The now and then

As promised, here is a very high level summary as seen by me (Adam).

The past few months have seen there fair share of ups and downs. We've had some good days and bad, happy times and sad. The chemo and radiation is not an easy thing to forgo, but all things considered, John did remarkably well and didn't get too physically sick.

A little less than a month ago John finally had a follow up MRI which revealed that there was a cyst that has formed in his head. A cyst in the brain in case you were wondering is a sphere filled with fluid, similar to a miniature balloon filled with water. This one is isolated in the rear of the area where the tumor was. We were told that getting a cyst after this type of surgery although rare, usually doesn't cause too much worry depending on what its doing. In John's case, we found out that this cyst is pushing against his left brain hemisphere. Because of the pressure it has begun to mess with his motor skills. With all this new information, and after his case being presented it was unanamously recommended that another surgery should be done. This unfortunatly was not what we wanted to hear - as John said he would NEVER go through that again.

About three weeks ago, and after a lot of prayer, a decision was made that he would go through with a second surgery. In this surgery they would drain the cyst and remove as much of it as possible and then place a sort of plug in his skull to allow for future draining. The plug is... well... imagine a cork being stuck in your head. Through this cork someone can take a needle and go through the cork to get into your skull. This is essentially what he is getting. Once it's in, it will sit below the surface of the skin but will allow a doctor access to drain the cyst in the event that it fills back up.

Also shown by the MRI was new growth of the cancer. Although it wasn't entirely expected, it was inevitable. The good news is it has spread only a little and while the surgeon is in his head working on the cyst, he can take out a little bit more of the tumor.

The surgery is set for Monday, June the 14th early in the AM. It is pretty much the exact same surgery as last time.

Please keep John in your prayers, as well as his family. Thanks.