March 13

Hi,

Thanks to all of you who got in touch with us after the last blog entry. The new procedure at the Cleveland Clinic is a bright ray of hope, that's for sure. At this point all of Den's records have been forwarded to them. All of our primary doctors (Yazbak, Meena, and Howard) are very supportive of the clinical trial, but I think we all know that Denny being chosen as a participant is a long shot. That is due, in part, to the fact that the condition of his tumor is considered stable at this time. Doctors involved with the trial are looking for patients with either recurrent or progressive situations. But at least they will have all of the info on Den should his condition change or when this becomes available after government approval.

We saw the oncologists twice this week; things were rolling along just a little too smoothly, I guess. Denny called me at work on Tuesday, saying that he wanted to go to the hospital because he was experiencing unbearable pain. I quickly called the doctor, closed up my office, and got him to the doctor as soon as possible. Dr. Meena wasn't in, so we saw her colleague, who immediately ordered an MRI. All of the pain was in Denny's left ear, and that's the side of the thalamus where the tumor is located. My imagination went into overdrive but when the afternoon was over we left the hospital knowing that the tumor is the same as before and Den has a severe ear/sinus infection. We picked up lots of new prescriptions and came home. After two miserable days and nights with no relief (Den rated the pain at 9.5 out of 10--the worst pain he's ever had in his life, he said,)we returned to see Dr. Meena yesterday. She changed the antibiotic and also discovered, as she closely observed the rash on the left side of his face and in his beard, that he has shingles. So now we are armed with another batch of prescriptions and are hoping to see improvement by tomorrow. The pain subsided significantly this afternoon when his ear drum ruptured from the pressure within. It's good that both Shannon (as a baby) and I (as an adult) experienced the same thing because seeing blood seeping out of someone's ear is pretty freaky.

It's been a long couple of days and nights, so Denny's been sleeping for hours and I'm heading for bed. We both wish we could go to the sectional final in Green Bay tomorrow, but we'll be here cheering for our friend, Coach Tom Neises, and a very special group of young men as they take on Seymour. Go Hawks!!

Have a wonderful weekend,
Carla