No Stranger to Surgery

“The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too - Teresa of Avila”

Hi All!

I hope this entry finds you all adapting to this New Year and accepting all the blessings that you unfold every day! It seems on this roller-coaster of a journey we are on; we never miss the chance to accept the blessings that are bestowed to us daily in all shapes and forms. One being that since Mike’s last visit to ER a little over a week ago, Mike has not traveled down that path of confusion and no ER trips – that alone is a blessing, because the ER is surely not a fun place! However, Mike will be returning to the Hospital on Monday to undergo a procedure to insert an Ommaya Resevoir to allow the administering of chemo that will be specifically for the Central Nervous System versus treating with radiation (which he had in the very beginning of all this for the tumors in the brain) and the Avastin that he was previously on. This after speaking to the doctors is very common in treating the spinal fluid which coats the brain/spine and protects the CNS. It was this or the Lumbar Punctures, and as I have said before, Mike is not a fan and that was not going to be an option ;) The procedure will take place Monday morning, and Mike will be a guest at “Hotel MDA” for 23 hours for observation. Once out, he will be set up on a treatment plan (pending the aggressiveness of his team) and most likely be at MDA 3 times a week for insertion of the chemo (which is less than 30 minutes we are told). As Mike prepped for his MRI today to gain the results for his neurosurgeon on Monday – I saw for a minute the “Strong Like Bull” Mike attitude prevail above his tiredness from all that has been going on the past couple of weeks from ER trips, Radiation and just the anxiety of the “2nd Part of Our Journey” – He looked at the nurse and reassured her – “I’m Not scared of surgery – see this scar ;) They say I am Strong Like Bull” --- Ha, I must admit, it brought joy to my heart to see the fighting spirit, though I know he is tired.

I myself have been battling anxiety –for as always, I hate waiting and want to kick this new round of treatment into gear and work on getting Mike better and restoring his energy. We as I mentioned previously in an entry, we have changed up our diet and eating habits and even try to maintain a little in-home exercise to keep his muscles strong while he recovers from this radiation and fighting the cancer that is in his Spinal Fluid (which also can cause fatigue) It stinks, because knowing that the tiredness can be caused by both the disease and the radiation as well, it is hard to pin-point where the tiredness is coming from, BUT most of all, we are thankful he has a strong mind-set, is alert, maintains an appetite and from the visit with the doctors this week, he maintains all his normal strength assessment and motor skills. He has dropped a little weight though he maintains an appetite, but this is due to the radiation and the location of being in the pelvic region, (you know what has set in – a lot of bathroom breaks ;)

In all, I am supportive of Mike and all the decisions he continues to make, and selfishly happy he wants to maintain fighting, for I am surely not ready to be without him – nor are you all. The continued prayers continue to be felt and the love and support we receive from you daily is amazing. In fact, in the past few weeks, we have been sent books, cards, scriptures and such in the mail for Mike – I read him all the emails, Facebook posts, texts and all else, but just something about receiving that piece of mail addressed to him from you and even people we have only recently met from MDA or along this journey, sure makes his day – he is SO loved by so many! I will continue to keep you all posted in the coming days/weeks as he starts this spinal fluid treatment and also his new chemo from his oncology team – along with prayers for us, please pray that GOD for his team of doctors puts in their minds and hands a treatment that will match perfect for Mike and continue to kick this cancer in the Butt as it did a few months ago! It is NOT Impossible!

Much love to you all and continued glad tidings in this New Year!

XO Lyndie

PS – If you have NOT Seen ‘Soul Surfer’ --- SUCH a great Movie!!!!