Arthur is going in for surgery in about 5 hours (unless a slot opens up sooner). Should be quick and easy, and, most of the time, fixes the problem more or less entirely.

Safe and well and home -ma would be appreciated.

Jacqueline passed at 1pm.

Matilda was with her.

We've put her in fancy clean pajamas and are awaiting the nurse to come and make the time of death official.

We'll have some time with her body before the mortuary comes to collect her.

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Jacqueline's Funeral Service
October 16th, 11am

St. Francis Lutheran Church
152 Church Street

(In the Castro across from Safeway. One block from the Church Street Muni stop.)

This will be a relatively short (less than an hour) religious service, to honor Jacqueline's life of faith and service, and acknowledge the spiritual nourishment she came to find at St. Francis Lutheran, as well as her long, deeply held affiliation with the parish of St. John of God.

It was important to her that we had a church marriage, and that Matilda was baptized and received communion. And I want to complete those rites with her.

I realize that 11am on a Monday is not convenient, and I apologize for that. It's the only time I could line up the church, the pastor, the organist and the reception hall.

This is not a memorial.  We will have a full memorial to celebrate Jacqueline's life in the spring of 2024 on what would have been our 20th anniversary.

All are welcome, but please RSVP if you think you will attend, because there will be a reception after with food, and I need to know how many mouths to feed.

Please share this information among your communities to reach people who might be interested.

One of the things that drew Jacqueline originally to St. Francis was that they continued live streaming their service after the pandemic lockdown.  This service will live streamed through YouTube if you can't attend.  

Their link is here: https://www.youtube.com/@stfrancislutheranchurch9919

Jacqueline particularly loved her pastor's sermon on Julian of Norwich which I'll share here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBFJ4XjTsgw

Many have asked about charities to donate to in Jacqueline's name.

She was an ardent supporter of Planned Parenthood if you're looking for something National.  Emily's List, ActBlue, The Trevor Project.

But I highly recommend you research for local charities that support at-risk Trans youth, immigrant rights and asylum and providing immediate economic aid for marginalized communities in danger of losing housing.  

Here's the link for the LiveSteam for Jacqueline's service at 11am PST.

It will be up on their YouTube channel thereafter so anybody can catch up with it later if they want.

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I realized earlier today that I've been very cavalier about upcoming scans and tests. I realized that I'm being so cavalier because I'm making an effort not to think about the fact that the doctors are concerned about my spine. I haven't been concerned because I've been assuming the pain is just my usual chronic tailbone issues. But I had the terrifying thought this morning, "What if it's not?" So I'd appreciate all the prayers, energy, and ~ma you can send for a lumbar puncture today, a PET scan on Monday, and (yet another) MRI next Friday. Thanks much.

OK, so, my oncologist saw no likelihood of cancer in the results of the multiple spinal exams. However, the NEURO-oncologist says that a lumbar puncture only captures about 65% of problems and PET scans & MRIs aren't the best at detecting things around the spine, so would like to do some further testing because my spine is funky (my technical term) and she'd like more info. So I think we're at a cautious *mostly* yay for the latest test results. And I'll be scheduling a brain MRI and something-or-other nerve conduction test in the near future.

My uncle passed away quietly over the weekend. He'd been fighting cancer since just after my cousin's funeral in March, and it became pretty obvious things were not headed in a good direction despite his unfailing optimism. But the abruptness of his downturn was a bit surprising; just a few days ago the family was making Thanksgiving plans so he could see some of his siblings one last time.

Here's a nice thing! Last fall, my dad let me know that the Republic of Austria had opened up a program to restore citizenship to descendants of Austrians who were victims of the Nazis, and that he and a couple of his cousins had applied, and suggested that I might also want to. I just got word today that my citizenship has been approved!