side of the Atlantic we are waiting to see what Florence (the Hurricane) will bring; in this household we are anxiously awaiting the results of Isabella's MRI scan from last week-end. For the past 10 years (except for last May, which took us by surprise) I have reached out to the medical team on Monday for a preliminary reading. It has been an easier way for us to share the information with Isabella, prior to the meeting with the doctors, usually on a Thursday. However, Isabella is an independent young lady and did not want to be distracted by the news until we could discuss treatment needs and options with the doctors. So we will see what they say tomorrow.

Rooftop view of July 14 fireworks in Paris

Supporting France for World Cup final

Despite this rather anxious past week or so of waiting and wondering whether Isabella will have to restart some form of treatment, Isabella, Matilde and I had a lovely summer. Gregorio, sadly was bogged down with work and did not really get a holiday. He had to change his flights multiple times and only spent a week, much to the disappointment of many, with us in Italy.

Isabella had the most amazing month in July. Navigating her
way around London, Brussels, Paris and Rome. She saw friends and family along the way, showed great maturity and independence and had a truly memorable time. She was in Paris for July 14th, followed by France winning the World Cup

Afternoon tea at Le Meurice

Floating pineapple in Mallorca

football, which looked like an unforgettable week-end to be there. Given all Isabella has been through and how hard she worked this past academic year, we had wanted her to enjoy this summer and it would appear she did! From Rome, she enjoyed
a week's sailing camp, reconnecting with friends she met last year, picking up Roman dialect and teenage slang. Meanwhile Mati flew solo across the country and enjoyed a week at the beach, learning to surf with a friend in California. This was followed by a lot of swimming in her summer swim league back in DC.

Mati and I had a few days in Mallorca with my father enjoying tapas
and seafood galore before rendez-vous-ing with Isabella and the Italian grandparents at the end of July. We had a lovely couple of weeks in the mountains, revisiting the usual haunts, hiking,

picnicking, mushroom hunting, gelato tasting galore and generally spending time with family, including cousins and friends from Belgium and UK. For us girls it was a very relaxing couple of weeks. For Gregorio it was another
story. Even when he did arrive, the internet proved too slow in the foothills of the alps and he was forced to decamp to a business hotel in Turin for a few days. We did have five lovely days in Tuscany just the four of us and considered whether the dream of retirement in Italy is worth pursuing...watch this space!

We concluded our European (can still say that) tour with five days in London. I mainly worked from the kitchen table in Clapham while the girls jetted around London with their dear old friends. It was very pleasing to see how independent and "at home" they are in the big smoke. We did manage to see family and even catch up with my dear godmother, whom I had not seen since my wedding! A lovely couple of days. While we were in London the girls received their IGCSE results. Allow me to indulge in a proud mother moment here. Much to Mati's relief (and Gregorio's pleasure) she gained an A* in Italian. While Isabella did amazingly, gaining 9 A* and 3 A. Brilliant. Very proud of our girls.

Exams results received, the holiday was basically over and it was back to reality. Straight back to DC and into school where the whirlwind of the new academic year began. We are slowly catching our breathe and getting back into the routine.

Back to School. No uniform for Bella!

Needless to say we will update you with news on the MRI result.

Lots of love
Emma & co xxx