Brian Brown

she went to the DR today to get the results back from test that were done last week and things are OK…she had various scans done and there is a spot on the lung (but that is a small piece of the tumor left from her bout with it in 2004)..they did get the entire tumor off the brain and it doesn’t appear to be anywhere else right now…however, her blood work (whatever test they do to see if you have cancer) is still elevated…we were hoping that number would go down after the brain tumor was removed but the number is still where it was last June…….SO, they will be monitoring her every 3 months for a while just to be sure this ugly beast doesn’t hit us by surprise like this last time….we will just move on and see what is in store!  thanks for everyones concerns and prayers during this time!

My mom had her stitches removed this morning and the incision is healing well….they said she could start driving again and can begin washing her hair in 2 more days (she’s real excited about this)—-nothing really new unitl some more DR appts on May 2…..oh, the pathology report did come back confirming it was a malignant tumor related to her thyroid cancer from 1976…how it’s related, i have no idea..i’m not even sure if they know….oh well….We will rejoice!

alright, so it’s been a while since i have updated my mom’s situation and a few of you have reminded me of that….there is really nothing new to report…she is doing better, able to stay by herself now and just trying to get back to normal a little…she is walking on her own and her balance seems to be back to normal…she goes to get her stiches out on Thursday and then over the next few weeks we will have many appt’s to go to so be expecting updates and that progresses…thanks for your continued support and prayers!

alrighty, so my mom has made it through her first weekend at home…she is slowly getting a little better on her feet and is enjoying being in the comfort of her own home….she is still in no pain, not feeling any pressure in her head or anything like that…she is just pressing forward….so today (monday) she went to her first DR’s appt today and we still don’t have the pathology reports back yet…my mom said she is going to call Emory tomorrow and track the results down…so what happened at the DR…they agreed that the best thing to do from this point forward is to check my mom more often…they are going to check her every 3 months to make sure nothing is going on…they are still discussing the radiation option but if she requires any, it will probably be something they call gamma knife and it should just be a one time thing…another thing discussed was how rare this is…they were saying how rare it is for Thyroid Cancer to end up on the brain (we are assuming that is what happened-testing will confirm that)….they did some research through the Mayo Clinic and there are only about 15 documented cases in the past 50 years where this has occurred….this certainly explains why we heard the answer a lot, “i don’t know.”  they haven’t had  a lot of experience dealing with this type of a thing…she is still going to take it one day at a time…we will see what happens.

So, I went and visited with my mom for a little while today (saturday)…she was doing well.  She said she was able to rest during the night but was a little uncomfortable because she always sleeps on her left side…the problem here is that the tumor was on the left front side of her brain so laying on her left side is a small problem…she said she was able to position herself in her recliner so that she was comfortable enough to sleep…she said she was in no pain and hadn’t felt the need to take her pain medicine (that’s awesome!  4 days after brain surgery no pain!!!) and was doing well with all the other meds she is having to take…she said she wasn’t feeling any pressure or anything…the area is slightly (and i mean slightly) swollen but that is to be/was expected…she has to go to the DR on monday and is hoping the biopsy results will be in so we can confirm what we already suspect…she is moving fairly well with her cane and is looking pretty steady on her feet…she is in good spirits and plans to keep trucking along, whatever she has to face…she still hasn’t gotten her taste back for her diet cokes but maybe that will come in the near future…just keep praying for her that everything will heal well and all test results will come back in her favor!

ok, so her first night at home seemed to go well…she said she was able to get some rest and she ate some breakfast this morning…she was going to eat some soup for lunch that she really likes…one bad thing though, her taste for her caffeine free diet coke isn’t quite there….she loves those things but said they aren’t tasting right at the moment…hopefully that will change so she can get her drink of choice…she has an appt on monday with her doctor to discuss a whole lot of stuff i guess and has scheduled an appt to have the stitches removed for April 10.  She is just going to take it one day at a time and continue to improve.  My mom has mentioned how grateful she is for all the well wishes that are coming from everyone as well as the prayers that have been lifted up.  I think she knows that there is no way she would be doing as well as she is if God wasn’t in it….we will just continue to improve and move forward….my mom is a trooper and will continue to battle anything that comes her way…thanks again from our family for all your prayers, calls, cards, flowers, food, everything….it means a great deal to us.

ok, it looks like we are going home!!!!!  we should be leaving around 700PM and then we will have many follow up appt’s in the coming weeks.  She has an appt with a radiation oncologist next week to determine if any treatment will be needed for the brain area…she will have the stitches removed in the next 14 days and then many other appt’s to come i’m sure….thanks to everyone who’s following her journey….it’s been an interesting roller coaster the past few days and we will no doubt have a long road ahead…everyone has been amazed by her progress thus far and I believe there is no other explanation except for the fact that God intervened…we might not post updates daily now but keep checking every couple of days to see her progress

Alright, it’s 240PM and we have still heard nothing from the oncologist…so, no new updates except for the fact that I am reminded that i am totally going to brown bag it if i’m in the hospital…the cafteria is amazing to me but the junk they bring you in the room looks like vomit…she is eating it though and is ready to get out of here…there is a slim chance she will be able to go home later tonight but tomorrow morning seems a little more likely…it all depends on when the oncologist gets in here to speak with her…stay tuned.

It’s 1030AM and the physical therapist just left…she did some exercises and worked on balance…she was a little shaky with some of the balance stuff and walking around (which i would think is expected after having your skull cut open) so she will have to have someone with her for the first few days of being at home…that way, if she wanted to get up and walk around someone will be with her…she will also walk with a cane for the first week or so once at home…still haven’t heard anything from the oncologist so we will continue to wait for that.