Update

Today is my 58th birthday, and I will be receiving the end of my second week chemo and radiation treatment later this afternoon. My current schedule is chemo 7 days per week, radiation Monday through Friday. So far, all the treatments have had no side effects other than fatigue, but no nausea. Praise the Lord for his care and provision.

My days are filled with treatments and doctor visits. When not doing those things, I am trying to get in some exercise on the treadmill and rest. Also doing lots of scripture reading, which I love to do, plus recording in my journal. I just finished re-reading Job, which has proved to be beneficial. I have a lot of peace as I reflect on all that has happened and the new journey that the Lord has me on. I saw an interview on TV of Anne Graham Lotz concerning her new book, 'The Magnificent Obsesssion,' where she talked about Abraham's walk with the Lord being such an inspiration in her personal walk. I ordered a copy immediately and it came yesterday. I have read only the introduction and first chapter thus far, but I think it is going to be a good book.

Caren and I went to our regular Thursday morning prayer session this morning with persons from our church, and as always, it was good for our spirits and soul to pray with others from church. After, we had a nice session with our Pastor Kevin that was much appreciated.

Caren and I remain convinced that their is a purpose in this trial, it is not a case of bad luck; but that somehow and someway, the Kindom will be served though this. We know we serve a loving and compssionate God, and we are part of His plan. We just need to be obedient and put our faith in him.

We continue to ask for your prayers, and I would ask especially for my dear wife Caren who has been such a rock for me through this and continues to stuggle some days with the burden she is carrying. She is such a woman of faith and God, but admits to times of doubt when fighting through this storm of life. Pray for her strength, faith, and peace through this time.

We love all you guys, and will never be able to thank you enough for the ongoing support and prayers. We feel everyone of them.

Love, John

Treatment

A big day today, my first chemo at 6:45 A.M. sharp this morning followed by my first radiation treatment at 8:45 in Maplewood. I was most nervous about the chemo, seems a lot of persons have a negative reaction, but everything went smooth. 2 Huge 'horse' tablets and a glass of water and your done.

The radiation, at least today, was a non event. They strap you to a table and hold your head under the custom mask they made for me last week. Then this large disk circles around your head zapping you (just some noise, no feeling). I just kept my eyes closed and prayed, so it went well. The machine they use is state-of-art (they focus the bean in all 3 axis so as to hopefully destroy only cancer cells not the good stuff.

Afterwards, I asked the doc if we could review the pictures of my brain so that I had a abetter understanding of what was actually going on. It is kind dof erie to view; especillay my brain that has a huge chunk missing where the main tumor mass was removed. Today's radiation was focused on the edges of this area to kill off lingering cancer cells in that area. This cycle will repeat every week day for the next 5-6 weeks at which time radiation will stop. Chemo will also stop for a while, but restart after a week or so at a higher level, or at least that is the plan now.

Caren and I continue to pray for courage through this time,and praise the Lord for his promises and faithfulness. We also remain so humbled and thankful for His grace and mercy upon us, and for you, our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Merry Christmas to all,

John

Radiation Test

We went downtown for John's final visit to the neurosurgeon. He has been dismissed from thier care and only to return if he has any issues. He is still taking 2gm salt tablets a day and will be
referred to an endocrinologist to monitor his sodium levels.
The second appointment was at radiation therapy. This was just a practice run to ensure the plan is correct, aiming the radition beam at the right place, etc. Tuesday is the real thing in addition to starting oral chemotherapy.
Its scary but I'm starting to think like John. I put all our appointments in outlook! If I start pulling out graphs and charts, please shake me.
John is realizing these outings are just exhausting so I had him take a nap. The blinds were pulled, took out the phone and shut the door. A short time later, I could hear him snoring. I'm thinking yes, he is sleeping and then his cell phone rings. I was so careful about everything but forgot the cell phone! oh well...despite the cell phone, John was able to get some rest and woke up refreshed just in time to visit with Jamie.
Merry Christmas, Caren

Friday, December 18 Update

I have now been home from the hospital for 2 weeks and am making slow but steady progress in regaining my strength. It is unbelievable to me the strength and energy that is sapped out from one in undergoing somethink like this. The doctors have told me that it will take a minimum of 6-8 weeks to recover from a surgery like this. I seem to be so tired all the time, and I guess its because all your body energy is going into healing, which leaves you short on energy for anything else. Despite being tired and going to bed early every night, sleep has been challeging. I wake up often my mind thinking about various things. I try and pray myself back to sleep.

Caren and I met with the oncologists this week, and I believe everything went well; at least we got a lot of answers to questions. My first radiation treatment will be next Tuesday, December 22nd. Monday, I had another CAT scan done with dye to help determine the focus of the radiation. Tuesday I had another MRI to merge onto the CAT today. They molded a plaster like goalie mask around my head that they use during the radiation to hit the right spot and keep your head still. All pretty tame stuff, just a few more pokes I didn’t need. There are some possible side effects from the radiation including seizures, possible hearing impairment in my case, possible short temporary memory loss, and fatigue. She also went on and on about hair loss, which I guess is traumatic for some people. Praise the Lord I already crossed that bridge years ago. Chemo will start with radiation next Tuesday as well.

I asked the doc straight up to give me expected outcome, worst case, and best case scenario, from their medical perspective. I know that the Lord may have other plans. The bottom line is that I have GBM stage 4 brain cancer, and the best case scenario is that the radiation will stop its growth. Elimination of this cancer is virtually impossible; to aggressive and buried deep in my brain. She reiterated what a great job Dr. Greggory did in getting 90+%. It sounds like I have a good shot at 1-2 more years. 5 years? Chances are probably less than 20%. She did say they all have patients who for whatever reason beat the odds, so as I said before, it’s in the Lord’s hands, and it doesn’t get any better than that.

I have been trying to do some research also on brain cancer, but have determined that for every one hour I do that I have to spend a minimum of 2 hours in scripture. Not a lot of inspiring reading on brain cancer.

I have gotten back into my normal journaling and bible study routine which has helped immensely. I have started a blessings page in my journal regarding all of this, which is quickly filling up. At the top of the list is Caren, what a wonderful Godly woman, so strong. She is the one who needs prayer, I think this is harder on her than me. Also at the top of the list are my amazing children of whom I am so proud. My family and friends, my church family, and especially Pastor Kevin
also near the top.

Caren and I pray that somehow, someway, the Lord will use this for the good of the Kingdom; that we will be obedient tools in the hand of the master; that his will, not ours, be done.

Thanks to all of you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, for your prayers and support.

Love you all, John

The Mall

Our last few days have been fairly uneventful. We went to the mall on Tuesday and had lunch. John was exhausted walking around the mall. (Good thing I'm not a big shopper.) One forgets when you're in the hospital how weak you can get on bedrest; however, his balance is probably close to baseline and I don't jump every time he moves. He is going up and down the stairs independently, but I do keep a close eye on him in the snow/ice or unfamiliar surroundings. Have I mentioned the staples are out?
Wednesday we stayed home sitting by the fire reading and drinking tea.
This morning we joined our brothers and sisters in Christ for prayer. What a blessing to be with them as we discussed scripture and prayed.
Monday, John will have a consultation with the radiation oncologist in Maplewood. I'm anticipating he will start his radiation treatments shortly there after. I will keep you informed.
Thank you for all you love and support. Caren

John had 2 doctor appointments yesterday which ended up being exhausting. The first appointment was follow-up with the primary and the second appointment was at the neurosurg clinic to remove the staples. The incision has healed nicely and the staples came out with an occasional sting.
Adam, Melissa and boys came over last night and we played WII. John uses the WII for balance and exercise. Amazingly, you do break a sweat with that silly thing.
John has started to journal once again. Trying to return to our routine as much as possible.

First Weekend Home

I've been harassed since I have not kept you updated on John's progress since coming home. I apologize and will try to keep the post updated on a regular basis.
John completed his first weekend home since being discharged from the hospital. In addition to a few visitors, we went on a field trip to Duluth to pick up some craft items from Barbara's Boutique. We were able to worship with our church family on Sunday and watch some football.
John's balance has improved greatly but I am hesitant to let him go too far off on his own without me nearby in case he would stumble. He still tires easily and I'm trying to block out times when he can just rest. He has an occasional headache which is relieved by Tylenol. We are not surprised by this as the doctor told us he would have headaches for about 1-2 weeks post surgery.
As many as you know, John has maintained his sense of humor and keeps me on my toes. We have been going over the events of the last couple of weeks which makes me think I should of kept a time line (you know those administrative types).
John is wondering what good can come of this. Will someone be saved? John and I both agree though this is a difficult time, it is for the Lord's glory.

Caren

Discharged

Word on the street is, this morning he's being released into the hands of Caren and heading home!

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