It's a Miracle

In less than 48 hours after removing a tumor larger than a golf ball from my brain I was released from the hospital to come home for recuperation. It is never protocol to release a patient directly from ICU and especially after brain surgery to remove a large cancerous mass that was so deeply embedded in the brain.

On Wednesday morning Dr. Manning had cancelled a second CT scan of my brain due to the one right after surgery looking so good and ordered the post-op MRI. If these results were good I was to be released from ICU to go to the 5 East Surgery Wing. We were told the MRI results were great and as soon as a room would be ready I could leave ICU to continue my hospital stay for recovery. Due to the fact no rooms were available I stayed another night in ICU.

When Dr. Manning came into my room on Thursday afternoon to check on my progress and do further neurological tests he stated, “I can’t argue with the evidence in front of me. You look great, are doing great, up walking, eating, and the MRI results were pristine! I have never sent a patient home in 48 hours after this type of surgery, but you can go home.”

I want to thank everyone who have so diligently prayed, gathered, and supported me and my family during this time. I felt the presence of God before, during, and after my surgery.

I humbly ask you to continue to pray for my recovery, the doctors/nurses involved in my care, and for the upcoming procedures I will be going through.

I am resting well, slow, and steady.

January 27th Surgery Update

The morning started off a little tense as, I (Linda) forgot my cell phone as we had left for the hospital. This caused us to have to turn around and go back to the house. Tensions we high to begin with and this added a little stress. I told Doug that I forgot the phone so he could be angry at me and I would be his focus so he would not be consumed by thoughts of the upcoming surgery. He laughed, tensions eased up and he told me, “Well there goes Toni’s prayer for a safe, calm and uneventful ride to the hospital”, as he grabbed the handle when I turned the corner. Okay, so I was in a little bit of a hurry.

Doug’s surgery went really well. As I have stated before we continue to see the Lord go before us as Dr. Manning shared before surgery if we did not find the tumor when we did and remove it, Doug would have only had two weeks to a month to live. So what we thought was a bad head cold and sinus infection was the Lord going before Doug to have a CT scan and MRI done to locate the brain mass.

Overall the surgery took about 4 hours with an hour + before and after for pre-op and recovery. The 18 faithful stayed the course and we were all there to hear Dr. Manning tell us that Doug was doing great and as he left him in the recovery room he was awake, able to count fingers, wiggle his toes, and carry on a conversation. Dr. Manning told us the tumor was larger than we had originally thought and it was also embedded as deep as it could within the brain. From what the doctor indicated it was bigger than a golf ball, but smaller than a tennis ball. Doug was then sent up ICU to spend the night.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support.

Linda

January 26th Update-Thankfulness

Doug and I are so thankful for the support and love that has been shown to us by family and friends through this trying time. We want to share with you our experience.

On Monday night our family received a wonderful blessing from our church family. The pastor, elders, and friends joined Doug and I along with Doug's parents Don and Louise, and our two sons who live in Idaho, Matthew and Adam, our daughter-in-law Kari, and our granddaughter Isabel to pray for Doug's upcoming surgery. To be able to express in words our appreciation, love, and gratitude is beyond words. We were and still are so overwhelmed by this action. It just demonstrated how the Lord continues to go before us preparing the way, bringing fellow believers alongside us to support us and lift us up when we feel like everything is crashing in on us.

On Tuesday morning as Doug was in pre-op before his surgery his nurse, Kim a believer in our Lord asked him if he would like a Chaplin to come and pray with us. Doug told Kim that he didn't need a Chaplin to come pray with him because his church family came and prayed with us the night before and he could feel the Lord's covering and we were girded up in the Armor of the Lord.

Another demonstration of the Lord going before us was the day of surgery. Doug’s support team in the Surgery Waiting Room counted 18 strong with many others throughout the world praying for him due to the prayer chains he has been put on. We are always so humbled to know that individuals who don’t even know us personally come along side us to go before the throne of God on our behalf. Hebrews 4:16

As we continue to travel along this journey the Lord has gone before us, we see how He is taking care of us, and bringing people to support and love us.

What an awesome God we serve!

Linda

Taste My Jesus

TASTE MY JESUS At the University of Chicago Divinity School each year they have what is called "Baptist Day." On this day each one is to bring a lunch to be eaten outdoors in a grassy picnic area. Every "Baptist Day" the school would invite one of the greatest minds to lecture in the theological education center. . One year they invited Dr. Paul Tillich. Dr.Tillich spoke for two and one-half hours proving that the resurrection of Jesus was false. He quoted scholar after scholar and book after book. He concluded that since there was no such thing as the historical resurrection the religious tradition of the church was groundless, emotional mumbo-jumbo, because it was based on a relationship with a risen Jesus, who, in fact never rose from the dead in any literal sense. He then asked if there were any questions. After about 30 sec onds, an old, dark skinned preacher with a head of short-cropped, woolly white hair stood up in the back of the auditorium. "Docta Tillich, I got one question," he said as all eyes turned toward him. He reached into his sack lunch and pulled out an apple and began eating it. "Docta Tillich.. CRUNCH, MUNCH "My question is a simple question,... CRUNCH, MUNCH... "Now, I ain't never read them books you read..CRUNCH, MUNCH.." and I can't recite the Scriptures in the original Greek...CRUNCH, MUNCH ..." I don't know nothin' about Niebuhr and Heidegger...CRUNCH, MUNCH... He finished the apple. "All I wanna know is: This apple I just ate, . . . . . . was it bitter or sweet? Dr Tillich paused for a moment and answered in exemplary scholarly fashion: "I cannot possibly answer that question, for I haven't tasted your apple." The white-haired preacher dropped the core of his apple into his crumpled paper bag, looked up at Dr. Tillich and said calmly, "Neither have you tasted my Jesus." The 1,000 plus in attendance could not contain themselves. The auditorium erupted with applause and cheers. Dr. Tillich thanked his audience and promptly left the platform. Have you tasted Jesus? Please pass this on Saints! Jesus has risen... and He's coming back one day... "Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. If you have, rejoice in the hope of the resurrection that your faith in Him brings." Psalm 34:8! (PLEASE taste my Jesus!!! He leaves a sweet taste you cannot forget!)

January 22nd Update

Yesterday we went to St. Luke's Meridian hospital for two MRI's; one on the brain, and the other one on the spine. The MRI on the spine was to rule out any metastases on the spine. We received a phone call around 4:00 p.m. from Dr. Manning with the results. The MRI of the spine was clear of any cancer. The MRI of the brain showed metastases from the colon/rectal cancer. The MRI also showed it is located more toward the back of the brain rather than the right temporal area. The MRI also showed swelling of the tumor and this has been causing the excruciating pain and sleepless nights. Dr. Manning prescribed a steroid to address the swelling and I am expected to feel much better within 48 hours. I am definitely looking forward to feeling better and getting some much needed rest.

While we were also at the hospital, we saw the Lord going before us as I was supposed to go down to St. Luke's Boise for my pre-op; but the young lady registering me asked if I would like to have her check to see if all of it could be done in Meridian to save us an additional trip. It was and we are very thankful that the blood work, EKG, EEG, and chest x-ray were all completed at St. Luke's Meridian for the pre-op.

At the tomb of Lazarus, before He raised His friend from the dead, Jesus proclaimed: “I am the Resurrection and the Life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.” John 11:25-26

January 20th - PET Scan Update

Today we met with Dr. Fiorentino, the oncologist to go over the PET scan results. The news was not what we were hoping to hear.

The PET scan showed the expected activity in the lymph node behind the left ear, but what we did not expect were other areas of activity. What do we mean by activity; a PET scan is done by injecting a radioactive glucose substance in the body. Cancer cells feed on sugar, so when there is cancer those areas light up showing activity due to the fast growing cells. The activity was found in the lymph node behind the left ear, both right and left lungs, and the lymph node in the left groin area.

The plan of attack is to have the surgery to remove the lesion on the right side of my brain. Then after a short recovery from the surgery we will attack the cancer cells in the rest of my body with a systemic chemotherapy regiment. I already have a tentative date for my first chemotherapy treatment on Tuesday, February 10th.

Tomorrow morning, on January 21st I will be having two MRI's done at St. Luke's Meridian Hospital; one on my brain and the other one on my spine in preparation for the upcoming surgery on the 27th. In the afternoon I will also be going to St. Luke's Boise to have my pre-op conducted for the surgery.

Thank you to each one of you for your prayers and support for my family and I. We are so appreciative and are continually reminded that we serve a great God and know He is in control and His plan is perfect. We are continually reminded and encouraged that our faith and hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Janurary 18

As I lay in bed yesterday morning, a verse kept coming to mind. I would like to share the verse.
2 Timothy 1:12b "I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day."

I have committed my life to the Lord and know that He is able to keep me in the palm of His hand until that day that I stand before Him. My salvation is secure in the Lord and He is faithful to keep me to the very end.

I hope these words are a great encouragement to youh if you have made Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life. I know that they are to me.

January 16, 2008

While yesterday was busy with setting up appointments and getting the films from my scans (MRI and CT) to take to the doctor, today was busy making those appointments. I had the PET Scan this morning and everything went ok. Because of my recent weight loss the Scan was shorter than any one that I have had before (only 20 minutes instead of 40). While doing a PET Scan you must lie perfectly still on a table so I was thankful for the shortened scan time.

Later this afternoon we met with the Neurological Surgeon Dr Manning. He did do some simple tests on me and after reading the reports from my MRI it confirmed that I do have a mass on the right side of my head or brain. We started the ball rolling to get a surgery date with some more or extra tests to be done next week. I will be very busy next week with getting ready for the surgery date of January 27th. Dr. Manning told us today the surgery will take several hours to complete. The extra tests to be done are 2 more MRI's, a vision test, and a pre-op with a fitting for a cage which will be used during surgery to hold my head in place. I also have an appointment with my oncologist on Tuesday morning. Hopefully we can get more questions answered.

Please continue to pray for Linda myself and my family for this upcoming surgery. We will need all the prayers we could get. God is very much in control and we are giving it all up to Him in faith.

Dec 2008

Starting in early December I thought I was coming down with a bad head cold. I was dizzy and my head was pounding with ringing in my ears. I also had had a lump behind my left ear since October which was not going down. I told my oncologist and he sent me to get a biopsy.

On December 24th I went to the hospital to have the biopsy done; the results came back as carcinoma. I also was feeling so bad that I had to cancel two scheduled PET scans because I didn't think I could lie on the table for 45 minutes without moving. If you want to know more about PET scan you can Google it and find a lot of information.

I continued to feel horrible and after several trips and phone calls to Nampa's Quick Care I was referred to an Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) specialist. On Wednesday, January 14, 2009 the ENT doctor wanted me to get a CT scan of my face/sinuses done, so back over to the hospital I went for a CT scan of my face. Then back to the doctor with the results. Before I could get back to the doctor the radiologist had called to say that I needed an MRI of my head because he saw what seemed to be an inner cranial mass. So the MRI was setup for the same day and back to the hospital I went.

I have been setup with another PET scan for this Friday, January 16, 2009. Later in the afternoon I will meet with a neurosurgeon to discuss the CT and MRI results and what he recommends and my options. I will then follow-up with my oncologist on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 to review the PET scan results and discuss the outcome of the neurosurgeon visit, CT/PET scans and MRI results.

Cancer History

Because of my recent changes in the battle against cancer it seemed best (and requested by my brother Ron) to put together a blog site with the most accurate and up-to-date information. I will try and keep this information updated as things progress. As most of you know I was diagnosed with colon/rectal cancer in 2004. After having 10 inches of my colon and all of my rectum removed (leaving me with an ostomy) I went through several rounds of chemo. In 2006 after doing a PET/CT Scan we discovered that the rectal cancer had gotten into my lungs. I had spots removed from both my right and left lungs in 2006. I also went through more chemo that year. Then again in early 2008 we found another spot on my right lung that was removed on April 9, 2008. My next post will be starting with information in Dec. 2008 so look for the post entitled Dec 2008.