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.....