Are all neurosurgeons like this?

We had the follow-up appointment with the neurosurgeon today.  Most of the time was spent with his very affable P.A.  However, in the three minutes we had with the doctor, he let us know that Mark is healing exceptionally well.  Then, almost as he was walking out of the room, he sort of nonchalantly mentioned that Mark might not recover "full" use of his right leg/foot/toes.  Huh?  This guy cracks us up with his, um, "bedside manner."  Good thing he's otherwise really good at what he does...  And good thing the physical therapist is a bit more optimistic!

Oncology update/from Mark

Hear any good brain-jokes lately?

I met with the Oncologist today and at this point he is suggesting we wait on any Radiation or Chemo treatment. I will meet with a Radiation Oncologist probably during the next week or so, because with my age and the type of cancer I have, I fall right on the line in regards to treatment solutions. Under the age 40 they recommend no Radiation, 40 and over they recommend Radiation. Since we are dealing with the brain, side effects of treatment include paralysis, so proceeding cautiously is favorable. By letting the brain settle down over the next six weeks, we should have a better idea how to proceed. This close to surgery, an MRI may not show a difference between scar tissue from the surgery and missed cancer tissue.

So this is good news!

In six weeks I will have another MRI taken and then will review those images with the Oncologist and then set a treatment course, if any, at that time if he sees it necessary.

Today I was also given a clean bill of health via the Speech Therapist. She was quite amazed how well I was able to speak, process and think, only having surgery 2 weeks ago. Yep, not only do I have pictures that prove I have a brain, I have a therapist who signed off on that I use it pretty well. :-)

As of today, I am moving around pretty good. I do have to use a cane to walk, but everyday feeling more strong. I have 7 more Physical Therapy sessions to attend over the next 3 weeks, and then will be reevaluated for further therapy.

I think that is about it.
Thank you again for your prayers and kind words. I will continue to keep you informed on how things are going.

m

Baby Steps and Legos (Note from Mark)

I just wanted to thank all of you who have been praying and loving on my family during this season of our life. Some of you I may never know but I will remember by the peace you helped provide me through your prayer, confirming God is in control and we have an awesome God!

Today I got to go home. Yeah!

Now I look forward to playing Legos with my boys. They are going to enjoy playing with dad. Who knew it would be the simple things like this that will help reprogram my brain and rehabilitate me back to a full recovery.

I have a lot to relearn, and so much to be thankful for. With baby steps and Legos I am on a path to a full recovery!

In His grip!
m

Home!

Mark is home!  :D  We are so happy  :D  He is doing really well.
The boys made big "Welcome Home, Dad" posters, which Nana hung on the porch railing for him to see as we drove up  :)
Next week we start up with all sorts of appointments, but for the next few days we rest.

the key

If you know much about us at all, you probably know that our faith is pretty important to us.
As I was just telling a friend, the reality is that our faith has been the key to getting us through this hard time.  Because over the years we have pursued knowing Christ, there is a connection there that, while maybe hard to put into words, is still very very real.  Without Him, without His Word, without confidence in prayer, and without knowing that He loves us and has the best in mind for us, we would be a mess.  
We would have no peace, no hope.  
But we do.
Jesus is real.  Jesus is here.  And Jesus is giving us this chance to speak up for Him.
Even if the hardest thing you have to do today is decide what you want to wear, remember that you are loved by an amazing God, who wants to know you better.  (And if that's puzzling to you, let's talk more :))


Do we still have our *moments,* our hard times?  Of course!  We would be delusional not to.  But we choose not to go down the path of "what ifs," but instead rest in Christ's love for us.  Even when the "best for us" feels hard for a while.


From Psalm 91...
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I trust..."
"Because he loves Me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; 
I will protect Him, for he acknowledges My name.
He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble.
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him
and show him My salvation."

A little oncology info

Mark saw the oncologist today, but he didn't really give him much more information.  It sounds like the oncologist works with a team, and they will be figuring out a course of action together, over the next few days.  We'll set up an appointment to meet with them next week, and will know more then.

Therapy is going really well, which again we attribute to the power of prayer and the grace of God.
He is scheduled to go home sometime this Friday!  We are really looking forward to that  :)

Biopsy Report!

Good news!  It is an "astrocytoma" ~~  which isn't the "best," but is still not bad, particularly because it's definitely a Grade 2! 
We are SO THANKFUL.
THANKFUL.
THANKFUL.
THANKFUL.
Tomorrow we talk to the oncologist about what kind of treatment he'll get (if any).

Psalm 34:1-4

"I will bless the Lord at all times.  His praise will continually be on my lips.  My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice!  Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together!  I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears."

You Never Let Go

I added some music here.  It's a song that came to us much in the same way that the whole "standing on the rock" thing came to us.  (Apparently we need multiple exposures for us to grab on to something, lol!)  Anyway, we heard this twice in a row at church, and then our sweet friend, Annette, sent it to us as well.  She had heard it in her church last week too!  Pretty amazing timing, if you ask me. 

Today he gets a full schedule of therapy.  Then the therapists and doctor all get together and decide where he's at, and what to do next.  Will keep you posted.
Technically he's able to come home, but more focused attention there might be a really good thing.
We're just waiting... 

just a few

A few of my favorite things...
*Real clothes, not a hospital gown
*A cot, not a chair (for me to sleep on)
*Grandparents caring for kids (and doing our laundry, and cleaning our kitchen...)
*Neighbors who caught and fixed our broken hose
*Terrific nurses, therapists, and doctor
*Daily improvement in Mark's condition

On to Rehab

They finally transferred Mark out of ICU and up to Rehab on the fourth floor.  (He had been able to move from ICU sooner, but there just weren't any beds available.)
Technically, he could even go home at this point, but because his leg is so weak, he decided to opt for some therapy that our insurance provides for.  How long he'll be here all depends on how quickly he improves, but it will be anywhere from three to ten days.


The boys finally got to see him today too!  That was good, very very good (for all of us)   :)


If you're in the area, come on in and say hi, if you'd like.  I know he'd like that  :)  Just give us a heads-up if you do, though, so we can make sure he's not in the middle of therapy (which will be at least three hours a day, spread throughout the day).


Many thanks again for all the encouraging notes!  I was able to read several to him today that he hadn't seen yet, and he was really overwhelmed... 

The wi-fi isn't as good up here, so that may slow down communication a bit.  I'll check email and the blog when I can.

slow but steady

Slow but steady improvement today. 
Still not sure when he gets to come home.  Could be another day or two, or maybe three or four!  

Psalm 34:1
I will bless the LORD at all times;
   his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

saw the surgeon

We spoke with the neurosurgeon this evening.  He was very positive, and said Mark is doing great!

We asked him very specifically if we had to worry about this tumor being the kind of "cancer" that could either spread to other parts of his body, or had come from somewhere else.  He immediately and emphatically answered, "No, it's not that kind of a tumor." 
He also said that, barring any random microscopic cells or something, he was able to remove all of the tumor.
So that was reassuring, to say the least!

We also learned that "cancer" isn't really a technical term they use.  It's more accurate to use the word "tumor," and to say that Mark has a "brain tumor."  What's more important is what "grade" it is.  Grade 1 is rare, Grade 2 is what he's pretty sure Mark has (and is what we are "hoping" for), Grade 3 is serious but definitely treatable, and Grade 4 is of course very serious.  On the other hand, he also said that you could say that Grades 1 and 2 could be considered "benign tumors," while Grades 3 and 4 would be "malignant cancer."
I THINK I get it......  

snowflakes

Mark is still doing really well today (considering).  There truly is no other explanation for this other than answers to prayer and the grace of God.
He's still in ICU, but only because there aren't any beds available in the next area yet.


We have been surprised, though, at the effect the surgery had on his right arm/hand and leg/foot.  While we saw some pretty good improvement with his hand yesterday, his leg and foot have been a little slower to catch up.  Looks like we'll be doing some physical therapy to get him back on track there.  Apparently the tumor was really close to the "motor strip," so that's the reason for the weakness/numbness.  We'll find out more about that (hopefully) when we talk to the neurosurgeon this evening.

So much to be thankful for!
*Mark's dad was able to spend the night with him, so I could go home and get a good night's sleep.
*The boys have taken turns being sick (so haven't seen Mark yet), but they are WELL taken care of by Grandma and Nana.
*Mark is "days ahead" of normal recuperation of this type of surgery.  We are seeing slow but steady progress with his right side.
*He is feeling parts of his right leg that he hasn't felt for years!
*And to top it all off, we saw snowflakes today  :D

ICU

He's out of recovery now and in ICU.  He's looking and sounding really good!  He's cracking jokes, talking politics, and teasing his mom  :)  They have him out of bed and into a chair, and so far he's only asking for Tylenol for pain!  His nurse says he's doing REALLY well.
He has some weakness and numbness on his right side (normal for this situation), but it has already been improving, and should continue to improve.

They didn't have to remove much hair at all, and the area of incision looks "good."

There will be another MRI this evening, but as far as we know at this point, they were able to remove all of the tumor. 

We'll know more when we get the results back from the biopsy in a few days, but (as far as we know) it was just what the doctor suspected to begin with: a low grade tumor.

We won't know what course of treatment we'll pursue until we hear the biopsy report (or even if any will be necessary).

Many thanks to my mom for caring for the boys all day; to Mark's parents for waiting at the hospital all day; to Mark's brother, Dave, for stopping here on his way through to Texas; and to our friend Austin for being here as well, including providing lunch for us while we waited. 
A big thank you as well to all of our friends and family who have been praying and offering so many encouraging words through calls, emails, and texts.
Most of all, thank you to the Lord for His amazing care through it all!

More tomorrow.....

#3

Surgery went well!  Going to see him in ICU shortly.

Surgery Update #2

Surgery took a little longer, but just because you never quite know what you'll get once you get in there.
They did a final MRI to make sure they "got" all they could.  Now they're doing the final steps to take him from surgery to recovery.
We'll talk to the surgeon in a few minutes, and I'll put up the next update after that.

Surgery Update #1

Just heard from one of our nurses.  Everything is going well.  Actual surgery began around 9:15 (lots of prep work before the actual surgery I guess). 
He was in a good state of mind (haha) before he went in, and the rest of us are doing fine too.
God is good, all the time  :)
Thanks for the continued prayer!