Surgery Scheduled

Tom is scheduled for surgery tomorrow (Friday, April 1) at 3:00 p.m. at Riverside Hospital. This surgery is to replace his bone flap that was removed (3/15) by emergency surgery to allow for swelling. We are to arrive at the hospital at 1:30 p.m. We are praying that Tom will just have an overnight stay, however our family doctor has warned us to plan a stay through Sunday! Thank you for your continued prayer on Tom's behalf.

Protocel

This is written by my sister-in-law, Cheryl:

Good morning! Had to share another divine intervention with you all! During the process of the family gathering treatment option information, it has been highly recommended that Tom start to take what is called Protocel, ASAP. It is a non-toxic, highly antioxidant liquid, which actually has not gotten the "official stamp of approval" for treatment of cancer (a lot of government and FDA blockages which are too long to explain now!) but has shown very promising results. Tom and Lisa actually know of a woman in their church who was diagnosed with GBM 10 years ago, and besides the standard radiation treatments, has only used Protocel to this day. That life expectancy is far greater than what the general "standard of medical treatment" can offer. Protocel works by chemically controlling the energy needed by cells, which does not harm healthy cells, but causes cancer cells to breakdown. So everyone is onboard with adding this treatment now, in addition to the radiation and oral chemo that Tom will start in 2 weeks.
Why the backround???.....
Well, Protocel is not found just anywhere. In a book we were given it lists only THREE places that it can be ordered from....one place in South Carolina, one place in Australia....and yes.....one place in TALLMADGE OHIO!!!!! For those unfamilar with Tallmadge, it is the neighboring city to where Mike and I live in Brimfield!!! This store is only 15 minutes from our home!!! What are the odds? THOSE ARE GOD'S ODDS!!! I plan on stopping in today as I need to head back to work in Cleveland tomorrow, but then will return friday night. Tom will have Protocel by tomorrow evening!!!!
Our prayer has always been that God would clearly show Tom and Lisa what to do, and to bring people into their paths that can help navigate this.
I am continually amazed by God's provision as He continues to "knock it out of the park!!!"
Thank you for your continued prayers!!!!
Cheryl

Homelife...

Happy Birthday Aunt Patsy! We are adjusting to home life. I love my husband and he is the BEST patient. He is so kind and easy to care for because he is so sweet. However, I do feel like I have a newborn again! We were up in the night (bathroom) then this morning it was helping him trim his beard, lay out his clothes, shower, dressed, helmet on to descend steps, and then breakfast. My sister-in-law, Cheryl (RN), is staying with us and she is a huge help...reminding me of Tom's meds and keeping an eye on him while I got myself showered and ready for the day. Cheryl had therapy with Tom: UNO, counting money, and reading the newspaper. Tom, Cheryl and I enjoyed lunch prepared by our youth pastor's wife, Carly Nicodemus. Thank you Carly! Good friends, Jim & Terri Parrish, stopped by after lunch for a wonderful visit. Tom enjoyed cathching up on WC school news. Tom is napping now as we all grumble about the snow flying outside...seriously, we are ready for SPRING! It will be so nice when we can get outside for some walks and sunshine therapy. I will call the surgeon's office on Thursday between 2-4 to get the surgery time for Friday. Thank you again for your continued prayer. "Jesus Christ, Your Word tells me to be on my guard, to stand firm in the faith, to be a person of courage and to be strong." I Corinthians 16:13

Good Bye Riverside! Hello Home!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

To catch everyone up to speed...On Thursday, March 10, 2011 Tom was diagnosed with a brain tumor after having an MRI. Tom had been experiencing some "weird" things along with some major fatigue and headaches. Our primary care physician scheduled Tom to see a neurologist on Friday, March 11, however when Tom's symptoms worsened on Friday our doctor told us to go directly to the emergency room. Tom was admitted to Riverside Methodist Hospital on that Friday. They immediately started Tom on steroids to reduce the swelling in his brain. We were on hold for surgery until the swelling subsided. By Monday, March 14 Tom was ready for surgery. We waited all day. Surgery began about 5:30 that evening and the surgeon met with the family by 7:30 with news that rocked our world. Tom was "preliminarily" diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), which is a malignant brain tumor. An "official" pathology report was not due out for 48 hours so we decided to keep the preliminary diagnosis "mum" until the official report came out. By Tuesday Tom was not responding to hourly neurological assessments. This caused much alarm and sent Tom back into emergency surgery to remove the bone flap. The removal of the bone flap allowed room for swelling. Tom came out of surgery with a ventilator in place to allow his brain to rest. The vent was in for about 36 hours. A swallow test on Friday then allowed him to eat for the first time in five days! He remained in the Critical Care Unit until Saturday, March 19. He moved to a step-down floor until Wednesday, March 23. We then made a decision to have Tom move to the Acute Rehab Unit of the hospital to help prepare him for home. In the rehab unit Tom had 3 hours of therapy a day, 30 minute sessions throughout the day of occupational, physical and speech. We are now on day 19 and ready to go HOME! We plan to leave the acute rehab unit today. We will return hopefully on Friday, April 1 to have the surgery to replace the bone flap . The flap is tucked in Tom's abdomen under his rib cage to preserve it for future use! amazing