Donations to Kindra's trust, the Kindra McLennan Medical Expense Relief Fund can be sent to the following address:
3618 N. Lakewood
Unit C
Chicago, IL 60613
The family requests that no flowers be sent. Thank you for your understanding.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Mark, you are in our thoughts constantly. i hope that the comfort of your memories together with Kindra will give you strength in the coming days. Let those that are around you love you and support you. Kindra left her footprints in many lives and hearts on her life journey. her story will be shared and told by many. love, Bob & Loie XOXO
Dearest Marnie,
You and I both have one thing in common; we have both been so very prolifically blessed, to have known and been near, Kindra at one time or another, however? I know you were there with her, as her not only friend, but someone you likely confided in as a lot did, I just want to commend you for carrying through the way you have, my dear friend! I'd absolutely love to hear back from you, to hear how such a beatuful soul "was cheated by this damn Cervical/Ovarian or just plain the C word (go away cancer!). Anyways I went to school with her at WLHS 93' and even though she was a frosh, she was about as mature as a young adult and has and was always around to lend a hand, always knowing when I was having a hard time in college? I don't know what all made her special specifically, but I do know she will infinitely be missed! Being caring, forgiving, loving, a confidont and on and on, she will always be remembered and not forgotten ever... Dear Kindra, and Mark, I will be thinking of you both and of course, Kindra's family no doubt and friends and Mark your a hell of a guy bro, and you deserve only the best man! Much Peace To All! Rich WLHS 93'
Dear Mark, Marnie and Kindra's family and friends,
I read the article in the Chicago tribune and immediately came to Kindra's blog. I sat here at my PC for 2 hours reading every word starting with her diagnosis.
I cannot tell you all the ways in which her story has touched and affected me. Kindra's journey was my journey also.
I was diagnosed with cervical cancer in September of '07. Like Kindra, I had been a good patient, getting annual PAPs, so the diagnosis came as a life-altering, mind-blowing shock. I was diagnosed with 1B1 adenocarcinoma -- slightly different than its squamous-cell cousin, but about as deadly.
My husband and I (while we'd already been blessed with a beautiful daughter) too had to make tough choices about preserving fertility and holding off treatment.
As I read Kindra's blog through a waterfall of tears, I saw my own journey. Especially the photos.
Kindra in the radiation machine: Yep, that was me at Northwestern.
Kindra in the "pimped out" Lazyboy getting her weekly dose of Cisplatin: Check. (Even the struggle to get the needle in - I know exactly how painful, frustrating and tear-inducing that was).
The surgery: Check. Radical hysterectomy with lymphadenectomy. I'm now 36 pelvic lymph nodes shy of a full set.
PET scans, CT scans: check, check.
Hope and fear: check and double-check.
I had my surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NY though I live in Chicago.
When I was diagnosed, I searched for, and was seen by, some of the nation's leading experts in the field of cervical cancer. Slim pickins' really. Too few women get this particular form of cancer (the plauge, as Kindra so aptly called it) that there doesn't appear to be enough research $$$, patients or interest, sadly, for significant research to be done.
Anyway, after reading Kindra's blog, I felt compelled to comment. What comes shining through her blog is Kindra's humor, wit, optimism, strength, courage, kindness, compassion and humanity. And what an amazing support system of family and friends.
Though I never had the pleasure of knowing Kindra personally, I too have been "Touched by a Kindra'd Spririt," and would like to help in any way I can. I am a 22-year veteran of the healthcare field and have had to navigate these same waters.
From diagnosis through today, I've racked up upwards of $650,000 in medical bills. Fortunately, I had great medical coverage, and my out-of-pocket has been miniscule by comparison. However, not all of it came easily. I have had to duke it out with the insurance carriers and their "risk managment/cost containment" buddies to get many of the high-dollar items paid for.
So, while I know that this is the last thing on your mind at the moment, eventually, it may be. If I can be of any assistance, I would like to offer help.
I will send a letter and donation to the address on the blog, so that you can contact me if you have any questions about how to get certain bills paid or covered.
Finally, Mark -- something you wrote on the blog was very profound, and echoed a deeply-held and long-held belief of mine.
When you told Kindra she would live on in your heart and mind - that is so true. Our friends and family are our immortality. Their memories of us and love for us allow us to live on in them. As we are remembered, a part of us lives on.
I wish you peace and strength for your journey.
Barb A.
Lombard, IL
Very touching blog. I, too, have spent about 2 hours reading every word. Ms Kindra displayed a wealth "super-human" strength.
I will be sending a donation to the address listed very soon.
Blessings to you all,
LiL'BiT
Post a Comment