Team Meyer

Thursday, December 30, 2004 10:47 PM CST Today is a sad day. We're taking down the Christmas tree, and that's always a little sad. It's the time of year we think of Kyle more than usual, too. And today's news didn't help. Dave's MRI was not good. The tiny spots that were treated with gamma knife have grown hugely since September 30. There is a lot of swelling from the growth and there is mass effect, which means his brain is being squished to the side because of tumor growth. It's pretty obvious the BCNU is not working with growth this rampant. So we called UW. The doc there recommended carboplatin. We called Duke as well, but Dr. Friedman isn't in the office today. So we went ahead with the carboplatin. It's essential to get something going right away. And if Duke has something else to offer, the carboplatin shouldn't interfere. Worst case he might have to wait 3 weeks to start a different treatment. We need a miracle, folks. Because Dave's

Wednesday, December 29, 2004 11:58 AM CST Yesterday, Dave had his birthday....and an MRI. With the MRI tech from hell he says. 5 sticks before they got it. Pray this was because she is lousy and not because Dave's veins are giving out. We should get results tomorrow. If blood counts are good and tumor is stable or (please, God) shrinking, then he'll have his next BCNU infusion tomorrow. If blood counts are poor, but MRI is good, we wait for his counts to come up. If counts are okay, but MRI is bad, then we need a plan C...or is it D...just how far down the dern alphabet are we, anyway?? I know we're NOT to Z. Hope to post birthday pics soon. We celebrated with Mindy, whose birthday is today. Happy Birthday, Mindy!

Friday, December 24, 2004 1:53 PM CST 8 years ago yesterday, I didn't want Dave and his brother to drive to Portland (4 hour trip each way) in the snow just to pick up a table. I wanted him to stay home with me. Since I was so witchy, they decided to leave really, really early, the plan being to get back early, so I'd have less to complain about. So I was barely out of bed when I got the call from the state patrol...."your husband has been taken to the hospital...." Took me an HOUR to find the hospital, finallly they said he'd be fine, come get him. His brother just needed a couple of stitches where the coffee thermos had hit him. Whew. My dad drove me to the hospital a few hours away from home. When I got there, Dave said, "Something's growing in my head." I thought he'd lost his marbles. I asked the doc, "Is he okay?" The doc popped the CT film over the lights and said, "Not really." The tumor, visible to my untrained eye, w

Thursday, December 2, 2004 4:05 PM CST There are brain tumor awareness wristbands available now. They are like the Lance Armstrong cancer awareness wristbands, but they are soft gray in color...representing the "gray matter" of the brain. They say "Sharing Hope" and are available on the American Brain Tumor Association website: http://www.abta.org

Monday, August 30, 2004 11:05 AM CDT Hello friends and family, Thank you so much for your continued prayers. School has started and it's been quite a whirlwind at our house. Kenny is in 8th grade, Zach is in 7th and Kate is in 3rd. They are all really enjoying school and their teachers. Kenny & Kate are so happy to be back. Zach is a bit more reluctant. He has a killer schedule: Explorer Language Arts, Explorer Literature, Explorer Science, Algebra, Social Studies, Band, PE and an exploratory class called Money Matters. He's gonna have a ton of homework! And Algebra goes on his high school transcript...so that's a little nerve-wracking. The boys are both doing football, so we don't even see them until 5:15 pm. That's been hard to adjust to...for mom anyway. Kate starts jazz and ballet in 2 weeks. Dave has been at work full time, and at football practice every day. He's been really tired the past 4 days, and having a lot more headaches. Pray for pain relief a

Tuesday, November 30, 2004 2:16 AM CST Dave is still doing well. His labs were today and they are still good. His pulmonary function test was last week, no results yet. He's pretty tired, and still has that nagging cough and a bit of a sore throat. Now....the rest of us, well, that's another story. Kenny broke his perfect attendance record of 6 years and was sick the whole week of Thanksgiving and missed school. He was soooo mad. I stayed home with him and got it, too. No strep, though, the doc says it's adeno-virus. Kate came down with it middle of the night, well, actually Sunday morning. I was down for 5 days solid, felt horrible for another 3 and am still coughing. Kenny was the same, so I expect Kate to be down til Thursday or Friday. She has it in her eye, too. Ick. Should have known to up the vitamin regimen when I said, "Gee, it's been ages since the kids were sick!" Zach went to Seattle with the Dammarell family to see Drew Bledsoe slaughter the Seaha

Sunday, November 21, 2004 2:13 AM CST Saturday night, Dave's not sick. He's very, very tired, but no nausea or anything. We rested today. Thank you, thank you for all the prayers.

Friday, November 19, 2004 4:09 PM CST Well..... the BCNU is in! They did everything right this time, including protecting it from the light. And Dave's still not sick. I guess this is good. He went to Kenny's basketball game right after chemo was done (Thanks Brother Bob for sitting with him through the infusion). Then he came home and ate a Big Mac and some of Janet's fabulous apple pie. Graded some papers and eventually went to bed. He's at work today. I'm sure that he's Clark Kent's twin. Or at least his cousin. Zach is off crutches...limping quite a bit, but we don't think the toe is broken. Bruised some, but not too bad. The nail is broken at the base, so that's the ouchiest part. Zach said his goal is to not get injured again this year. He said this, then promptly walked into the wall at the top of our stairs and proceeded to stumble down the stairs. How is it that this kid can pitch a baseball into the mitt every single time and catch a grape

Tuesday, November 16, 2004 5:33 PM CST I tell ya what. God's got some weird sense of humor. Got a call from PiHi today. Two of them. From the nurse. #1 Zach hurt his foot and is on crutches. We'll probably go to the doc when he gets his arm checked next and have it x-rayed to see if he broke his toe. #2 Kenny had two odd episodes of shaking today at school and they're wondering if they are seizures. About 30% of kids with autism begin having seizures when they hit puberty. My heel is better. I can wear shoes and walk...although I do kind of lurch like Frankenstein. Dave is coughing so much he's puking. So far Kate is safe. As the hound on Aristocats says, "Kreiminitly!"

Sunday, November 14, 2004 11:47 PM CST Dave has his next infusion on Thursday, November 18 at 1:00 pm. If you can, please pray. Pray for: protection of the chemo itself so that it gets into Dave's veins fully potent, that the chemo will attack and kill all remaining tumor cells and that Dave will tolerate the infusion and subsequent nausea well. I hurt my foot on Friday. Thought I cracked a bone in my heel, but it's quite a bit better today. Pray I'll get well so that I can take care of everyone else! We see the original doc for Zach's arm tomorrow and the second opinion guy next Tuesday. Please pray for Zach's arm. He's doing his exercises faithfully, and is already regaining a lot of motion, but it's far from good. Thank you so much for the way you faithfully hold us up in prayer. On the fun notes, Kate is preparing for her dance recital, which other than making 9 costume hats, is a lot of fun. Kenny is enjoying basketball, his coach is a gem. He has a hom

Sunday, November 7, 2004 1:10 AM CST Dave got his blood counts on Friday. They look good. Hooray and thank you for all your prayers...they worked! Or rather, God worked! New prayer request. Zach's arm is not healing well. They took off his cast 3 weeks early, because the bone is bowed. The doctor wants Zach to exercise his hand and see if it can be pulled back in line. Zach has lost almost all mobility in his left hand. He's quite upset because that's his catcher's glove hand. His arm looks quite crooked as well. We're going to seek a second opinion this coming week. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors and complete healing for Zach. He's devastated that the injury may affect baseball. Denise and kids are here for a visit. Soooo much fun. And Kenny has been quite hospitable. What a rare treat! Amy and Kate are joined at the hip, I think. I have reduced my hours at work...it's just been too much. My supervisor, Melinda, has been encouraging, supportive and

Wednesday, November 3, 2004 2:57 PM CST This song reminds me of the comfort and rest we get from our Father, if we only ask. Rock Me To Sleep By Tom Hunter All I can hear are the crickets And the whistle from some lonely freight I've been working so hard to make everything right, But for now, it'll just have to wait. (CHORUS) 'Cause tonight I'd like you to rock me to sleep. I'd like you to sing me a song. I'm tired of trying to figure things out And I'm tired of being so strong. I've never been too good at asking-- I'm more apt to do it alone. And it's strange how a lot of us think something's wrong If we can't do it all on our own. CHORUS It's funny how times when you're hurtin' Make what's so familiar seem strange. So when you need help, it's hardest to ask And it always takes so long to change. CHORUS

Monday, November 1, 2004 12:45 AM CST Life rolls along at the Meyer house. Well, rolls may not be a bumpy enough word, but you get the idea. Thanks to the generosity of the Pribilskys and the Wrights, we now have a wonderful new washing machine. We are so grateful....and laundry is actually fun again. Bob's been trying to fix the hot water heater. We still leak, but we have hot water for showers, dishes and LAUNDRY! So we're blessed. Dave is feeling pretty good. He's lost some weight and doesn't ever really feel hungry, but is trying to keep eating. His skin is really dry....his Ms. Clean wife has been pushing the washing of hands and the use of Purell at school, so he's added a hand cream to the regimen!\ Thank you for the prayers, please keep them coming. Dave has an appointment this week for labs. We hope his blood counts are holding steady. He's mostly over the virus he had, but the cough remains, and concerns me. Conferences and football playoffs are coming

Friday, September 10, 2004 7:57 PM CDT Hello all, Finally heard from Dr. Spence at UW. Re-explained Dave's case to him. He is going to call Dr. Sacks with his recommendations. We will also be submitting Dave's scans and history to Duke for a second opinion again. So finally things are moving. Not much else to tell. Dave will probably be having an MRI in October. Don't know when yet.

Saturday, October 16, 2004 12:15 AM CDT Dave's balance is better the last two days. He saw the doctor on Friday. The results of his bloodwork were great. No problem with his counts. His lung test was "fine" whatever that means. I'm still concerned about this cough that he can't shake. The doc doesn't think he has pneumonia. We had a fun night last night. Dave stayed home from the game since it was in Wenatchee. Some of Z's friends came by and we played Dutch Blitz. It was a blast. Kate and her friend, Katie, did a fashion show, and we listened to the Currents on cd!

Wednesday, October 13, 2004 5:24 PM CDT Today, Dave's balance is off. He's extremely fatigued. Went to school and had to call for a sub. He had his PFT yesterday, we should get results when we meet with Dr. Sacks on Friday. Unfortunately, Dave's been battling a virus, so he's been coughing and hacking like crazy, so I don't imagine the test will be too accurate. He'll also have labs done. These tests will be repeated in 5 weeks, when he's scheduled to have his next infusion, to see if he's able to have it. PFT and white/red cell counts have to be okay to do the infusion. With the BCNU, turns out it was stored and mixed correctly. We're still not sure about whether it was protected from the light after it was mixed, but we know it was not during the time (2 hours) the infusion happened. Next time, we asked the pharmacy to protect it from light and it will be cloaked in light-blocking material as it is administered. That's about it for now.

Monday, October 11, 2004 11:56 AM CDT Well, is it good news or bad? Dave threw up yesterday. Hooray, I think. He felt okay to go to the football meeting yesterday and is at work today. So we just KOKO. Mom and Dad are here for a visit, it's been good to see them and the kids are so excited they get to sleep in the motorhome! I'll be talking to the cancer center folks today to find out about the BCNU and how it was mixed/stored, etc. Love you all.

Friday, October 8, 2004 9:21 PM CDT I told Janet this morning that I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Dave is still doing okay, he's feeling a little weak in the knees, and did gag once when he was coughing, but still cautiously okay. The problems: received an email from a doc who specializes in bts. What follows is the text of an email he sent me. "The thing to watch for is lung function.. get a referral to a pulmonary specialist for a baseline breathing test now, then repeat it frequently to catch the first signs of lung problems. BCNU infusions are tricky if the nurses don't do it all of the time... it has to be in a glass container - not the plastic bags used for everything else, and protected from the light, and only lasts about 8 hours after they mix it unless it is refrigerated. If you notice they aren't following those rules, tell the doctor. The reason I mention this is I once talked to someone who also said he had no nausea and the bcnu wasn't work

Friday, October 8, 2004 10:57 AM CDT PRAISE THE LORD! HE IS SO GOOD TO US, AND PRAYER IS SO POWERFUL! Thank you for your prayers, they are working, Dave has been protected from any nausea. He feels fine and is getting some extra sleep today. He is so amazing, so inspiring. I'm so thankful to have such an incredible person in my life. He's the best husband and father I have ever seen, bar none! MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE! Whoo hoo!!!!!

Thursday, October 7, 2004 8:09 PM CDT Chemo is in! So far, so good. It took 4.5 hours instead of 2. Some of that time was for the anti-nausea drug to drip in. Dave had no pain during the infusion, which was good, and the IV was placed easily. That's usually the case, he has good veins, but the MRI tech last week really messed up his left arm, but good. Robin came by to pray with us before we went to the cancer center. That was a blessing. Janet prayed with me before I left work. We are so grateful for Robin and Janet who always have the right words to say to uplift and comfort us. We're awaiting the nausea, it's 6:30...nothing yet. Dave says he's fine and won't be sick. Stranger things have happened. Our house is falling apart. We have a beautiful new roof, but Kenny's window fell out last night. I mean the window just fell out. The whole thing. Now we just pray the chemo is killing EVERY LAST ONE of the tumor cells. Thanks for the prayers today. You should have

Tuesday, October 5, 2004 6:01 PM CDT We met with Dr. Sacks today. According to his interpretation of the films, Dave's MRI was not what we had hoped. The scan shows what Dr. Sacks and Dr. Moraldo think is new growth in the lower part of the frontal lobe. This is growth since the scan in July. It's too early to tell if the gamma knife is really working on the spots that were treated in August, but these findings indicate new growth beyond what was treated with gamma knife. It's diffuse growth that enhances, the word they used was "speckled" so the growths are not large, but there are many spread around. The enhancement means that these areas are composed of fast-growing cells. This is not good news. There was one part of Dr. M's report that offered an alternative point of view, saying that it could be radiation necrosis (proliferation of dead cells from the gamma knife), but that it is much too soon for that. Dr. Sacks says that it's too soon to see results

Friday, October 1, 2004 0:41 AM CDT Dave had his MRI today, September 30. We get results on Tuesday. We're praying ferverently that the gamma knife is working. We'll also find out on the 5th when/how he'll start the new chemo. Bob and crew have been roofing like mad. In two days, they tore off the old roof, put up tar paper and flashing and have about 1/2 the shingles done. They are amazing. Thanks so much to our church family. I'm continually overwhelmed and humbled by how much support we have received. Thanks beyond measure to Mom Judy and Dad Bob. Thanks also to: Bob Hull, Dan Burbank, Dale Johnson, Doug Hayes, Bill & Peggy Cox, Darlene & Harvey Wellington, Deborah Prior, Richard Greenwood, Skip Pritchard and Jason. Thanks to Wendye Bren, the cookie lady, for your caring and your "neat rows" therapy! Thanks to all who brought food for the roofers.. Jana Scudder, Peggy, Deborah, Darlene, Mindy, Judy and others I didn't get told about. Including t

Saturday, September 25, 2004 3:03 PM CDT ***NOTE*** NEW PHOTOS ON THE PHOTO PAGE!!! Well, everyone says hang in there, and I'm trying, but not doing a very good job. Zach is happy not to have to have surgery. His pain is responding to the meds, but maybe a little too well, because he overdoes it and we all pay the price in a few hours. Like last night he went to the WaHi game. big mistake. He was in agony later on. He's frustrated, and I'm exhausted. He can't do anything on his own, including bathe, go to the bathroom, eat, brush his teeth, etc. I'm up with him several times a night for bathroom trips, pillow adjustments and meds. Reminds me of when he was a baby, but I'm quite a few years older and not tolerating it too well. Dave is experiencing all the headaches and fatigue they said he might. He said, "I hate it when the doctors are right." He slept in until almost 1:00 pm today, and that's unheard of. He's so tired, and in a lot of pain an

Friday, September 24, 2004 5:47 PM CDT FINALLY!!!!! SOME GOOD NEWS! We met with Dr. Hutson this morning, he examined the x-rays and said that Zach will not need surgery. Zach is quite relieved. Dr. H said that it's easier to cast when the swelling goes down a little more, so Z will get his permanent (8 weeks) cast on Monday. Today Zach said, "What about PE? What about my clarinet? No football....gee, all I'm gonna be able to do is WORK!" Poor kid. :-) Thanks for the prayers. We were supposed to travel to the mountains this weekend, but looks like Zach isn't going to be up to it.

Thursday, September 23, 2004 2:45 PM CDT Well, here's a new patient for you to pray for. Seems like when it rains, it pours, and we've been living in a hurricane for about a year. Zach was carrying the football in a game in Pasco yesterday. He was tackled, and his left arm got mixed up in the wrong place. They called an ambulance, and he went to the hospital, and sure enough, it's broken. And broken pretty badly. Both bones are broken. We'll see an orthopedic surgeon to see if it needs surgery to have pins placed. The guy at Lourdes thought it probably would. So Zach's football season is over. He's very sad, and worried about basketball. He'll be in a cast for 8 weeks. He's also in a considerable amount of pain. They gave him vicodin, so he's resting pretty well right now. For more photos, you can go to http://photos.yahoo.com/shibelle007 there are a few albums there. On the Dave front, he has an MRI on October 5. Please pray that it shows the gamma

Monday, September 20, 2004 5:33 PM CDT Well, I talked to Dr. Friedman from Duke. He agrees with Dr. Spence. He feels like Dave is in good physical shape so he should try the BCNU before resorting to any clinical trials. I'm not sure how I feel about it all. I've been depressed since talking to Dr. Friedman, but maybe it's for the best. We're now checking with San Fransisco to see if they say anything different. Dave is amazing. I talked to him just a bit ago, and he said, "OK then, here we go. I can do this." He's ready for battle. All I can do is cry. Evy might not use her mom's word, but I will. It's a pisser.

Friday, September 17, 2004 7:41 PM CDT We met with Dr. Sacks yesterday. The options from UW don't look very good to us. Dr. Spence is recommending BCNU. BCNU is an IV chemo that has been around since 1972. It's not terribly effective IV, although it has shown some promise inserted into the tumor cavity at surgery in gliadel wafers. The side effects are many. First, all the classic chemo stuff, severe vomiting for hours after each dose, loss of hair and suppression of the bone marrow, meaning immune suppression. The usual dose is every six weeks, but due to the fact that Dave's been on chemo at such a high dose for so long, even though his counts have been good, Dr. Sacks doubts he'll be able to rebound very well, and every six weeks would be optimistic. The other side effect is pulmonary toxicity...basically, it causes infiltrating fibrous growths in the lungs and can lead to respiratory failure. The other options are CCNU (an oral chemo) and PCV (an IV chemo), they all

Tuesday, September 14, 2004 10:39 PM CDT We heard from Dr. Spence at UW. I talked with him on the phone, brought him up-to-date, and he said he'd look into it and call our local guy. Dr. Sacks called, and we have an appointment on Thursday at 11:00 am to see what the recommendation is. We'll be seeking a second opinion from Duke. It seems that UW is not terribly aggressive in their approach, and Duke seems much more so. Luckily, our local doc is also supportive of a very aggressive approach, so we'll see what he has to say. It will be another week before we can get all the scans to Duke again for a second opinion. Luckily Dr. Friedman is very quick to call back. The Duke BT site is http://www.cancer.duke.edu/btc/ if you are interested in visiting. Please keep praying. Please also pray for the families on the brain tumor list. We have lost 6 people to this horrible disease this month, and it's only the 14th, and two others are on the final parts of their journey. It'

Monday, August 23, 2004 11:57 PM CDT MONDAY Dave went to work today from 8 am to 3 pm and then football practice from 3-5 pm. He came home and looked great. His eyes are less puffy. He had a little headache, but it went away with tylenol. How strong is this guy, anyway? He's icing his head and going to bed early. We're still waiting to hear from Dr. Spence at UW. Guess I'll have to rattle some cages tomorrow. KOKO (keep on keepin' on) Love you all, Shelley

Monday, August 23, 2004 11:56 PM CDT THE HISTORY For those of you who don't know the full story of Dave's brain tumor saga....here's the copy I just submitted to virtualtrials.com There's more to add, but this is the basic story. Dave Meyer’s Story In 1996, my husband, Dave, was 33 years old with two small boys and a baby girl. He was a high school history teacher who coached football and basketball, working out with his teams and riding his bike to school. He was full of life and energy and love for everyone around him. His life motto has always been, “Use things, love people.” He had a few headaches, but attributed them to fatigue. He was considering visiting the doctor, because he noticed during basketball games he’d occasionally be overcome with a funny, surreal feeling and sounds were distorted. But before he could make that appointment, the world crashed in. He was driving to Portland with his brother, early in the morning, December 23, 1996. They hit a patch of i

Saturday, August 21, 2004 9:52 PM CDT SATURDAY Hello all. Dave continues to do amazingly well. He went to football practice today. 9-12 and 2-5. It wasn't too hot today, only about 87, so that was a blessing. He does have a lot of swelling on his forehead and puffiness around his eyes today. I think he's probably been on his feet too much. He's putting ice on it and resting now. Thanks for all your continued prayers and support. Dave says he can definitely feel it. He says he feels lifted up. I say, okay, as long as Jesus doesn't lift you ALL the way up. :-)

Friday, August 20, 2004 11:36 PM CDT FRIDAY NIGHT TO CHECK FOR NEWS ABOUT THE GAMMA KNIFE, SEE JOURNAL HISTORY TO SEE PICTURES OF THE GAMMA KNIFE, SEE PHOTO ALBUM We're home now. Dave was sooo glad to see the kids. He looks really great. He's been on the phone non-stop since he got home. He's planning on going to football practice tomorrow. They have daily doubles in 100 degree heat, from 9-noon and again from 2-5 pm. He's amazing. Forgot to tell you all that he wore his Walla Walla Blue Devil Football shirt that says "COUNT ON ME" like he did for both surgeries. The picture on the front page is a picture of Dave playing guitar at Erik & Evy's house last night. He stayed up way too late singing and playing with Erik, but as he says, "It was good for my soul." He was so happy to be with Erik again and to play music. Sonja and Canute, Evy & Erik's two children, were also a trip highlight. Canute sang along with Dave a number of times, a

Thursday, August 19, 2004 9:03 PM CDT THIRD THURSDAY UPDATE -- CHECK JOURNAL HISTORY FOR PREVIOUS UPDATES Hi everyone, it's 7:00 and we're back at Erik and Evy's house. Dave came through the procedure remarkably well. He did have a pain pill after they took the frame off his head. He's been icing it, trying to prevent swelling where they screwed the pins in. Right now, he's sitting with Erik and playing Erik's guitar. It's wonderful to hear him play and sing. He has an incredibly happy heart. It's amazing to see the affect Dave has on people. The nurses at the hospital just love him. His generous spirit touches all those around him. He even helped Denise and I finish the last answer on the crossword puzzle! Now we wait. They said that we could expect headaches, fatigue and nausea in about 4-6 weeks. That's when the tumor cells will begin dying off. They'll do an MRI around that time frame to see what's happening. They did say that if other sm

Thursday, August 19, 2004 1:02 PM CDT It's 10:00 am. Dave is in the machine, receiving the radiation right now. He is listening to Switchfoot, Audio Adrenaline & Relient K. He'll be in the machine for one session of 62 minutes and then a second session of 24(?) minutes. The MRI did not have good news for us. The lesion that they had seen before has grown since July 19. They also noted several other areas of growth. One area that was significant is in the motor area. These other new lesions are very small, but they feel they represent true growth, not just an abnormality of the scan. The good news is that they can treat these lesions as well, so they are going to treat all the tumor growth that is visible. We'll need to meet with Dr. Spence at UW about a new chemo regimen to take care of the cells that are growing, but are not yet visible on the MRI. It's very scary news. Please keep praying. Dave is holding up well, and taking strength from all of you. Love to all.

Thursday, August 19, 2004 12:05 AM CDT Hello, we're at the hospital now. Dave has had the frame placed without any medication at all. He's feeling very tough and macho about that! He had a snack (thanks Evy!) and will be going into the machine about 10:30. Thank you all for your prayers. He's really feeling the support, says he's feeling a great sense of peace. Will update you on the progress as we go. Denise and I have almost finished the jigsaw puzzle! Love you all!

Tuesday, August 17, 2004 1:13 PM CDT We met with doctors at Harborview yesterday. Dave has a new growth in his right frontal lobe. This new growth is very small, but it was not evident at his MRI in May, and shows on the MRI in July. It's quite scary that it has grown so quickly, and is in a new place. It's also scary that it grew while Dave was on temodar (chemo). The doctors from the tumor board are recommending gamma knife. Gamma knife is high intensity radiation that is very accurate and focused on the tumor growth. There are 201 beams aimed at the tumor. (See the main page for a link to information about gamma knife, you have to scroll to the bottom.) On Thursday, August 19, 2004, Dave will undergo gamma knife at Harborview in Seattle. We are hoping that this will halt the growth of the tumor. He will go into the hospital at 7:00 am and they will place a halo or frame around his head, by screwing it into his skull (ouch! They will give him some IV pain meds). They took x-r

Monday, August 2, 2004 3:39 PM CDT This page has just been created. Please check back for additional updates. I am moving the journal updates from Dave's Caringbridge site to here. They're easier to link to on the blog. On Caringbridge, they are one big chunk. This was the very first post.