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