February '01
David had a preliminary MRI before radiation was to start, and a second 'lesion' on the brain was found. This one is smaller than the first but deeper, near the right temporal lobe. Surgery would not be impossible, but would be a lot more invasive than the first, with a lot more risk involved. A 'gamma knife' has been suggested as possibly the best treatment for this situation, so we are moving towards that. Films have been sent to the Univ of KY, and we are awaiting word from them.
This procedure looks very fascinating. Click
here for more information.
The radiation treatments have been put on hold, as the gamma knife procedure would have to be performed before the radiation and chemo would start.
January '01
Karen & David & Erin & Matt were having dinner out on 1/26, when David had a small seizure. After being taken to the Emergency Room and having a CT Scan of the head, he was discovered to have a brain tumor. He had had a malignant melanoma taken off his shoulder in May '96, and this was later confirmed to be directly related to that.
The tumor was in the left temporal lobe, right on the surface of the brain. A relatively simple procedure, as brain surgeries go.. He was admitted to the hospital that night, had surgery to remove the tumor on 1/30, and was released from the hospital on 2/3. The surgeon said the tumor was malignant, but that all of David's post-op scans have come back clear. He will be getting some radiation treatments to start soon, and we are confident of a complete recovery.
This was the first warning we had that anything was wrong, and without trying to sound like Forrest Gump, we know now that life can sure change between soup & salad..
(One seizure = one free Bloomin' Onion!!)
December '00
Karen & David & Erin drove to MS to visit family over the Christmas weekend. The day after Christmas, David drove back to WV to pick up Erin's boyfriend Matt, and on 12/28 eight of us went to the Music City Bowl in Nashville TN to watch the Ole Miss Rebels and the West Virginia Mountaineers play. WVU won 49-38, and we froze our butts off in the stands. It was clear but 19 degrees, and we left in the 3rd quarter with WVU up 42-9. Ole Miss came back late to make a game of it, but were all on the interstate by then.
October '00
Karen & David flew to Portland OR to spend several days. Karen was invited to lead the music (play & sing) for a Christian Women's Spiritual Renewal Retreat in Milwaukie OR on Friday and Saturday, and David was able to go along and call on customers on Friday in the Portland area for his job. We flew out on 10/11 and left on 10/17, squeezing in as much sightseeing in between as we could.
We tried to go to Mt Hood on Thursday, but the low-lying fog and a flooded out road kept us from getting as close as we wanted. We spent a beautiful day Sunday driving down a portion of the Oregon Coast. There were many breathtaking views between Cannon Beach and ? on HWY 101. On Monday we tried to go to Mt St Helens, but the fog and rain got us again. So we drove east up the Columbia River Gorge on the Oregon side and saw many other attractions instead, such as Multomah Falls, the Bonneville Locks & Dam, and The Bridge of the Gods. We were not disappointed.
We met many new friends on our trip, and can't wait to return someday.