An Update

Hello to family and friends,

Apologies for the generic and wordy post, but it's been a LONG day and this is the quickest way I can think to share the news we promised everyone.

The appointment with our neurosurgeon went as well as we could have hoped this morning. The short version is this: There are no good brain tumors. But, from the menu of bad brain tumors, mine was far from the worst. I was diagnosed with an ependymoma and, for those of you who will automatically look it up on Wikipedia, please know that I did not exhibit any uncontrollable twitching, which is a common early symptom! I'm told that my tumor was apparently aggravated by the stress of pregnancy and David's delivery, and could have developed anytime in the last ten years. I had headaches that began after the baby was born, which we incorrectly attributed to side effects of my epidural, and in treating these headaches one of my CT scans discovered the tumor.

In my surgeon's opinion, my surgery went well (I've not experienced problems like slowed speech or limited motility), and my scar is healing nicely. He believes that he removed most all of the tumor from my left frontal lobe during surgery, though some cells undoubtedly remained behind. He'll require that I be followed for a lifetime with MRIs to monitor the area where the tumor was, and to watch and be sure that it does not attempt to regenerate. I will be referred to a board certified neuro oncologist to manage my long term care, but my surgeon will continue to receive copies of all reports and scans, and he'll manage my regularly scheduled MRIs and CT scans. They'll tag team on my care, in other words. In my neurosurgeon's opinion, chemo will probably not be necessary, though he will not rule out that the oncologist may require that I take radiation. She will also be in charge of monitoring my drug regimen (my dresser looks like an old lady's with all the pill bottles!). While this medical adventure is far from over -- more treatments and appointments loom on the horizon -- we're definitely on the road to recovery. The best words I heard all day: "There's no reason that you should not be able to have more children and see them all grow up." I couldn't have hoped for anything more.

These past few weeks have been unbelievable and overwhelming, but Ned and I are more grateful than ever for all of you wonderful family and friends. We are appreciative of your support, whether it came in the form of prayers from your church, casseroles from your kitchen, messages through Facebook, or midnight duty with a fussy baby. We feel so loved, and are deeply grateful for our blessings, which grow more apparent every day. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we move forward with treatments, and be sure to throw in a "thank you" every now and then for the good news today. We're both humbled and encouraged by the outpouring of support we've received.

Love,
Mary Beth, Ned & David