October 28

Good evening, everyone,

It's been a long day, but I'm here with what we consider to be good news.

This morning we went to St. E's for Denny's MRI. We met with Dr. Howard shortly thereafter, and he gave us the following news. First, there is very little brain swelling left, so he was able to reduce the steroid amount Den is taking to 6mg. That should allow him to sleep better and start to regain his endurance. Steroids really take a toll on a body's muscle and bone strength, which is why Denny has felt so incredibly weak. Next, Steve was able to get a good look at the tumor. Right now it is still too big to consider the stereotactic radio surgery, but that is because it is filled with a lot of the dead debris caused by the radiation and/or chemotherapy. He explained that the brain has it's own mechanism of getting rid of that residue and it will, in time. Once it is gone, the tumor should be within the size range of being treatable. The best news, though, is that the tumor appears to be completely encapsulated, which it had to be in order to even be considered for the gamma knife surgery. Another MRI will be scheduled in another six to eight weeks, and hopefully we'll head to Madison sometime after that.

Denny will continue to see Dr. Howard weekly, his steroids will be adjusted, and he will continue taking the chemotherapy five days out of every four weeks. His work schedule will be determined by his progress. Right now Den is planning to continue like the last few weeks, adding hours of teaching as he can tolerate. I think he realizes just how dangerous it would be to overdo things at this point. Dr. Howard did give Den the okay to start driving and that made both of us very happy!:)

Now, to the other member of the O-Team. Last week I had a colonoscopy that resulted
in some abnormalities. Naturally, it threw us for a loop, but things are working out on that front, too. I couldn't stand waiting the 7 to 10 days they said it would take to get the pathology results back, so my doctor, Nancy Lindo-Drusch, was her wonderful self and called me yesterday with the results. No cancer, but a situation that has to be dealt with. Then last night, just after supper, Dr. Jeff Klingbeil called, asking what he could do to help me!! Imagine that! He is a partner in Phil Vogt's office, and Phil had told him about my dilemma. What a great friend!! Dr. Klingbeil is the only surgeon in the area who specializes in treatment of the colon and bowel. So, to make a long story short, I will be having surgery on Friday. If Dr. Klingbeil can take care of things they way he is hoping, I will probably come home Friday night. If he has to do a resectioning procedure, I'll be in the hospital for about five days and have a longer recovery. I'm all for being there for just Friday.

Everybody always asks what they can do to help us. Doubling up on the prayers is all we really need. We know that's what has gotten us through this so far, so if you can just keep us in your prayers we will be eternally grateful.

Hopefully our future blogs won't be so long!! Thanks for checking in.

Love,
Carla and Denny