Status Updates

12-08-11: 
David will be starting chemotherapy this Monday, December 12th.  The chemo is in pill form, and he will take it for 5 days in a row once a month.  He will have blood tests on day 21 and day 28 to check blood cell counts.  The first MRI to check progress will be after two months of treatment. They would like to do a minimum of six month of chemo, and hopefully longer depending on how the blood tests look each month.  He will be on medication to help with the nausea.  He is currently on two seizure medications, but they are hoping to get him down to one very soon.

He has done back to work a few days already and is so happy to be back.  His recovery from surgery has truly been amazing to watch.  He has hiked and snowshoed already!

PLEASE continue to pray for him.  Again, I will repeat our same prayer request from below.  Please pray the treatment will obliterate Goliath!  Please also pray for no more seizures and strength for David and his family.  THANK YOU amazing friends and family.

11-30-11, 8:20 PM: 
David had his follow-up appointment at the UW at 2:15 today.  He got the staples removed from his head (49!), and then we met with his neurosurgeon.  We learned that David has an Oligodendroglioma brain tumor.  It is a primary brain tumor, which means it did not come from another part of the body (i.e. it is a tumor that occurs in the brain initially vs. something that has metastasized to the brain).  It is a grade 2, which is considered low or slow-growing (we are thankful for this!). It is considered an invasive tumor, which means their are most likely tumor cells still existing beyond what is seen on an MRI, and so it is something that can recur and keep growing. Because they were not able to remove all of the tumor, and because what remains is right next to a critical area (left side motor function), it was recommended to do some sort of treatment fairly soon.  They also have no way to predict how it will continue to grow, which was another reason to do another treatment fairly soon. We met with radiation and chemotherapy doctors and he was given the choice of either option to start.  Please continue to pray for him, through whatever treatment is decided, and, well, forever! 🙂  He will be monitored with MRIs approximately every 2-3 months.  Please pray the treatment will obliterate Goliath!  Please also pray for no more seizures and strength for David and his family.  We are amazed by and so appreciative of all of the prayers and support.

11-27-11, 8:00 PM:
David has been taking walks and went to church this morning.  He said he needs to ask the doctor what exactly he can and can’t do, otherwise he will be pushing the envelope and very shortly will be hiking up Mt. Si!  His progress each day has been amazing.  We appreciate continued prayers for the pathology results, continued (amazing) progress, and no more seizures.

11-25-11, 9:00 PM:
David did his own status update today! See HOME to read it.  David went on a walk with Jess in the morning, and then a walk with his Mom and Keri in the afternoon.  His swelling has gone down.  His left hand and arm are moving better. He was awake all afternoon.  He ate filet mignon for dinner.  It was a good day!  Please pray for Wednesday’s appointment.

11-25-11, 9:00 AM:
David’s emotions rose to the surface yesterday.  It was heartwrenching and joyous to see this.  He is losing some of the cloudiness from the anesthesia and medications.  We continue to remind him that he is not alone and that we are all here to make this journey with him! He was pretty swollen yesterday and has a nice shiner.  He said he could feel that he was swollen inside his head as well due to the pressure.  He spent the morning at home and went to Jessica’s parents for Thanksgiving dinner, where he ate well and took some naps.  Please continue to help us raise this man up in support, motivation and prayer!

11-23-11, 11:00 PM:
David is HOME! The day started a little rough.  He is swollen in his head/face (but normal for day 2), and his left side arm movement was slow this morning.  However… he did well at PT and OT and they decided to send him home!  He had some visitors tonight (thank you guys!) and he laughed for the first time!  He ate steak for dinner and we made him drink his Gatorade with his left hand.  He was thrilled to be in his own bed- he concurred that it is very cozy. Our prayer requests remain pretty constant- no seizures, complete recovery, and benign.

11-22-11, 8:00 PM:
David had visits from OT and PT therapists today.  He is a little frustrated that his left side is moving a little slow, but we are reminding him that this is only day 1 and he is doing great.  His blood pressure was a bit high today and so it took some time to get that down, but he was able to move out of ICU to “the floor” at 5:45 this evening.  Hopefully he will be able to get some much needed rest tonight being in his own room because he is exhausted.  We found out we will hear the pathology results and the next steps for treatment on Wednesday, November 30th. Please pray for rapid healing, no seizures, and benign/easily treatable results. Thank you!

11-22-11, 7:20 AM:
We were able to see David at 9:00 last night- FINALLY!  He was talking, and not only talking… he was a chatterbox!  He was trying to make sure all of his brain and memories were still there, and so he told stories, was reminding everyone of things he needs to do, he was setting goals, and he was quite funny!  He has movement on both side of his body and we are so grateful for that.  We will continue to keep you updated.  Thank you again for your prayers.  We are so fortunate to be surrounded by so much love and support.

11-21-11, 5:30 PM:
David is out of surgery and we just spoke with the doctor- see Goliath Removal for a review.  He is in recovery and we can’t see him for a few hours.  We will let you know how he is when we can.

11-21-11, 12:15 PM:
David just went into the operating room.  We expect a four hour surgery and 1.5 hour recovery time after that before we hear from the doctor. Keep praying please!

11-21-11, 10:51 AM:
They are a little behind on the original schedule.  Surgery anticipated to start at approximately 11:30.  Thank you for your prayers!

11-21-11, 7:15 AM:
David checked in at 5:45 and was taken back to pre-opp at 6:07.   Jessica is with him now.  He’s ready for his haircut! We are at the surgery center now, but the operation will be in the main hospital OR.

11-20-11:
David had another seizure around noon today.  He was at home when it happened.  He went via ambulance to UW Emergency as requested by the doctors.  They released him around 4:00 as his vitals were all good and the neurosurgeon cleared him to go home for the night.  Surgery is as planned for tomorrow morning.  Please keep praying for him- we thank you!

11-19-11:
We will be heading into UW hospital at the crack of dawn on Monday. David needs to be there at 5:45am. He will get a new haircut, have another MRI, and is scheduled for surgery at 10am. The surgery should last about 4 hours.

Advertisement