As of Yesterday, November 30th, the recount of the Puyallup City at Large position was completed and I am the winner. It was a long difficult campaign, but we ran a honest, sincere campaing on my record and merit and although at times it was difficult to not shout out at inaccurate information and negativity we did not and we prevailed. I thank each person that voted for me and each person that supported me and worked on the campaign. I will work hard to support the entire city with my work ethics and love for the city of Puyallup. Now the more important events happening in my life is the health of my husband. As many of you know he has cancer and recently we vacationed in Mexico preparing for his journey of recovery. So please share the message below, include us in your prayers and I will update this as often as possible after the surgery. Greetings friends! Feliz Navidad and Feliz Anos Nuevo! Gary and I spent Christmas and New Years in Loreto Mexico. It was an incredible visit with new and old friends and a time of healing, anticipation and preparation for the surgery and journey in front of us. Prior to our trip Gary's Doctors appointment did not go as well as we would have preferred, but our direction has not changed and we are continuing as scheduled. Originally Gary's prostate was 115 grams which is large considering a normal prostate is 30 grams. However at the last examination it measured 171 grams which means a couple of things. The surgical proceedure will probably be longer than anticipated. There is a 25% chance that they will not be able to succesfully use the Davinci method (robotic) which could require them to switch to the open radical during surgery. The bladder could require reconstruction. This is the largest prostate our doctor has removed and after searching on the internet it appears to be one of the largest. Gary is quite proud to be #1. The surgery is scheduled for Monday, January 14th at 8 AM. His goal is to be out of the hospital ASAP, my goal might differ a little! His attitude is great and his sense of humor has not been affected! We still believe that the cancer is contained to the prostate and that will not be confirmed until surgery, but Gary knows it is contained and that is what is most important. Those of you who are cancer knowledgeable, his stage is a "1" and his Gleason score unchanged at a 7. Your thoughts, prayers and unbelievable support have been incredible and frankly what is making us strong. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers and I will keep this web site updated for your information. Again we can not thank you enough for your support. WOW! The surgery was 5 hours, recovery room 4 hours. But the outcome is great. They were able to complete the surgery robotically remove the prostate which the doctor stated was huge all of 171 grams and he put it in a mason jar (wide mouth)! They had to reconstruct the bladder which was tedious and lengthened the surgery time, but the dr is very positive feeling the cancer was just in the prostate. The lab tests will tell us if there is further cancer, he is catheterized of course until next Tuesday and the bladder also has a tube for leakage and infection watch. His spirits are great, he wants to come home, he is hungry and both Dr. and patient are damn proud to be #1. Thank you for your thought, prayers and support.