A.m.a.z.i.n.g.

The week has been scary and amazing all at once.  Wednesday morning, we were at University Hospital by 5:15am to get the MRI and then to proceed with surgery.  Dr. Waziri informed us that he would not give us any updates until the surgery was complete.  At first we thought that sounded a little insensitive, but he explained that he wanted to focus 100% of his attention on Brad.  That was reason enough for us all.  The surgery lasted 8 hours, just as we were told.  The time went by relatively quickly as Carrie had thought to bring a jigsaw puzzle, Heather stopped by with snacks and for a visit (super sweet of her, by the way), and ironically I was reunited with some friends from Greeley (Sherrie and Carrie) whose Mom, Irene Lauer, was having surgery at the same time. They sat and visited with us for quite awhile.  All and all, the time passed quickly and about 3:00 Dr Waziri popped out of nowhere, to say it was done.  About 45 minutes later, we were allowed to see Brad, 2 at a time.  This is where the "amazing" comes in....When we saw him, he looked basically like nothing had transpired, except for a bandage around his head.  His first words were, "I feel great!  I can't believe how much better I can see and how much more clearly I can think!"  Ok, that was NOT what we were expecting following a resection of his brain! 

pre-surgical markers

waiting room puzzle- done!

Day 1- post op

Day 3 -EEG still connected



First look at his incision

The first 24 hours went great.  Then he began having some language issues.
It was determined after a couple of CT scans and the EEG, that he was having mini seizures in the residual tumor tissue.  The tissue was "angry" at having its' blood source removed.  Dr. Waziri added another anti-seizure drug and within a few hours, he began improving...going from not knowing his birthday or what color the sky was , implementing some "words" that were a new language to being able to answer those questions appropriately.  He struggled with word finding and then on Saturday, he really started doing better.  We had to laugh though, when we asked him that morning if he'd had breakfast and if so what. He said he'd ordered it himself, but when it arrived, it wasn't what he had in mind.  He said he had some yellow beans, some green peas, and something else.  When we asked the CNA what he had ordered, she said that the tray was filled with some random breakfast choices- 2 bananas, 2 sausage links, 2 glasses of pepsi  (which he never drinks) and a cup of coffee. Luckily, we brought him some granola and milk from the hotel, which he said was what he REALLY wanted when he ordered....just couldn't find the words! 
On Saturday, Carrie and I drove home as she was missing her kids and vice versa.  They were SO excited to see her, and as a surprise, they (supervised by Dad, Spencer) had decorated the house for Christmas. He had also made a nice dinner for us all. So thoughtful! Curt and Amie stopped by the hospital that evening to visit Brad prior to celebrating Susans' retirement from her nursing career. And now for the grand finale of our week....he was discharged on Sunday and we made it home just in time for the Bronco game (although he slept through most of it).  The girls made us soup and bread for our Sunday dinner (don't think he's quite up to cooking yet!) and the kids decorated Christmas cookies for him. I cannot find the words to describe just how thankful I am with the outcome!  He was super excited to be able to sleep in his own bed (uninterrupted) last night.....sometimes the small things mean a lot!
Getting ready to post and want to say "Happy Birthday" to Meredith (41 today....yikes!) and also to welcome Emma to the wonderful world of womanhood!  P.S.  Most of it is pretty wonderful!

Much to be thankful for...

This week has been exhausting!  On Tuesday, we travelled back to see Dr. Waziri for "the plan" and he has given us little time to adjust to what will most likely be a life changing surgery for Brad.  He offered to do the surgery the following day, but Brad declined, so it will take place Wednesday (Nov. 28) morning.  The surgery will most likely take between 8 and 10 hours, so we have reserved a motel room across the street from the hospital.
Wednesday brought a follow-up appointment with his neurologist, Dr. Siegal, who was confident that we had made the right decision in seeking a second opinion in Denver.
After "doctoring", we began getting ready for Thanksgiving, with the pie making the start of our festivities!  Early Thanksgiving morning, we (along with 3500 others) assembled for the annual "Turkey Trot".  This year our entries included Meredith, Amie, Rory, Elijah, Sophie and Gabi.  The girls ran the 5K, while the kids participated (first time ever for Sophie and Gabi) in the 2K.  They all did great and Amie placed in her age group!

 

Afterwards, we enjoyed our usual amount of wonderful Thanksgiving foods.  We were happy to include Amie's Mom, Susan, this year.

Grayson reading

Gabi polishing off Aunt Mer's jello pear salad!

 

Saturday brought the playoff game between Platte Valley and Kent Denver in Denver.  Another trip down that highway!  I will be grateful when Brad can drive again!  The game was exciting, although the outcome was not the one we wanted.  The team played hard and the community involvement was spectacular.

Afterwards. we went to Dave & Busters (sports bar/arcade) where the kids had a great time.  Rory and Elijah called it "epic"!

Sunday arrived with more family time.  While the Bronco game was on, Carrie and Amie and I took the girls to the Christmas tree exhibit at the UCCC.  They were super excited that there was a horse drawn carriage and we took a ride around Lincoln Park.

Brad made some turkey rice soup and I made a Pinterest inspired herb/cheese bread and Meredith did a scrumptious chocolate peanut butter cake (not a crumb left).

It will probably be our last Sunday dinner together for awhile, but we hope it won't be long to resume the tradition!

 

Hoping and Praying.....

This is a hard post to write this week. All of us are apprehensive about what we will find out tomorrow and how that will affect our lives.  We endured two days of driving to Denver last week and the grueling testing that Brad had to undergo.  The test on Thursday, the FMRI, was physically uncomfortable. They took him back right away, then about and hour and a half later, came and asked me if I had a copy of his eye prescription.  Hmmmm, let me just check my purse.....they finally got it so that he could see and he came away with a headache and 2 red indentations on his temples.  Friday proved to be less physically challenging, but more so mentally!  When he shared some of the questions with me, it seemed that he had just tried out for a position on Jeopardy!  I wondered how many people could realistically answer the questions he was asked. On top of the tests, my Mom had what the doctors thought was a mild heart attack.  Pam was with her and then David and John drove from Iowa.  Don and Vicki will arrive on Monday and are determined to bring her back to Colorado with them through the holidays.  I wish them luck in getting that accomplished!

On the bright side, Spencers' team won on Saturday and will advance to the State Finals, playing Denver Kent on Saturday.  One of the perks for winning (selfishly) is that they will cancel their planned Thanksgiving trip to California and spend it instead with us! It'll be good to have us all together, especially this year.

Gabi, Sophie and Corbin came over on Saturday and of course the girls wanted to do a craft project.  We tried several
things before they settled on making button embellished Christmas trees (doll sized).  I had to laugh as they were arguing over the buttons (I must have 10,000) and Gabi told Sophie to stop being "Miss Bossy Pants" and reminded her that she had previously been reprimanded by " President" Rory last weekend to which Sophie replied, "Gabi, I know.  I struggle with that".  The two of them get along for the most part, but when they don't.....Yikes!

I didn't get many pictures this week...big slacker!  Only these of the girls being silly and some of Grayson sporting his new haircut. I have to be quick capturing him on the camera, as he is always moving.....

 

"We're an aggressive family" (Brad)

We waited on pins and needles this week for Friday to get here so that we could meet with the neurosurgeon at University Hospital in Denver.  Dr. Waziri was worth the wait!  What an amazing Dr.  The five of us (Brad, Meredith, Curt, Carrie and I) spent about an hour listening to his plan for Brad.  In a nutshell, Brad is left handed, thus right brained.  Since the tumor is on the left side, Dr Waziri thinks the best course of action is to remove it.  He will test Brad with an F.M.R.I. (a functional MRI) to map out his brain function.  If this goes according to his (Dr) thoughts, Brad will undergo surgery in December.  We all came away feeling optimistic and "wowed" by Dr Waziri.  Someone asked Brad how HE felt about having such an aggressive brain surgery, to which he replied with the title of this weeks' blog!

Saturday was the semi-final game for Spencer's football team in Eaton.  Of course, the snow began about the time the game got underway, and the snow continued for the rest of the day, on into the evening.  But did those weather conditions stop the fans?  Now I know how the term  "fair weather fan" is applicable. Only the tough could be at that game!  We are excited that the Kersey team beat Eaton and is advancing to the finals, where they will play Bayfield (undefeated) next weekend.
That snowy day was also a celebration with his friends for Rory's 13th  birthday.  Soooooo hard to believe that he is 13!
He had a bowling party and I was there to capture some of the fun!

On Sunday, we had nearly a day long birthday celebration, beginning with Carrie deciding that what she really needed was a "chill" day- a day to do nothing but a jigsaw puzzle and indulge in a few snacks.  The whole gang came over about noon and the kids played out in the snow, or downstairs in their new "office" (something like the clubhouses we had as kids) where they each have a desk.  The girls (and Corbin and Elijah) also enjoyed playing the Wii dance game on the big screen.  I loved this picture with all of them mid-air.  Rory requested for his birthday dinner that we have french dip sandwiches, twice baked potatoes, crockpot mac-n-cheese, and chocolate cake.  If you didn't get enough carbs in that meal, you never will!!!!  Anyway, he really enjoyed every bite!  And when the cake was served, I think he was in heaven!

Later, the kids went outside to sled on the hill on the north side of our house.  The had a great time with very little snow left on the ground by the time they finished.

 

 

 

One day at a time....

It's been a really tough week, knowing and not knowing what we are dealing with concerning Brad's health.  He has been understandably super emotional this week and extremely fatigued.  Much of his week has been spent sleeping.  The doctor said that he would have some adjustment time to the anti-seizure medication- the side effects include drowsiness, dizziness, headaches, confusion...., all of which he's had.  On Monday, he went home from the hospital, and in a flash, it was Halloween.  We all (Brad and I, Amie and Curt, Carrie and Spencer and Meredith and all seven grand kids) went trick or treating. It was a beautiful evening, the weather nice enough that I wore flip-flops!  We enjoyed it so much and Gramma loved handing out treats while sitting on the seat of her walker.  Of course, afterwards, we had the usual trading/counting/eating of the candy. 

 Sometime during the week, Carrie was able to get an appointment for Brad at University Hospital with a neurosurgeon, Dr. Allen Waziri.  I thought scoring an appointment for just a week away was somewhat of a miracle!  We are all anxious to see what his thoughts are. 
Mid week, we were surprised by a visit from Doug, along with his Sponsor (Kelly).  He came to our house to get some warm clothes.  I've not seen him since December, and the visit went a lot more smoothly than I imagined.  He is currently living in a group home near CSU in Ft Collins.
Friday night we went to dinner with our good friends, Fred and Beth McGregor.  Had a great time and it was nice to get away from home!  Friday also brought a plane from California, carrying Sarah, Travis and their kids.  We gathered at Carrie's Saturday morning to start our hair appointments.  Brad and I both got cuts and I got mine colored.  We so appreciate them coming to visit, to say nothing of all the haircuts/colors that she does.  Corbin wanted his cut just like Elijah's!  What a cute kid!

 

 Sunday supper arrives via my boss, who had asked if he could bring us dinner.  We are so grateful for the many friends and family who have offered their help.  We had a huge amount of food, seemingly way too much, but we polished that off in a short time. Dinner included an assortment of pasta dishes, salad, bread, soup and two pies!  It was a wild evening with all 19 of us there.  The two babies played with one another, as well as bathed together.  They are so darling!
Meanwhile, Emma organized a "Spa Day" for the girls, with cucumber/avocado masks.