Cruisin' right along

So in the course of just 5 days Jason has gone from this (1-day post op in ICU):

To this (3-days post op in the neuro recovery unit):

To this (5-days post op in the rehab unit):

The surgery has healed so well and we are currently navigating the rehabilitative journey together. While speech, hand-eye coordination, and muscle coordination are still a big challenge, we have spent the past weekend being incredibly uplifted by friends, family and neighbors.

To think about how much others are sacrificing to take care of our family's needs is overwhelming:

-  Our pantry/fridge/freezer is full. 

-  Our yard is clean and raked. 

-  The boys' movie rental this weekend was free!

-  There have been homemade cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit, banana bread, treats and cards all left at the house by people who care.

-  I have a wallet FULL of gift cards for everything from coffee to dinner!

-  There are gift baskets in our hospital room that are full of fruit and snacks to keep us (and our visitors!) happy.

Speaking of visitors, that has been the real sustaining factor for both Jason and for me. Anyone who has been passing through town has stopped by... but so many others have made special trips just to say hi. If you know Jason, then you are aware of his social nature - so seeing his friends and hearing their voices has been crucial to his recovery (and his sanity!). 

Side note: Jason is particularly appreciative of a couple of special items that he has enjoyed:

When the hospital only offered vanilla or chocolate pudding... one buddy made sure to send some butterscotch down.

And when the only consistent request Jason has had since surgery was for a certain locally brewed beer (Dirty Hippie from the Palisade Brewing Co.) he did finally get what he wanted... only to have the doctor suggest it wasn't the best substance for neurological recovery!!!

But perhaps the best visitor he has had to date?

A new route

Another update on both Jason's recovery and the boys' spring break adventures!!!

It feels like we picked up a new map yesterday for our journey... after talking to friends, experts, family and definitely the neurosurgeon, radiologist and physiologist, Jason decided that he would continue treatment at St. Mary's in Grand Junction including rehab (for the paralysis), radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

The next month will be one of major readjustment as he works to get full mobility of his left side back and undergoes therapy... and as he will be away from home a lot!

Though this "map" does not show all the road blocks along the way, nor does it show the final destination very clearly, it at least gets us somewhere. We are anxious to make progress away from having a malignant brain tumor and toward a new kind of normal!

In the mean time - the boys had an amazing last day in Moab - biking and playing in the sand mountain! I can never repay the debt of gratitude that I have for my friends who took care of these dirty rascals and kept them in smiles all week! The pictures sustained me...

Long road ahead

So, pathology report on Jason's tumor came back as stage 4 brain cancer, aka Glioblastoma Multiforme. It was what the neurosurgeon suspected ever since the MRI last Wednesday... but until the path report came back I was optimistically holding out hope that he might be wrong.

So while Jason has a long road (several weeks?) ahead to recover from surgery... the road from there will be even longer, or shorter depending on the cancer.

Of course there is treatment - radiation and chemotherapy - but it is uncertain how effective it will be. As a family, we still have so many decisions to make about treatment and have had so much help from Jason's brother and many other family and friends who are here to support us.

Right now, we are focusing on getting Jason well enough after surgery to even think about treatment for the cancer. His head is still a little swollen from the surgery and he may have suffered a mini-stroke that has caused some paralysis on the left side of his body.  It has only been 2 days, but it feels like an eternity.

In the meantime, the boys have enjoyed their spring break in Moab with our dearest friends. They have been biking, hiking and climbing and when they came to visit dad yesterday they smelled like dirt! Loved it.

Rest stop

Given the circumstances, I could not have asked for a better weekend!

We took the chance to go on our previously scheduled spring break trip to Moab and it was perfect. We were with the people we dearly love, we got to play with the boys and see them happy riding bikes and having fun, we got to eat well, drink well, play well and love well!

It was like a rest stop before we detour onto another route...

Jason posted the pic below on Instagram (@himcdonuh) with the caption:

"20 hours out from brain surgery and on a kickin bike ride. My life ROCKS!!!"

So now I am blogging from the waiting room while Bozo gets his noggin cut open.

(Don't worry, he would appreciate me referring to him in that way! He has a surreally good sense of humor about it all.)

We had a great morning - I didn't even get too teary! - and so much of that was due to the care he is getting here. The nurses, anesthesiologist and neurosurgeon are so unbelievably kind and sensitive and sweet enough to laugh at all of Jason's brain tumor jokes!!! The doctor and OR nurse even agreed to take a picture of the inside of Jason's brain (per his request) and play Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic" when the first incision is made! (also Jason's idea)

And Jason's brother shares that sense of humor because when he saw the picture below he said "You got all those zits the day before surgery? That sucks."

So... I am waiting for updates. There are of course risks that are associated with open brain surgery (imagine that!) but we are of the belief that he will come out of surgery and we can (metaphorically!) hit the road on our new adventure.

As Jason said this morning - It's going to be a good day. What other choice do we have?

To be continued....

Left turn at Alberquerque

Sometimes we can be driving down the highway and everything is going great and the car is on cruise control and our favorite song is on the radio. It is in exactly those moments that we must feel ultimate gratitude for all that is... 

... because then we may suddenly change course, by no action of our own. We lose control and are forced to reckon with the new path we are taking. 

To recap the week's events and our family's latest adventure:

After 4 days of severe, incapacitating headaches and almost 24 hours straight of not getting out of bed I got Jason to see the local doctor again (the first time resulted in some antibiotics for a presumed sinus infection?!) last Wednesday. After checking for stroke symptoms and testing brain functions, a CT scan was recommended. It was pretty immediate that something was wrong.

So after a quick conversation with our doctor here in Meeker about finding a "mass" in Jason's brain, we grabbed the boys and spent an evening in the ER of St. Mary's Hospotal in Grand Junction where an MRI and a neurosurgeon explained that the mass was in fact a tumor and needed to be removed.

We scheduled surgery for next Tuesday morning and went home with medication to keep Jason feeling comfortable (no more incapacitating headaches!) and safe. It was the best decision we could have made - because in the wake of the initial panic and anxiety and fear of something going wrong, we have been able to live well, love well, and prepare ourselves for what is to come.

We do not know what Tuesday's surgery will bring. There are, of course many scenarios - but whatever turn we take we will have with us the love and support of all our friends, family, co-workers and neighbors who have spoken out and acted toward us with love and affection and for that we are both incredibly thankful.

Jason keeps talking about this overwhelming feeling of gratitude he is having. It seems like the least likely emotion someone would have after being told they have a brain tumor! But I believe he is grateful for having the time (and maybe even the catalyst) to truly realize how many people he loves and how many wonderful, beautiful relationships he has in his life. 

I think he is the most incredible person I have ever known and I am ready to take on a new adventure with him. Looks like we're going to go left at Albequerque...

CT scan - just in case

MRI - a horrible experience according to Jason... who it turns out can not stay still very well.

The thoughts and actions of everyone this week has been miraculous, and life-affirming!

To be continued...

basketball

The latest sports season has just come to a close - and as usual it was an exciting and successful couple of months!

It all began with the 3-on-3 youth basketball charity tournament in January. Hamp was asked to join his buddies' team and the four of them had a great time! Since there was no other 4th grade boys' team, they played the 4th grade girls, the 5th grade girls, and the 5th grade boys! As long as they were on the court it didn't matter - they were having fun.

Then the regular season started and Hamp was well-coached and hard working. He learned a lot and played well... so well that their team won all but one game! (a nice departure from last year's season!!!)

I'll say it again - I don't know much about basketball but I do know that Hamp's team truly paid attention at practice and executed plays on the court that resulted in points on the scoreboard. It was so fun to watch them all get better game after game, and work as a team to experience some success on the court.

The awards ceremony proved to be a nice way to honor all the 3rd-6th grade boys who participated in Rec League basketball - with the highlight being the individual awards from the coaches.

Clearly, Hamp was pretty impressed with his honor:

On to baseball...

here's your sign

We received a surprise in the post this week.

The letter attached said something to the effect of:

"when I saw this I thought of you"

I'm sure I have no idea what that means!!!

Oh... who am I kidding?!

We LOVE our new sign... it's a wonderful daily reminder of just how funny we all are!

(and a nice warning to new people that happen to stop over)

Thank you Uncle Alec & Aunt Jei!

I'm just glad you thought of us.