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

Tough times don’t last but tough people do!

Sweet 16

Race for Hope 2018

I just read this quote and thought how appropriate for Isabella and all that she continues to face, nearly 10 years on.

The past couple of months have been particularly intense with Isabella's IGCSE exams and then in the middle of them (they went on for about 6 weeks and for which she has studied consistently) we received the news that her tumor has grown slightly and it was time to consider restarting treatment. This came as a bit of a blow to us.

After further eye exams a few weeks later they agreed to wait till after the summer. We all breathed a huge sigh of relief as Isabella truly deserves to enjoy her summer foot loose and fancy free.

Last Friday, a day after turning 16, she flew to London to begin her Grand Tour. She is currently enjoying some British entertainment, seeing friends and family and then heading by train to Brussels and Paris before flying to Rome to see the grandparents. After a week’s sailing she will then head to the alps where we plan to meet her in about a month’s time. She has lots of treats and highlights planned along the way and has put the exams out her mind (results will be out late in August) and we will all forget about treatment until September. In September there will be another MRI and then we will assess what treatment is needed then.

Ready to drive!

Meanwhile Mati is enjoying a week in California with a friend, apparently she is learning to surf - no photographic evidence yet. Gregorio is also away on mission for a couple of weeks so I am holding down the fort (overseeing painting and minor maintenance works on the house) saying goodbye to dear friends leaving DC and enjoying uninterrupted watching of Wimbledon.

In September Isabella will start learning to drive. She passed the test to get the learner driver permit just before boarding her plane to London. She will also start her IB course, start thinking about the next stage of study....and we will update you on where she stands with treatment. 

Hope you are all enjoying summer, wherever you are.

Off on her European adventure

Lots of love,

Emma x

Really Stable!

Those were the oncologist's words in February, at the latest MRI check up. So we are relaxing until the next MRI in May.

We haven't updated you since 2017! Here we are at New Year!

In other news we have been chasing snow and cold weather for the past few months. We had a wonderful Christmas and start to the year in Vail Colorado with great friends. Sadly the snow was nowhere near what those in Europe were enjoying! Still a lovely holiday and recharge. We faired better with snow in Park City, Utah during the February half term. The second day it snowed for 24 hours, when it stopped we were treated to 14 inches of pure powder. Wonderful, but old legs were exhausted. We had a wonderful week just the four of us but quite the coldest ski trip I've ever had, the warmest it got was -7C and on average it was -10 C and below plus wind. It just meant lots of warm up stops with hot chocolate etc.  We've had a cold winter here in DC but very little snow. Two winter treats were not quite enough for me! In January I jumped on a work opportunity to check out Antarctica. Hey, it's a hard job, I know ;-)


I began my Antarctic adventure in Ushuaia, at the bottom of the world where the scenery was spectacular overlooking the Beagle Channel. Then I embarked on a 10 day cruise around Cape Horn, across the infamous Drake Passage and down to the South Shetland islands and the Antarctic peninsula. Apparently the seas were moderate but after 48 hours of bobbing from side to side, some of us did not fair so well. At sunset on the third day we saw land and went ashore at Yankee Harbor. There were gentoo penguins and a few chinstraps for as far as the eye could see. The light felt surreal, it was as if we were in an Edwardian photo.

Aboard our expeditionary ship it truly felt as if we were on a voyage of discovery. One couldn't help imagining epic voyages of the likes of Shackleton to this harsh and remote environment. Here nature and majestic wildlife dominate. The vast icebergs were mesmerizing sculptures in tones of glimmering white and blue., while mountains and glaciers stretched beyond the horizon. The beauty of silence was broken only by the wind, the sound of humpback whales breathing or glaciers calving. Every day we went out on zodiac cruises or ashore to admire this vast landscape and enjoy close encounters with the wildlife, such as the magnificent humpback whale that came right up to our zodiac, tilted its head to look up at us before gently gliding by. Magic. Unforgettable. Watching the penguins waddle and slip along was adorable and one never tired of admiring the scene.

We visited some picturesque spots including Wilhelmina Bay, the Lemaire Strait, Paradise Bay and Deception Island. We landed at the former British Base at Port Lockroy, run by four women, where I sent some postcards from the post office - as predicted they took 6-8 weeks to arrive! (Considering my postcard from the Orient Express, posted in Venice on October 31st last year, arrived the same week, I'd say Antarctica postal service isn't bad!)

This was a trip of a lifetime and I feel very privileged to have been. We still have much to learn about Antarctica. I sincerely hope that we continue to protect and preserve this pristine and magical environment.

But enough about my travels. The rest of the family are well. Gregorio has a new toy - a red jeep (he'd been dreaming about it for 20 years!) and is slowly getting back into running after injuring his knee on the slopes at Christmas. Thankfully he has not had to travel this year.

Mati continues to do well at swimming. And some surprising hidden talents seem to be coming to the fore including the poem and letter she wrote for Gregorio and my wedding anniversary. She's also quite the baker. She and Isabella are helping me put together an afternoon tea baby shower for a friend tomorrow. The house has been turned into something of a Great British bake off. Talents they did not get from me - I am happy when my Victoria sponge rises and looks presentable!

Isabella did well in her mocks in February and now has her head down with eyes firmly on the finish line for her IGCSEs this spring. Oral exams next month and then written exams begin in early May and go on till mid June. Most week-ends she has been volunteering at the hospital and is pleased to gradually be given more responsibility.

We are now gearing up to the Race for Hope in early May. The team will be out in force to raise funds and awareness for this annual event. Please join the team!

More news when we have it.

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