Starting to Fight

Sorry I didn’t update last night. It’s like we got dropped into this cancer 101 class and we are cramming for the “finals”. There’s so much information and it’s just a roller coaster ride.

So we decided to pursue radiation therapy first. This gives us the opportunity to start treatment even while David is in the hospital. Melanoma doesn’t always respond to radiation, but that doesn’t mean it won’t. We are praying that it at least stops it a little. We are hoping that we will get specific markers back next week about what type of melanoma this is and then, if it it’s a certain kind (B-raf) then they have a special treatment that attacks the melanoma really well.

We should be starting radiation today around 3:00. The neurosurgeon, radiation oncologist and us are all on the same page and all agree that this is the best coarse of action. Good news: there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.. it’s small right now, but it’s there… In order for David to get discharged, there’s a couple things that need to happen: he needs to get a helmet. His bone flap will still be off for at least a week. As long as the bone flap is off, he can’t get out of bed. Once he has a helmet, to help protect his brain, he will be able to get out of bed and work towards going home. Next, we need to speak with the radiation oncologist again because they may have a set amount of time David has to be in the hospital so they can aggressively start their treatment. Of course we will stay in here as long as David needs to, but we are hoping to be out by Micah’s birthday (the 12th).

So because of the surgeries on David’s head and the swelling, he’s having some neurological symptoms. He’s having a difficult time controlling his left arm and hand. His speech is slurred and his left eye has lost its peripheral vision. These may not be permanent. Once the swelling goes down, some of those things could improve. It is likely that he will need some sort of therapy once he gets home though. Also, he is getting moved back to a regular floor and out of ICU today. So we are making progress!

Even as I type this, David got his helmet!!!

Prayer requests:

• Favorable test results
• Complete healing of David’s body
• For David’s neurological symptoms to go away and for it all to return to normal
• For a discharge day so we can get back home with our kids
• For us to be able to have clear minds as we are trying to retain all this information.
• For our children, that they can feel peace and God’s love during this time
• For everyone helping with our kids, that they can have renewed energy and patience while taking care of them.
  

Even though this whole situation is stressful, and David’s cancer is “advanced” we have peace in knowing that God’s hand is in this. This is HARD, but God is here with us. We are leaning heavily on Him, moment by moment.

Thank you for everyone’s continued support and prayers! We feel so uplifted by all of you!!