Not home yet

Well, perhaps I jumped the gun a bit. Jeff was not able to come home today. The bleeding has stopped and he is stable, but kidneys aren't working properly yet. He also seems to have some lingering effects from the severe brain trauma. Only time will tell if that will improve. We also have no information at this time as to the status of the tumor. Just know that we are now truly living one day at a time. I believe that God had nothing to do with this happening, but that he has everything to do with seeing us through it.

Time to report

I've not posted in quite sometime, as everything has remained pretty much the same. However, it's now time to catch up.

On May 26th, after a routine MRI at MD Anderson, it was discovered that Jeff was experiencing a small bleed in his brain. This is a side effect from the chemo treatments. In short, it was decided at that time that the treatments were of greater risk than benefit. The doctors recommended taking him off the treatments for one month. We would go back on June 30th to see if the bleeding had stopped and determine our next plan of action. The bad news was that he would not be receiving treatments. The good news was that he would be feeling better, just in time for our son's wedding on the 26th.

Unfortunately, last night Jeff had a seizure. I called 911 and received immediate assistance and Maggie went to get Dr. Julie, our God-sent, who lives just down the street. Jeff was taken to CTMC in San Marcos, then star flighted to Brackenridge Hospital in Austin. It appears the seizure was caused by a pretty severe brain hemorrhage. The situation was quite grim, but once again, Jeff seems to have dodged another bullet, at least for now. Incredibly, the bleeding seems to have stopped. He is in stable condition and was told that there is a possibility that he will get to come home as early as tomorrow!

Many prayers have been answered. I think it is safe to say that Jeff's plan is to be dancing at that wedding 11 days from now! Please continue your prayers, and thank you all so much for your love and care.

God Bless

Good News!

Jeff's latest visit to MDA was better than expected. The MRI showed the same mass that was there last month. The Dr. says it is most likely tumor, but the good news is that it has not grown. If anything, some of the cells seem to be dying! In short, the "miracle man" just keeps rockin' on! His treatment plan will remain the same. Why mess with success?

To celebrate, we are now in New Orleans, technically for the ACE Hardware Convention, but more realistically for a little breather. I must say, it's a little tough to fully enjoy N. O. when you can't really drink and your stomach can't tolerate too much "spice", but we will certainly make the most of it. I feel kind of bad that Brad and Maggie have to stay home for work and school, but good news always makes life a little easier for them as well.

Thanks for sharing this journey with us. Your prayers and cares make all the difference!

Update

It's been quite some time since I've posted anything. That's because things have been rocking along amazingly well, and perhaps they still are. I'm sure some of you have watched "48 Hours" on TV from time-to-time. Here is our 48 Hours episode:

Jeff got his scheduled MRI on Monday the 22nd. We got the results on Tuesday the 23rd (which just happened to be my birthday.) The report was not good. It appeared that the tumor was growing again, but our doctors recommended we go back to M. D. Anderson and see if there were any new options for us. We took the images with us. After looking at the films himself, our neurologist said that he could not say definitively whether it was tumor regrowth or simply scar tissue! His recommendation is 2 more rounds of Jeff's current treatment and an MRI in a month. He feels that he will have a much better idea of what is going on at that time.

Once again, we are grateful for better news than we had expected, but this roller coaster ride is not much fun! Jeff remains calm and positive. The rest of us, not so much. Actually, we are hanging in pretty well. Thanks for the prayers, and again, keep 'em comin'!

Our Christmas miracle came in the form of an MRI! The results show no sign of disease! What does this mean? We don't know, and neither do the doctors, except to say that Jeff is doing much better than ever expected at this point. The Avastin continues to buy him time, and no one can say with any certainty how long this "remission" will continue. But then who really ever knows what their future holds. We are grateful for every day, and trying our best not to second guess anything. I think the biggest blessing we've been given is the ability to truly live one day at a time, be TRULY grateful for friends and family, and to "lighten up, it's Christmas!"

With Jeff continuing to do pretty well, and our 25th anniversary coming up in December, we took an imprompto trip to Caifornia. It was WONDERFUL! We started in San Francisco, toured the wine country, and spent time on the Northern coast. The weather was cool, the food and drink was outstanding, and the company wasn't bad either! What a blessing to have been given that time together. Still friends after all these years!

I'm just cuttin' to the chase. Jeff had an MRI on Friday that revealed regression of his tumor! In otherwords, it's shrinking!!! The Avastin seems to be doing it's thing! We were stunned with the news! Jeff gets the treatments every other week. It's not a walk in the park, but.......... it could certainly be worse. We are grateful and encouraged by these results. His battle is far from over, but what a blessing for today! Keep the faith and keep those prayers coming! Thanks to you all.