Snow Day

Monday we got hit with a nice storm dumping 28 inches of snow on the ground. The awesomeness of the winters first storm forced me to take the next day off from work so we could go out and play. We headed out to Schultz trailhead (get a map) pointed to the top of the nearest mountain and headed up. The sky was a brilliant blue which contrasted beautifully against the pure white snow. Leo was literally in over his head and had to bound like a hyperactive rabbit which wore him out. We were the first ones out and were breaking trail up the side of the mountain to an overlook at about 8,500 feet with an amazing view of the city.
Jill continues to fight the fight with a positive attitude which has translated into a more energy, healthy appetite, iron stomach, and the continued annihilation of Mr. Oligoastrocytoma.
We're going to be staying in Flagstaff for Christmas then heading off to San Diego over New Year's for my Great Aunt Lorraine's 90th birthday.

November Adventures

We made it through the first month of our 6 month chemo therapy cycle. The death pills knocked Jill on her ass for most of the month, but she found her second wind at the end of the month and now we're back in the ring and coming down off the top ropes with the folding chair! We're almost done with "chemo week" for Month two! Just like the first month, there was some puking the first night, but none since then.
The speech therapy has been going really well in that SHE DOESN'T NEED IT!!!! Take that Oligoastrocytoma!!!! Score another one for the Jillio! She met with the speech therapist who basically said (and I paraphrase), "tumor? What tumor? I don't see any evidence of a tumor? You don't need any speech therapy"
We had a quiet Thanksgiving here at home making "Afghani Lamb with Spinach" (lamb for me and tempeh for Jill).
* 2 1/2 pound Lamb stew meat - preferably leg
* 1/3 cup Olive oil
* 3/4 pound Onions; diced large
* 4 Teaspoons Chopped garlic
* 2 Teaspoons of Turmeric
* 1/4 Teaspoons of Nutmeg
* 1/4 Teaspoons of Ground cardamom
* 1 Teaspoons of Crushed red pepper
* 1/2 Teaspoons of Cinnamon
* 32 oz Can tomatoes; drain & chop
* 1 cup Rich brown veal stock or
* 1 cup Rich beef stock
* 1/3 pound Fresh spinach; wash & drain
* 1/2 cup Yogurt
* 1 tablespoons of Grated lemon peel Salt; to taste
* 1/4 cup Pine nuts (Roasted at 350 F. for about 3.5 minutes)
It was pretty good! No turkeys were harmed in the making of this meal (just one little lamb)
We sure do have lots to be thankful for.
Other Thanksgiving weekend events included a clogged bathroom, and a broken mountain bike. The bathroom is now fixed...the mountain bike is not.
Sorry for slacking on the blog!

Here is a picture of our Thanksgiving dinner and another one from out motorcycle tour through the Swiss Alps back in 2005. That's one of my best friends Tom and Jill showing how tough she is during 8 hours on the back of a motorcycle. Oh if every day could be like that!

Death Pills

Jill got her blood work back on Monday with the good news that her white blood cells were back up to a normal level. That was exciting for about 0.02 milliseconds because now its time for chemo therapy which started Monday night. It's 5 days/month for 6 months double dose (compared to the first round). Monday night consisted of Jill puking quinoa all over the bathroom most the night. We were going to post a picture of that but who knows who'll get offended by such crude blogging. Last night the promethazine (anti nausea medication) started to kick in; no pukage in the bathroom or anywhere else.

Halloween

Yesterday was Halloween and Jill had the BEST costume EVER! Vampire Head Victim was what one person called it. It was great! She covered most of the scar with fake blood leaving some of the scar exposed. People were doing double takes to try to figure out what was going on. I dressed up as Zorro, but with my blond/red mustache it looked more like Wesley from the Princess Bride. Either way worked.
We only had about 15 kids Trick or Treating which was disappointing (except for the leftover candy!) then we headed downtown which was packed with people.

Jill's blood work last week still showed a low white blood cell count so she's going to have more blood drawn tomorrow. Once the white blood cells get back to a normal level we kick them down again with the next round of chemo therapy.

Balance (ying and yang)

We've had the first of what will be many follow up MRI's. Sunday night we drove down to Phoenix, spent a lovely hour and a half sitting in traffic further solidifying our decision to live in Flagstaff. After missing out on dinner, we had to settle for a glass of wine (oh darn) with our good friends James and Danielle the night before our appointment. Monday morning we made it to the hospital for blood work, MRI, and appointments with Dr. Porter (neuro oncologist) and Dr. Vora (radiation oncologist). The blood work showed a low white blood cell count which is to be expected after the radiation and chemo. The MRI looked very good. It's hard to explain the results of the MRI with out an M.D. after my name, but I'll try. The MRI looked really good. OK I'm charging everyone's insurance for that diagnosis (except for those of you Socialists in Canada). While we cannot be 100 percent sure that there was no tumor left due to the scar tissue from the surgery Dr. Porter was so impressed with Jill's recovery that she recommended her to be in the Mayo Clinic Magazine as an inspiration to other patients. Don't worry, we're not giving up the book rights and Oprah is next on the list.
We are learning how to balance our life with the BIG "C" and life in general. After her white blood cells get back to normal it's going to be another round of chemo (5 days/month for 6 months). We continue to monitor Mr. Oligoastrocytoma every other month, then move on to every three months, then every six. Pretty soon we'll be saying "yeah I used to have cancer, but I beat the sh*t out of that mofo"

3 months

Today was the 3rd month anniversary of the first brain surgery (is it weird to call it an anniversary?) Jill and I ran the Solstice mountain trail 10K run. Jill was also the honorary starter for the race. We had a blast! Alexis and Danielle joined us in our quest to cover the 6.2 miles (10K for you Tom) along some of the most beautiful single track trails in Flagstaff. It was so inspiring to see Jill cross the finish line a mere 3 months after two brain surgeries, and 6 weeks of chemo and radiation. How's this for inspiration? She signed up for the Big Sur marathon (get a map Tom) next April. I'm really proud of her.

Done and Not Quite Done

We've made it through the 6 week "boot camp" of chemo and radiation. What an exhausting experience. The Radiation Department has a bell for when treatment is done with the following inscription:

Ringing Out

Ring this bell
Three times well
The toll to clearly say
My treatments are done
It's course has run
And I am on my way

Jill rang that bell louder than anyone ever has! People came running from the next building over thinking that it was the dinner bell! It was AWESOME!
So we're done...well, not quite. She gets a month off then starts back up with the chemo therapy for 5 days/month. This will last at least 6 months. Yeah, that sucks. But, at least its a pill which can be taken from the comfort of our own home. At least it's 5 days/month and not every day.

Things we're looking forward to:
Solstice running race!
camping
a normal appetite
no more nausea
hair (although all I can do is hope)
driving
that bottle of champagne we got for our anniversary
going back to work
scab falling off

Things we're dreading:
speech therapy
more chemo
more nausea
the unknown

The picture from the previous post

For some reason the Google Blogger site wouldn't upload this picture so here it is. Bill, find out who's responsible for this problem and have them fired!

Two More Days

The six weeks are almost done! We have to go down for two more days of treatment as the first day was only a "block test" to ensure that HAL was calibrated correctly and then we had Labor day off. We both cannot wait for this to be over and resuame a "normal" life again. What is a "normal" life anymore? I'll start working back in Flagstaff, meaning that I can ride my bike to work and runing at lunch again. Jill will start working again after a few weeks of rest and recovery. But is that what "normal" is all about? Going back to work? How will this change our lives? How has this changed all of your lives? We know that one person has decided to quit smoking, and another has increassed their treadmill workout. How else has this influenced everyone? Jill and I have realized how important our friends and family are. We can now appreciate the collective efforts of those who love us.
Find what you love and do what it takes to spend as much time as possible doing that.
Stay tuned for Tuesday when Jill has her last radiation treatment. TWO MORE DAYS!!!

Look at Her Go

Jill has been showing her strength each day with daily bike trainer sessions and weekend running. The doctors gave her permission to do both as it would help maintain her energy levels and the fact that she can't do any physical damage. Jill's ability to be doing this is a testament to her healthy and active lifestyle for all those years.
This is not to say that chemo therapy and radiation has been easy by any means. It's been the most difficult thing that either one of us has ever have and hopefully will ever have to go through.
We have one week and 2 days left and all the love and support we have received from our friends, and family has certainly made this difficult time that much easier.

Radiation

The Varian Linear Accelerator http://www.varian.com/us/ is a truly amazing machine. It's name is HAL and not only can destroy a tumor in only 6 weeks, but it makes a darn good double frappachino mocha late (non fat, dairy free of course) . I half expect Jill to be beamed to the Starship Enterprise after the treatment. Radiation has come a long way in the past few years with the most important inprovements in the imaging guidance and the ability to pinpoint the treatment within 1 milimeter (that's 0.03937 of an inch for those of you not familiar with the metric system). If I was a radiation oncologist I could do a much better job at explianing this, but what I'm trying to say is that its really really neat stuff.
The treatment starts with Jill parking in the front row of the Mayo Clinic with her special "I'm a Radiation Rock Star" parking permit and getting checked in with Grace who is the second sweetest lady ever (our mothers take the top spot) . Then we go to the waiting area and discuss the art work on the walls and cheer on those patients who just received their last treatment. Then the radiation techs come and bring Jill back to HAL where she puts on the Waffle Face Mask which leaves a waffle pattern on Jill's cheeks and forehead. The Waffle Face Mask is fastened to the table to ensure that her head is in the exact same place every single time, otherwise you'll end up like President Skroob from Spaceballs when he got beamed (you'll have to rent it cause I couldn't find it on youtube). After all adjustments are made they throw on some tunes for Jill (Van Morrison) and go into the control room. She gets 9 treatments with HAL moving to a different angle each time. During the treatment Jill is meditating and flushing the tumor out of her body. The entire treatment cycle takes about 10 minutes. The longest part is getting everything set up. After that we say good bye to Gloria and I head off to work and Jill heads home for a nap and a bike trainer ride.

Hair Part 2

The hair on her head is falling fast
At least she doesn't have any on her ass

Hair Schmair!

We're 4/6th of the way through chemo and radiation and the treatment is starting to catch up. The hair is starting to fall out and nausea is setting in, but enough about me this is about Jill. She's still riding the bike trainer every day, going on short runs in Flagstaff and maintaining her positive attitude.
The chemo therapy and radiation treatment are starting to take their toll. She's now losing her hair and is having to take more than one anti-nausea pill per day. Her energy level is still good, and appetite is OK.
It continues to amaze me that the chemo therapy is a pill from and that patients are trusted with a months supply just sitting there in a cabinet or on the counter. I always thought that chemo was something that needed to be strictly administered by a doctor, but it's now no different than Viagra. Radiation on the other hand, is a whole different beast which will be covered next week. Stay Tuned Jill Fans!

Halfway There

Last week marked the halfway point in the chemo/radiation treatment. The first 3 weeks went better than expected. Looking at Jill you would never know that she was undergoing chemo therapy combined with radiation. The doctor gave Jill permission to run if her energy level allowed. Yesterday the four of us did a running lap around the local park with no headaches. Amazing!
Jill's sister, Kim showed up for the next two weeks. This weekend marks the first time that all three Camirand Kids spent the entire weekend alone with no adult supervision. No one was hurt and I convinced Steve that a bedsheet will not act as a parachute off the roof.
We continue to be amazed by all the love and support our friends and family are giving us.

A Week with Steve

Jill has survived a week with her older brother Steve and he only tried to force a steak upon her once, but refrained from giving her a noogie due to the scar. Week 2 is in the books and the score is 5,293,405 tumor cells killed so far. We had another great weekend in Flagstaff with rain on Saturday and an awesome lightning storm this evening.
Sorry about the lack of blog posts, but my computer isn't able to access the internet in Phoenix. It's strange because when Kat was here, her computer worked just fine, and my wireless internet works, but the plug in ethernet cable isn't working (for those computer geeks out there, yes I did disable the wireless radio). Anyways, that is going to leave the blogging to the weekends. For those of you that will be suffering from Jill withdrawl I would suggest chocolate, or a steak.
On Friday we have Jill's sister Kim arriving and then Steve leaves that following Monday. It's going to be a weekend of the Camirand Kids.
Untill next week Jill Fan's, stay safe out there; don't smoke, avoid pestacides and other carcinogens.
P.S. that's me, Jill, and Steve, enjoying dessert of Root Beer Floats for the guys and chocolate Rice Dream for the Jillio (Ice Cream in the floats). Leo is under the table looking for scraps. The painting was done by Kat, and the flowers were a gift from Alicia. Thanks to all for making this moment possible!

Vacation from Radiation

It is so good to be back in Flagstaff, and even better to have two days off from radiation. The radiation is taking it's toll on Jill hair and she is developing a bald spot in a worse place than mine.
The past week only brought one night of nausea and no loss in appetite.
We got to see our baby boy Leo (sorry Mom, he's still a dog) and enjoy the wonderfully cool weather. Today we went for an awesome 2.5 hour hike and had a picnic lunch up on the mountain.
Next week the guard changes again as Kat heads back to San Francisco and Jill's brother Steve hopefully brings some Seattle rain to Arizona.

So Far So Good

We're 2.5 days into chemo therapy and radiation and all is well. The first night of chemo was rough, with Jill up in the middle of the night with some nausea which lasted a few hours. Last night she didn't have that problem and was able to sleep through most of the night. She continues to do her bike trainer and aqua jogging sessions without any problems and it's been 2 days since she's taken any pain killers which is remarkable. I think that the hardest part for me is trying to catch up on sleep. It's so easy to loose sleep, yet so hard to make it up.
The chemo therapy is in a pill form which blows me away thinking that it is something that is self administered. That is such a change from having a doctor or nurse change out an IV bag every so often. I never thought that something like chemo therapy would be similar to a prescription drug.
We're both looking forward to getting back to Flagstaff for the weekend and out of this hot weather.

First Day of Treatment

Radiation was today and Jill passed with glowing colors! The first treatment has begun and all went quite well. She spent an hour on the bike trainer Lance Armstrong Style, and now we're off to hit the pool.

Heading down to Phoenix

August is such a lovely month to be enjoying the quaint little town of Phoenix. Treatment starts tomorrow so we're getting packed up and ready for Phase II of our journey. The changing of the guard took place with Kat arriving from San Francisco and Jill's Mom leaving back to Pittsburgh. Six week of chemo and radiation monday-friday. We'll be back in Flagstaff for the weekends. Jill is tough as nails and will get through this like a greased pig through a hillbilly's hands.

Oligoastrocytoma

We met with the oncologist (Dr. Porter) today and learned a new word "Oligoastrocytoma". Everyone say that 5 times fast. OligoastrocytomaOligoastrocytomaOligoastrocytomaOligoastrocytomaOligoastrocytoma

Tumors are "graded" on a scale of 1-4, with 1 being benign and 4 being nasty malignant and mostly resistant to any treatment. This Oligoastrocytoma was graded a "2". It met some, but not all of the criteria for a 3, and the consensus was to keep it at a 2. For some reason they don't break it down to the tenths. I'm going to have to take that up with the American Cancer Soceity. Because the Oligoastrocytoma has some of the grade 3 criteria they are going to continue with an aggressive treatment of radiation combined with chemo therapy for 6 weeks; the old "one-two punch" as Dr. Porter likes to call it. After the 6 weeks, Jill will get a month off, then back on the chemo therapy but at a much lesser dose.
We also looked at the MRI taken last Tuesday and there was a noticable difference, now that the majority of the tumor is gone. It's looking much less like Abby Normal's brain (I know some of you will pick up on the movie reference). We could actually see the ventricles this time!!!
Dr. Porter presented Jill's case to the Mayo Hospital tumor board because it was rather unique, due to the size of the Oligoastrocytoma, the way she presented to the hospital, and how well she is recovering.
Jill's quote as we were leaving the hospital this afternoon sums it up "I'm so going to win!!!"

Hair

It's two weeks since the surgery's past,
My! Jills hair grows so fast!
My follicles don't have such speed and vigor,
Of the two, hers is longer.
I don't worry, I don't cry,
Chemo therapy is my ally.

No More Staples!!!!

It was 113 degrees in phoenix, and 33 degrees inside the Mayo Clinic. I now know why they charge a premium. It does make me wonder how much their electric bill is every month, with all of the special hospital equipment not to mention the AC. How much electricity does an MRI machine use? What about at CT? Not to mention the radiation machine which I learned is a proton accelerator. It must be enormous.
Anyways, the staples were successfully removed, another MRI was done, and we met with the Radiation Oncologist (Dr. Vora) and talked about the treatment. They made a mask of Jills head and neck that she will wear during the radiation treatment to ensure that her head is always in the exact same location ever single time. After the treatment it will make a great Halloween costume, or have it bronzed and placed on a grand panio, or paint it wild colors and become a Luchador, how about a hockey goalie, the possibilities are ENDLESS!
The Radiation Oncologist was very optomistic that Jill's youth, strength, and health will be very benificial in tolerating and recovering from the radiation. It was very encouraging to hear that. Learning about the radiation is facinating, the technology they have is simply amazing to be able to pinpoint it.
We met again with Dr. Zimmerman, who was sporting a tie with a bunch of cyclists. When I commented on his tie, he pointed and said "this one is Lance, and this one is Contador..." If he has said Cavendish and Hushov I would have been really impressed. He was happy to hear how well Jill was healing and again gave us words of encouragement about the chemo/radiation.
I also learned a new phrase "Usual, Customary, and Reasonable"

Address

We're now home and our address is:
2712 East Miller Drive
Flagstaff, AZ 86004

Gaining Strength

It's been really nice to be back in Flagstaff, as the monsoons have brought us cool rain and beautiful sunsets. Of course all of that rain leads to more weeds in the back yard, but it's a price well worth paying.
Jill is getting her strength back, both physically and mentally. Every evening we go for a nice power hike in the woods and she keeps getting faster and faster. She's also preparing mentally for the battle that lies ahead and knows that she is tough as nails and will beat this thing. I'm amazed as to how mentally and physically strong she is. It's going to be a fight, but she knows she is going to win, and so do I.
A co-worker loaned me Lance Armstrong's first book about his battle with cancer and of course I left it at the office on Friday leading to a nice bike ride this morning while Jill was sleeping in to get the book. He does an inspirational job of describing his attitude towards cancer and how it changed his life in a positive manner.
It really felt good for me to ride my bike again. I've really missed that and it took the stress down a few notches. Speaking of bikes, my greatest distraction through all of this; the Tour de France (say it like Bob Roll "Tour DEE France") is ending tomorrow. Whenever I got overwhelmed by all of this, I would read up on what was happening in the Tour. Contador will win and did it in the style of Lance Armstrong. Dominate the mountains, and crush the time trial. That's our plan for the tumor; dominate the surgery and crush the chemo! (everyone flex like a WWF wrestler and say "Arrggghhhhh!!!!!") (that just doesn't work with a cyclists atrophic upper body)

The Plan

Just a quick note before we try to get some sleep.

July 28 the staples are removed, get an MRI and meet with the radiooncologist
August 3 meet with the neurooncologist to discuss the final treatment plan
August 10 radiation and chemo therapy begins for 6 weeks.

It's a long road that lies ahead, but there is sunshine at the end.

Midnight Questions

Tomorrow (technically today) I am heading back to work. Jill's mother is here and will be able to care for any needs that Jill has, meaning that Jill finally has a good excuse to boss her mom around! The Family Medical Leave Act allows me up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off, and I'm quickly running out of paid vacation days, so to keep my paychecks coming I'll be finishing off this week and working next week (except for next Tuesday when we get the staples removed, another MRI, and talk with the radiooncologist). I'm going to confirm with the neurooncologist tomorrow that chemo therapy and radiation will be starting Monday August 3. While in Phoneix for the 6 weeks of treatment, I'll have the opportunity to work at the phoenix branch so as not to run into that unpaid time off.
I'm having trouble sleeping because there are a million questions racing through my head:
How will Jill react to chemo therapy?
How will the tumor react to chemo therapy and radiation?
Will I be able to pull off taking Jill to treatment and then working?
Will Jill be ok with that?
How many more vacation days do I have left?
What other treatment will she need after this initial 6 week chemo/radiation blast?
What will we do with Leo?
Will he remember us when we get back?
What sort of hairstyle is Jill going to want when her hair grows back?
Should I go get a midnight snack?
How many miles are we going to be putting on the car?
Good think we have a hybrid.
How much of the bill will Blue Cross Blue Shield cover?
Will I ever get my dream mountain bike?
Does that even matter now?
It's 1:00AM, whos dog is barking?
What does an insurance company consider a pre-existing condition?
What kind of car does a neurosurgon like Dr. Zimmerman drive?
How much different is brain surgery compared to endovascular aortic aneurysm surgery?
I wonder what Jill is dreaming about?
How is her brain going to react to having more room now that the majority of the tumor is gone?
How long has the tumor been growing?
I wonder what Leo is dreaming about?
How much sleep have I lost?
What does the radiation machine look like?
Are we going to get this much rain next spring and summer?
Why didn't I make any cookies this weekend?

I could go on and on and on, but I should try to fall asleep again.

Your Support

Jill and I just finished reading the entire blog and all of the comments and are both feeling really loved. I'd cry if I could but I've run out of tears from this last week.

Our dear friend Alissa sent me this email to help coordinate support:

"Hello friends and family of Rob and Jill.

So many of you have offered to help and I am setting up a list so we can have all of this information in one place, easy to access. Please email your name, phone number and what ways you'd be able to help (meals, errands, housework, transportation, companionship, dog care...), plus anything else I should know (like if it's much better to reach you by phone, etc.) Oh- if you're down in Phoenix rather than Flagstaff, please let me know that as well. With all this data in a spreadsheet we should be able to help out whenever Rob and Jill need us!

My email: thelissybug@gmail.com

I will send out an email or call when we find a need.

Thank you!

Alissa Marquess"

Feeling the Love

Jill was discharged from the hospital a mere 3 days after her SECOND brain surgery. How amazing is that?!!! The support we've received from everyone has been incredible. Friends, family, friends of family. The message is the same "anything you need, we're here for you" It really makes a hard time that much easier. We now have two weeks to recover from the surgeries (it still blows me away that it's plural), then it's chemo and radiation time for the next 6 weeks. We cannot begin to thank you all for the support. Stay tuned because the story isn't over quite yet.

And Then Our Life Changed

We spoke the the neurooncologist and found out the next step. The preliminary pathology results showed that the tumor was aggressive enough to start radiation and chemo therapy. The final pathology results will most likely dictate a more detailed plan, but right now it looks like she will be starting radiation and chemo therapy in about 2 weeks +/- to give her some time to heal from the past two surgeries. The chemo therapy will be called Temodar (I've done minimal research but if all you webbies want to help me out, that would be great). It sounds like she'll be receiving this treatment for 6 weeks, a month off, then another treatment.

This is all so very overwhelming and pretty hard to digest, but we've got several advantages working for us:
Jill is young; going through this at 32 is better than at 62
Jill is recovering from the surgery at a remarkable rate. The stronger she is going into radiation and chemo the better the outcome.
Jill is healthy; organic eating tree huggin non smoking hippy chick

How is this going to change our lives? Long term, hopefully not much. She's going to beat this thing and come out of it stronger than ever. In a year or two from now its going to be an MRI every 6 months or so to make sure that this bastard isn't coming back.
Short term is a more intersting question. We will be making many more trips to Phoenix for treatment and follow up. Jill won't be finishing the Flagstaff Summer Running Series and I won't be competing in the Leadville 100 mountain bike and 100 run (they better give me a refund; Lance Armstrong will be there racing and he would understand)
Jill said that if she gets through this she wants to go to Italy, haven't figured out how/when we'll get there, but it will happen.
Thats all the easy stuff. When thinking about work, it gets slightly more complicated. I need to find out tomorrow how much time off work I'll be able to take and when I can take it. What will happen to my coworkers w/o me? (boy that makes me sound way more important than I really am!) Jill's massage business is more more physical and who knows when she will have the strength to start back up. What will all her clients do while she is gone? During this time can we make it on my salary alone? Will I get my full salary during while I'm gone or will it be a smaller percentage? If we're down in Phoenix for the treatment what about our baby boy Leo (he's such a good dog)?
Ok I'm now too tired to be thinking about this.
If you've read this far, you probably forgot about the picture of the cow by now (rhyme not intended, but I'll still take credit for it). Why the cow? Because the cow is happy. Look at the beautiful green field it's in! Also I'm too tired to go looking for other pictures, found this one from our trip to Switzerland and it made me want to smile.

The Waiting Continues

Jill is doing amazingly well today. She was up and waking around which has the doctors amazed! Truly a testament to Jill's youth, health, and fitness. She is really anxious to leave the hospital and head home. Still no word on the discharge. We're still waiting on the neurooncologist to come and give us some feedback on further treatment. One of the doctors hinted at radiation and chemotherapy but defered to the neurooncologist, who we will see this afternoon.
The PT just waked in to screen her and she is doing fine and does not need any PT service!!!
Now it's waiting to talk to the neurooncologist and the speech therapist.

Beautiful

The true test of beauty is to shave her head, put 34 staples along the side, and dress her up in a hospital gown.

Jill is and will always be beautiful.

R&R

Day 1 after the second surgery. Jill is still in a lot of pain which is being closely watched and managed by the wonderful staff here at the Mayo Clinic Hospital. She's really tired and trying to sleep which allows me some time to catch up on some of my sleep too. It's still unknown how long we're going to be here. All depends on the recovery. Could be out as early as the weekend, but it could be longer. We'll have to wait and see. I've gotten some requests for an address so here it is. She's changed rooms quite a bit, but the staff here is good about finding her.
Mayo Clinic Hospital
5777 East Mayo Boulevard
Phoenix, AZ 85054

Round 2

Jill has come out of the surgery like we all knew she would. Pissed off like an angry hornet! She is in the kind of pain that only those who experience back to back brain surgeries can understand. I'm going out on a limb with this statement, but I think that childbirth is nothing compared to this (that should spark some comments). She is never wanting to go through with that ever again. Nobody wants to go through with that once, let alone twice. She didn't experience any signs of expressive aphasia when it comes to her thoughts on brain surgery.

Dr. Zimmerman was able to remove about 80% of the tumor and excersized consersivative restraint in order to preserve her quality of life (speech, motor skills, etc.) Portions of the tumor removed appeared to be more aggressive than those that were removed during Round 1 and have been sent to Mayo Clinic Rochester for further pathology analysis.

Jill will begin speech therapy tomorrow and will have the 30+ staples removed in 10 days. The length of her stay in the hospital is unknown and further treatment will be determined after the pathology results.

I'm exhausted, but not nearly as much as Jill is. She is a trooper!

The Waiting Game

Jill went into the OR at 1:15 arizona time and it is now 6:38 and she's still in there. It's strange knowing that she is having some strange tumor material being removed from her brain. The tumor is about the size of a large avacado and the last surgery took almost 6 hours and he only took out about 20-30%. What a painstakingly slow process. A little piece at a time, given to the pathologists, then take out a little more. I'm sitting with my parents in the waiting room and every time the door opens the pit in the bottom of my stomach digs a little deeper. Think positive...Think positive...Think positive

Pre-Op Speech Test

I was going to post this before she went into surgery but stupid Paradise Bakery's internet connection wouldn't let me (their espresso sucks too)

The speech tereapist is now giving her a pre-op speech test to estabilish a baseline and will take about 1 hour. I was ordered to go relax and get some coffee. I'm now drinking a crappy shot of espresso from Paradise Bakery and Cafe; I think I would've been better off with the hospital coffee. Jill's speech in normal conversation is pretty good, however she struggles with finding the right words when asked directly. Point to a chair and she knows what it is, but can't find the right name. This occurs with just about anything. I asked her what was in the fruit salad she had for lunch and her answer was "lots of fruit". But then I asked her if she liked the blackberries and she said they were too tart (I tasted one and she was right). She's accepted the fact that she will need speech therapy after all of this and i'm hoping that it's the only therapy she'll need. Ughhh, this coffee is bad.

Go Time

It's Go Time! Jill is in there punching that tumor. TUMOR YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!!!! This is going to be the biggest race of her (and my) life. We've got the best doctor in the world and we're in the best place in the world for this. She was in good spirits going into this and I know she's going to come out of this better than ever.

The Night Before The 2nd Surgery

Jill and I are both very scared about the surgery. Dr. Zimmerman will be trying to remove as much of the tumor as possible and I hope that the MRI taken today will help him distinguish what is tumor and what is brain. She's a Super Strong Cosmic Girl and will come out of this better than ever!

MRI

Jill is currently having an MRI. The bandages were removed exposing her shaved head with 34 staples along the incision. They were putting 10 markers for the MRI. She was in really good spirits about everything and smiled for a few pictures.

Nap Time

Jill fell asleep while watching Finding Nemo (whenever we watch a horror movie, we always rent Finding Nemo afterwards)

The Mayo Clinic

The Mayo Clinic has lived up to it's expectations. Everyone here, from the nurses to the doctors to the janitors have been so kind, helpful and bending over backwards for both Jill and me. The neurosurgon spent as much time as we needed explaining everything and answering all our questions. Every room here is a large single room which has been really nice. The TV has movies on demand, there is a bathroom with shower and even a mini-fridge. Jill was talking in Spanish to the cleaning lady who was emptying the trash and she asked if I spoke Spanish too "frijoles pantelones" was my response and we all had a good laugh! I even got a pair of the 'sticky pad" socks that all the patients have to wear when they''re walking around. Bright red with grippy pads. Super stylish!

Tuesday Surgery

Today Jill is doing really well. Her spirits have been lifted and she's in a much better mood. The second surgery is scheduled for Noon on Tuesday (tomorrow). Dr. Zimmerman will have access to a full pathology team (rather than the weekend shift) and also image guidance so he will be more confident in what he is taking out.
This is the BIG ONE folks, so keep those positive thoughts coming.

Thanks

Jill and I want to say thank you to everyone out there sending us good thoughts, helping us out, and being there for us. This is a difficult time and you're strength is helping so much.

Thank you.

Distractions

The Tour dee France (as Bob Roll would pronounce it) has been a really nice distraction for me.

Tumors

Tumors just aren't fair. Its interesting how they don't discrimiate against age, gender, race, lifestyle, etc. You can increase your odds to 99% and decrease them down to 1%, but you'll never hit that 100% or 0%. Some people are just going to get them and other aren't, no matter what.
Get me a pack of cigarettes and some genetically modified, non organic, pesticide covered fruit.

10:15 PM Sunday

This blog will be me tracking how Jill is doing during her treatment and recovery. It's going to have my thoughts, Jill's thoughts, and hopefully everyone will post their thoughts. Some might be long boring posts of me rambling on, others might be brief posts about what she's having for dinner or how many laps she's doing around the nurses station.
Jill is falling asleep. She had a rough couple of hours as what has happened is starting to sink in. "It's not fair" "Why is this happening" "Am I going to die" The usual in-between brain surgery questions. This is one of the hardest parts. I'm trying to support her the best I can but it's hard when I'm asking the same questions.
She's awake now and playing with the bed. There a billion buttons that make the bed rise and fall spin around and do flips. The nurse is back giving more IV's. Her attitude has been up and down based on the medication, her pain, and how much she is thinking about what is going on. Tomorrow will be more of the same.
I'm going to do a few more posts, then head off to get some much needed sleep.
Rob

8:30 Sunday

I'm sitting next to Jill while the nurse is giving her some insulin to bring her blood sugar down which has been elevated due to the Decadron (a cortasone drug) She is really wishing we brought down her anatomy books so she can brush up on that. If anyone knows of any good websites please let me know. Spirits are ok. More later
Rob

Jill had a large tumor, approximately 8cm oblong, in or near the speech center and extending large distances. Due to its size, it was not possible to tell what kind of tumor it was or where it started. As surgery progressed it became less possible to distinguish tumor tissue from brain tissue. Since the tumor’s size potentially affected critical speech, motion, and sensory (e.g. numbness) structures, the surgeon exercised a cautious conservative approach to tissue removal and stopped the surgery rather than risk critical brain structures.
Based on preliminary analysis, the surgeon believes that the tumor is low grade; that is, slow growing. However, he also feels it is too early to absolutely commit to this judgment because they do not have adequate tissue samples from all parts of the tumor.
A second surgery is planned for Tuesday afternoon with a full pathology team and an image guidance system, neither of which was available on Saturday. Another MRI is planned for Tuesday morning to support the image guidance system. (Earlier references to brain mapping were incorrect; no brain mapping is planned.) This will enable the surgeon to take as much tumor as possible, confidently. Following that, determination can be made regarding further therapy.