Posted in General Articles by Kari Pitardi on 5/9/2008
I posted a new update about dad on my new blogsite. Please visit the new site to get the latest updates about dads recovery and check back often for all the rest of the news in my life!
www.boandkari.blogspot.com
(you may have to hit control & click the link for it to work. if not, just copy and paste it into your browser)
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Posted in General Articles by Kari Pitardi on 4/9/2008
We got to bring dad home from the hospital on Saturday. He is doing fantastic! Up and walking around everyday, visiting with visitors and still sleeping a lot. Mom keeps him medicated consistently so his pain is bearable. Mom and dad are both doing well but very tired as they haven't been sleeping much. I think dad is only 1/2 conscious most of the time and even says funny stuff every once in a while but I don't think he's getting much restful sleep yet. Hopefully they both will soon. He said he's read the comments on the blog, as has mom and they both really appreciate all the encouragement and love you all send (as do I).
Sadly with dads move home, I've had to move out. I seemed to have caught a cold and don't want to risk infecting him so I'm spending a few days away until I feel better. I just took my temperature and for the first day I actually have one. It's low grade, but not anything worth taking home to dad.
I took pictures of dad at home but my camera is at home so I can't post them now. I'll update again soon and keep you all posted. Thank you so much for your continued encouragement, prayers and nice thoughts/comments you are sending. You are all such a blessing.
Much love,
the Pitardi family
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Posted in General Articles by Kari Pitardi on 4/3/2008
Here's how the day went.... We arrived at the hospital at 10:45am (me, mom, dad, my aunt and her husband) and they took dad back right on time at 11:15am to prep him for his 1:15pm surgery. We heard previously that his surgery was going to be the first one in the morning but we also heard that it was going to take 5 hours both of which things changed. He ended up being scheduled for 1:15pm and when we arrived there, they told us his surgery was only a 3 hour surgery. When we arrived they actually said they were running ahead of schedule so we were all excited about that. At 1:15 when his surgery was supposed to be starting, we were still in the pre-op area. Long story short, they took him at 3:00pm finally and said surgery would start immediately. His surgeon walked into the waiting room at 3:15pm to talk to another family who's surgery he had just completed so we knew dads surgery hadn't started yet. We assumed it might have started at 3:30. At 5:00pm, the nurse called us in the waiting room and advised that his surgery didn't even get started until 4:30pm. We weren't sure why. So we knew it would be until at least 7:30pm before we'd hear from them again. At 8:10 I called to get an update, the nurse was not encouraging in the least and told me in a somber voice that "he is stable, that's all i can say". i asked how much longer it would take and he said "it will be a while, this is a long surgery." I was pretty discouraged thinking that he could have at least told me it was going well or something positive but he did not. They called us back again at about 9:45 and said the procedure was about complete and they would be closing him up soon. The surgeon walked in at about 10:30..... He was very obviously frazzled, exhausted and unhappy. We walked into the private room expecting bad news... The surgeon said it went OK, but not a good ok, a bad ok. He was not happy with how the procedure went, dad lost a LOT of blood and had to have 5 transfusions. The surgery (as far as we know) was a complete success, they took biopsies of everything and said it all came back negative (except the specific organ they removed of course). His prognosis is great and is expected to have a full recovery which is great, but it was quite unnerving how upset the surgeon was about how the procedure went.
All in all, dad did well, the surgery was successful and he is expected to have a complete recovery which is GREAT news to us! We didn't get to see him tonight, he was in recovery for at least 2 hours before we would have had the chance to go see him and he would have been so out of it anyways I just took mom home instead to get some rest. we're going to go back up tomorrow when he's conscious (hopefully) to spend some time with him.
Thank you so much for your prayers, please continue to keep him in your prayers throughout the recovery process and as we bring him home in a few days or a week.
Much love, Kari (& mom & Dad) :)
P.S. Mom is on the phone with the hospital now, dad is still in recovery (it's midnight) and not even to his room yet.....
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Posted in General Articles by Kari Pitardi on 4/2/2008
Dad went in for his Pre-Op appointment Tuesday and was prepped for his surgery today (Wednesday 4/2) to remove his Cancer. It's a common procedure but he's a high risk patient which is what they are concerned about. Surgery starts at about 1:00pm and should take approximately 5 hours. Please keep him, the surgical staff, my mom and the family in your prayers. I'll post again as soon as I can to update you all. We are so thankful for your prayers and encouraging comments left here. We truly believe in the power of prayer and thank you all for lifting him up at this time. Thank you.
Much love,
Kari on behalf of mom and dad too
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Posted in General Articles by Kari Pitardi on 3/11/2008
So what's happening in my life now? Here's the latest...
 Dad is doing well, still eating healthy and exercising preparing for
his surgery scheduled in about 3 weeks. I'll keep you all posted as the
time comes closer to that. Mom is doing well also :) Here they are at
dads birthday last month...
Here's Trina & Joe at dads birthday last month
Bo and I are well. We're still working on plans for the wedding & the honeymoon (both of which entail FAR more planning than I ever dreamed of so I'm thankful we pushed the date back a few months from the original March 1, 2008 date we had chosen). We're having a great time learning more about each other and us as a couple in our pre-marital counseling with our pastor and have a few things to work out before we get married (which we already knew about and have been working on).
As for me, well, where do I start? I moved in with my parents after returning home from the race which is where I'm still living. It's getting harder and harder feeling like a guest in their house and not having my own space like I used to before the race. I still get sad when I drive by the house that i used to own. On the other hand, that's the thing I've been most thankful for since I've been back.  I'm in 2 bible studies right now both of which have recently asked me what I've been most blessed with lately and I've answered with "time". I've had time since I got home, time to sit, catch up with friends/family (though I still haven't seen everyone yet), time to reflect on the year, time to seek God, time to relax, time to work, I've felt blessed with time and am so thankful.
I've wasted some time, I've used a lot of my time wisely. I've spent a
LOT of time SEEKING God. And during all of this time, I've felt
unfulfilled, empty in a way and unemotional. It seems that it's very
difficult for me now to FEEL things anymore like excitement, fear,
happiness, etc. I've felt pretty numb for the most part, I don't get
excited about things I should be excited about, I still do get upset at things though hahaha. But
all in all, I feel like I've been numb since I've been home and sort of
unable to have feelings like I used to. I'm not sure if this is the new
me, it's just something that's changed in me after having lived such a
radical life for a year that I'm incapable of feeling some things
anymore or I'm still just in the readjustment period and eventually my
feelings will return.
One thing I do feel is overwhelming gratitude. When I look at my past
blogs and read the comments you guys have written or scan over the emails
I've received from people who care or see the donations on my support
page from those who have financially supported me over the course of
this journey, it never fails to bring tears to my eyes and overwhelming
gratitude. I am still in awe of Gods provision in my life on so many levels and how he's used you to bless me.
Anyways, back on track... I am working, part time for Adventures in 
Missions and I'm loving it. I volunteer with the fire department as their chaplain and an EMT both of which I love. I'm involved in bible studies, fellowship with other Christians and have great accountability. I'm doing exactly what I wanted to be doing after I got home, working part time, volunteering, being involved with the church, having TIME to visit, help, relax, whatever... Yet I'm unfulfilled. I've been looking for full time jobs lately thinking I need to DO more with my time (and pay the medical bills that are piling up) but haven't really acted on that yet. The past couple weeks I've felt really antsy and needing a change. I re-arranged the furniture in my bedroom (then re-arranged it all back to how it was when i couldn't open the closet door), I looked online for jobs, I sought out God through my bible studies and came up empty handed.
Then I went to church on Sunday. Just like I do every Sunday and God finally spoke to me there. I've been SEEKING Him through my bible studies. That's about it, I figured if I studied more, He would speak more, if i did my WORK seeking Him, He would respond. I was wrong. (imagine that)... This is a lesson I've learned so many times before yet needed to hear again. God spoke to me through our worship service this week and said "BE WITH ME" and instantly I got it. Like the light bulb flashed on inside my head. BE with me.... THAT'S what God wants, for us to BE with Him. Not to work FOR Him, to DO things FOR Him, to only SEEK Him but to BE with Him, to LOVE Him.
The analogy I've used before which I stole from someone,
somewhere (thank you) was that of a parent. How many of you parents out there LONG for the times your children would crawl up in your lap and just BE with you... sit and snuggle and be content just being with you? My niece used to fall asleep on me and it was the greatest feeling in the entire world having her rest so peacefully on me just BEING with me. The older your children get, the less you have of this intimate time. The busier we get, the less God gets of us, of crawling up in His lap and just sitting in His presence. I also think of it like a cat basking in the glow of a warm, bright, sunny day, how we can bask in the glory of God our almighty Father.
 I get it now. I've got it before but it must have slipped my mind. God has given me this time to BE with Him, to bask in His glory, to sit and worship at His feet. I'm not getting a full time job (yet) though I am getting another part time one to hopefully pay the bills and still have the time God has blessed me with to BE with Him, to love Him and bask in His glory.
I feel excited about this. I'm excited for the new job I'm starting and the new level my relationship with my Father is going to. I'm excited to just sit with Him, worship Him and bask in His glory just like a cat on a warm, bright, sunny day. I feel excitement to get a kitten again someday too :)
With much love,
Kari
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Posted in General Articles by Kari Pitardi on 1/25/2008
I left off in my last blog mid December while in Florida at our Disney World vacation. We had a blast, it was a great time with everyone, especially for Bri and I to re-connect and have some great conversations about life back at home.
After Disney World, I came home to spend the holidays with my family. Christmas with my parents and Bo and his family was great. Before I get to those pictures though, here are a few random photos from the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
In honor of my WR family, team YETI, I had to show them some respect.....
 And here is my niece Chloe. On the left she's in full on tantrum mode in the back of the car and the fact that i was laughing because it was so cute how upset she was just made it that much worse. On the right, here she is in her Chinese outfit i brought home for her posing for the camera. Sadly the outfit was a bit too small before she even got to it. Chinese babies just aren't the same size as Americans. hahaha.    Fellow YETI teammate Jon came down for a quick visit. We met where Bo works and all got to hang out together for a couple hours. Next came the annual Womens Christmas Dinner at the church I attend. It's a dress up function and the ladies who host the tables go all out using their fine china and decorating them beautifully. Here are a few pictures from that evening.... On the left is my best friend Anna and I, the middle is her beautifully decorated table and on the right is Anna, me and my mom.    Here's me and my mom....
 Following the womens dinner was CHRISTMAS! I'm missing the pictures with my sister because the timing didn't work out for us to be at the same place at the same time, but i've spent time with her since. Left: mom and dad opening presents, Right: Bo & I   Following Christmas, Bo and I went with our best friends Jerry and Anna and their kids to Leavenworth to ring in the new year and celebrate Anna's birthday. We had a blast in the little German village all lit up for christmas packed with snow. We hung out in 1 hotel room most of the time when we weren't out in the snow playing games. Catch phrase and Guesstures are my 2 favorite games and we played them both all weekend long! Left: the 4 of us in the room hanging out; Right: bad idea to wear cotton pants when climbing snow banks. COLD!!!! (i fell through)   After coming home again in January (FINALLY done traveling now) I started getting reacquainted with friends and responsibilities. One of the places/things I missed most while I was gone was the fire department. I've been a volunteer there for 10 years now and they welcomed me back with open arms to my role as an EMT and a chaplain for the department. I'm so happy to be back with them again.  So.... now what? Well, that's a whole other blog I'll have to post next time! Hope you enjoy the pictures!
Much Love,
Kari
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Posted in General Articles by Kari Pitardi on 1/16/2008
Happy Belated New Years!
Sorry I've been away for so long, I honestly felt that I
didn't have anything to write about, though the feeling of needing to write a
blog has been on my mind the past few weeks. There's so much swirling around
inside my head now I'll have to break it up into 2 separate blogs. Things have been
great since I've been home and I attribute that to a few things. In no specific
order, I changed while I was gone and things are different for me now, some
things just don't matter like they used to, I'm not as high strung, as tightly
wound. I've been surrounded by family and friends. I haven't seen many of my
friends yet but I'm slowly starting to catch up with people, getting phone
numbers and setting times to go meet up with old friends. I have a lot more of
that to do. It was the holiday season, while people are FAR more stressed out
this time of year, it's also a time of joy and reflection and being hopeful
which feels great. I have very few responsibilities and bills which feels great. I still stay busy (I couldn't tell you with what because I
still don't know what I do with my time) but it's giving me some down time to
think a bit and just relax. And lastly, I haven't looked at any of my pictures
or talked about the race hardly at all. It's on the agenda, I know I need to
and I want to as well but I guess I've just been avoiding it and missing
everything about that life and everyone who was with me so I've put it out of
my mind to stunt the grieving process of losing all that when the race ended.
Here's what's been going on since I arrived home November 20th….
Oh, before I start… an update: 
Dad is doing GREAT! We just
finished a great workout in the basement
tonight, opted for that rather than the 2-5 mile walk outside we
normally do in the evenings. He had his first of 2 surgeries which went well,
there were complications and he's still recovering from it but he's doing
amazing. He's changed his lifestyle with eating healthy and exercising everyday
which is a requirement for him to stay alive. The doctor won't perform the 2nd
surgery until he's lost a bit of weight and is a little healthier to
drastically reduce the risks involved with surgery so dad has a few months to
work off some pounds and get healthier before they perform the 2nd
surgery removing the cancer. Thank you so much for your continued support, it's
meant the world to him and our whole family.
I arrived home to my parents house where I will be staying for an undetermined amount of time.
This is home for me now. It's a great place to be, but I often miss owning my
own house and being in my own space. I lived on my own for the previous 8 years
leading up to the race, and while I learned to live in community while on the
race, I'm having to learn it all over again since I'm back home now. I'm so
comfortable here though, cushy carpet floors, hot water all day every day,
toilet paper flushing toilets, a comfortable bed with blankets, food, family,
etc.
 I arrived home just 2 days before thanksgiving so I got to
enjoy the thanksgiving festivities. We
had a small thanksgiving here at my parents house with just the immediate
family, a larger one with the extended family up in the city and had one with
Bo's family as well. Here are some thanksgiving photos …
 
I was so excited to get back
to my church: 
I love my old church, I'm
still adjusting to going back to "church" every week and the fact that it's
inside a building not on a rooftop or the sandy beach oceanside, but I love it
and am thankful for my church family.
 Less than 2 weeks after returning home, I flew to Georgia for training to go on staff with Adventures in Missions. I spent about a week there training in their office and living with a family that works there. It was so comfortable to be uncomfortable again, living with people I don't know well in a place I'm unfamiliar with, that's comfort for me now. I am on staff now working remotely from home on a very part time basis assisting with finances for The World Race.
After Georgia, it was time to
head out to Disney World in Florida with Bri for our own personal "debrief." I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...
  
We decided after we had our fun for a few days it would be
even more fun to invite our men down to join us…
 
 
  I have more pictures and stories to tell on the next blog.... be back soon. Thanks for keeping with me and checking up on me. Much love,
Kari
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