A Decision Made

Justin requested that we look into beginning the radiation. He is tired of being around the house, waiting, waiting, waiting. He does not want to go on like this. At least the radiation will be something to DO, instead of nothing.

I called the nurse and she is making the arrangements to begin the appointments, testing and preliminaries for the radiation. It will begin after Christmas, 5 days a week for 5 or 6 weeks.

Pray for us. Humanly speaking, there is no way for us to do this. The hospital is 120 miles away, so daily trips are not practical. My car is not as roadworthy as it once was and needs some work and tires. Even though many of the medical treatments will be covered, there is still food, gas, as place to stay while there, and keeping up with the rent and bills on this end. I would love to be with him through the first round, which will mean no income. My bosses have assured me that I can take a leave of absence for this, and I can keep my insurance going, although I will have to pay the premiums. Realistically, we can't do it. But God is a God that works out problems like this. Pray that He will guide and provide for all that Justin needs.

My family, friends and church family are praying for absolute and complete healing for Justin from this tumor. Above all, this would be our first prayer. Thanks.

Another Blood Test

I called the doctor about Justin. I asked if the meds could be off, too strong or not strong enough? He ordered a blood test, which showed that the levels were normal. He suggested that we think about starting radiation, which might take some pressure off by reducing the size of the tumor.

We have been looking for a 2nd opinion. Not that we think the doctors are wrong, we just want to make sure they are right. People get 2nd opinions for all sorts of things. I imagine a brain tumor would be near the top of that list.

A Bad Fall

While worshiping at church with Jason and Tammy tonight, Justin felt very dizzy. He had been standing for quite some time and began to feel the dizziness coming on. Each moment that passed made him believe that it was almost over, that it would pass and that he would be OK. However, that didn't happen. He passed out, his knees buckled, and he fell right into the wall, head first. He was out cold. He was at the back of the church, so not very many people saw it, but those who did came running. They all wanted to call for an ambulance, but Jason let them know that was not necessary, we would take him to the doc if needed. Justin came to, and wondered what he was doing looking at the ceiling.

Other than a killer headache, plus a nice goose egg on the side of his head, he is fine now. But we WILL be calling the doctor first thing in the morning to see if we can get this dizziness figured out.

A New Symptom

The new medicine seems to be working. Justin says now that he feels dizzy just after taking his meds, but we hope that will go away. He is much happier and has more energy now.

The Main Doctor

Justin's main doctor came in and told us that he looked at the MRI and the tumor did not have a "huge change". We have no idea what that means, but will take it as good news. He said in light of the increase in seizure activity, there were two options; add another anti seizure medication or start radiation. Radiation would be 5 days a week, for 5 or 6 weeks, 120 miles from home. Justin said right away that he would like to try the meds first. The doctor agreed and so did I.

Great news; after being on the medicine just one day, all seizure activity stopped. Justin seems like his old self again and is much happier. He is still sleeping a lot and says he is dizzy all day, but that will probably go away as the doctor adjusts the amounts of each.

Results and Confirmation

Whenever we go to the hospital, Justin is seen by several doctors. First the nurse or assistant, then a resident doctor or two, then his "real" doctor. Usually by the time we get to see his regular doctor, we have figured out exactly what we want to say to him, and what questions to ask. The nurse and the residents spend lots of time asking questions, giving answers, and just making sure everything is OK.

Monday morning we left home at 4:45 am so that he would be there for his 7:00 MRI. The MRI went well and was fast enough that we could eat breakfast in the cafeteria before seeing the doctors.

The nurse went through some neuro testing and asked a bunch of questions. Then the resident came in and asked about the same questions and did some more tests. I got to ask him all of the 15 questions our family had written down. He answered some and then told us to ask the doctor the rest. One thing that he DID answer for us that encouraged us so much, was about the seizure activity. We pretty well knew that the small daytime episodes were seizures, but he confirmed it. I asked him if the seizures were controlled to the best of our ability and he said, "No. Having NO seizures means we are controlling them." Wow. That was what we needed to hear! I believe it was the greatest thing we learned the whole time we were there. Knowing that they are working to make sure he doesn't have ANY seizures made a big difference in Justin's demeanor right away. He had a whole new attitude on life!

Housebound

The last few weeks, we can't seem to get Justin out of the house at all. He does not want to leave at all. He is even a little nervous about going to church. It has been almost a week now. He has more and more of the daytime brain blips and they seem to be stronger. Yesterday he told his brother that he wasn't going to do much until he gets the MRI and some answers.

We think he has lost about 40 lbs since April (probably due to stopping all the soda pop). This is not a recommended diet plan.