October 21

Hi!

Today was a good day, indeed. We met with both of the doctors this morning and it appears that everything is getting back to where we were at in early September.

The steroids have been decreased to 8mg per day. From this point on, the weaning will go slowly enough so that we know Denny's adrenal system is manufacturing cortisone. There are blood tests that can be done to measure that, but Dr. Howard will see Den often enough to assess the situation. At this dosage, much of the depression should lift and take with it some of the fatigue.

Denny completed a round of chemotherapy on Saturday. He did experience some tiredness during those five days and that may happen each month. His blood work today was almost perfect. Only his liver function level is slightly elevated. All of this is very good news.

Next Tuesday Den will have an MRI. That will give Dr. Howard a very good idea of how the tumor has responded to the radiation and chemotherapy. He will also see how much, if any, swelling is left. If that tumor has responded as we have all hoped and prayed for, another appointment will be set up in Madison with Dr. Mehta, who will proceed with the stereotactic radio surgery. Because Steve Howard works with Dr. Mehta (and has done this procedure himself,) he knows exactly what to look for regarding the tumor.

For the remainder of this week and all of the next one, Denny plans to maintain the schedule he has been following the past couple of weeks. This will allow him to meet with his classes for short periods of time three days each week. He continues to create lesson plans, read essays, and grade papers. He naps when he needs to and tries to pace himself to avoid any exhaustion. He hopes to return to school full-time for term 2.

Thanks again to all of you reading this update. We continue to need and appreciate your concern and prayers, especially as Denny faces the MRI next week. We'll keep you posted!

Hugs to everyone,
Carla