9/15: We have added some meals to help Kristina and Cris out during this tough last stretch of her treatment and the beginning of recovery. The requests are Than Brothers pho for Kristina's lunch on Mondays and Fridays, and dinner for Kristina and Cris on Tuesdays. Requests extend through early October. If you do not want to log into Give in Kind, but do want to help, scroll the calendar for an opening that suits you, and then text Anne who will add you to the calendar and can answer questions: (206) 427-5864. Thanks so much! And now back to the original story... Our favorite feisty redhead is facing a new challenge - the removal of two brain tumors via craniotomy, a week(-ish) in the hospital, subsequent 6-8 weeks(-ish) of recovery time and then radiation. Kristina will enter the hospital Wednesday, April 28th for testing and her surgery is the following day, Thursday, April 29th. The surgery will be at the University of Washington Medical Center with neurosurgeon Dr. Manuel Ferreira and his amazing team. Kristina has two brain tumors called meningiomas, which are almost certainly benign. They are hoping to remove the smaller meningioma entirely and get as much as possible of the much larger one located on the skull base behind her right eye. She will need some sort of radiation eventually to get the parts of the tumor that are wrapped around major blood vessels and nerves, spots that are too important to risk damaging with surgery. The hospital is close to home, and fortunately, Cris will have some time off from work to focus on care-taking, kids, pets, home, etc. But that's A LOT to manage, and we'd like to help make the recovery period as calm and successful as possible for Kristina and her family. Cris and Kristina use Smith Bros. (dairy), Butcher Box and Imperfect Produce delivery services for most of their grocery needs. Their local Fred Meyers and Safeway deliver within a few hours. Cris enjoys cooking, so meal delivery isn't particularly necessary, but gift cards for GrubHub, Instacart, Doordash and Amazon would be appreciated, as would donations toward the cost of their food deliveries.  Please check in with the GiveInKind calendar to see what their current needs might be. Some of the things we anticipate they will need help with are: -smoothie deliveries, since Kristina will have trouble chewing for a few weeks -weekly grocery runs to Trader Joe's -occasional Costco runs -taking care of the hummingbird feeders -watering the garden morning and evening -taking the kiddos on adventures, (perhaps Discovery Park, Golden Gardens, Zoo, Canoe Rental) -walking the dog -walking Kristina (Yup. Walking Kristina. . .slowly, around the block, vaccinated folks only please) -help with post-surgery health and comfort supplies (see their Amazon wishlist) -help with medical bills that will add up despite their health insurance. (Kristina hasn't been teaching given Covid precautions and will be out of work for the foreseeable future.) ***Please do not feel you have to contribute in a monetary way. It is very important to Kristina that her friends and family know and believe this. Her GiveInKind page is primarily a way to gather Cris and Kristina's beloved community together. We want to will her into healing and support her as she enters the unknown. Cris and Kristina and their kiddos are dear to us, and collectively we want to shore them up. Please share this page with people from Kristina's life and leave your favorite memories and thoughts of encouragement. Your words mean so much to her. She has taught, nurtured, cherished and adored hundreds of students and their families during her 34 years of teaching. In Kristina's eyes everyone is a potential piano student, and working with her is so much more than learning to play the piano. Students are first caught up by Kristina's own artistic passion and then in the obvious joy she takes in their music making and her confidence in their abilities. Those gifts follow her students and express themselves in all different ways during their lives. Kristina has survived tremendous hardships while remaining optimistic, good humored and kind. We are inspired by her generosity of spirit, her art and creativity, and her stubborn refusal to give in when things get hard. It is unsurprising that Cris and Kristina have amassed a collection of tremendous people as they've moved through the world. After all, good attracts good. Thank you for helping to support Kristina and Cris and their wacky weird wonderful little men, Kieran and Finnian -Jan & Darla