Clowning around at radiation therapy . . .

The top picture is the "Pecker Cane" that Steve's family gave Marc for Christmas. The cane is made from the reproductive organ of a bull, has an eagle handle, has 2 Indian head nickels embedded into the cane, a label indicating the cane's origin and a label with Marc's name on it. The picture on the bottom is of Marc and a buddy he met at radiation. They both enjoy clowning around. Marc is wearing his "hair hat" that the kids gave him for Christmas (our granddaughter Abbie has a matching hat with blond hair). Marc's buddy had been telling Marc that he needed to wear a hat to keep his head warm, so Marc surprised him by wearing the hat. The staff at the clinic loved it.

Marc seems to be doing better this week. He has a little more energy and has been puttering around in the garage and yard some. His speech improves some every day. It is still difficult for him to express what he wants to. Speech therapy is helping a lot. The appointment at the neurologist today was encouraging and the neurologist seemed to think that because of the recent improvement the speech would continue to come easier. He explained that Marc would just have to relearn all of the language skills that had previously come easily.

The radiation is going smoothly and Marc no longer has to take the sedative to lie there with the mask on for the treatment. The staff plays music during the treatment which Marc says helps a lot.

We had a wonderful Christmas with our family and enjoyed watching the kids on Christmas morning. Marc and I feel truly Blessed to have the wonderful family and friends that we have. Everyone has been so supportive, we can't ask for more!

Happy New Year to all and I will post more later in the week.

Discouraged

The photo is of Steve, Julie, Annie and Abbie all clowning around with Marc. Seeing the grandchildren brought out a smile from Marc that I haven't seen in many days. It was good to see him smile.

The progress has slowed, leaving both Marc and I quite discouraged. Marc is not able to speak more than one or two words and then can't come up with what he wants to say. Communication is difficult at best. We are continuing to go to speech therapy and have an appointment with the neurologist on 12/30 to see if there is anything we can do to try to improve things. Marc has finished 4 radiation treatments so far and seems to tolerate them well. He has lost his appetite and I'm not sure if that is from the chemo or the radiation. He doesn't have a lot of energy and feels really tired all the time but we were told that would happen with the radiation treatments, so it was expected. We have 2 more treatments this week and then they are closed Thursday and Friday for Christmas, so we willl start back again on Monday.

I'll post more after Christmas. Merry Christmas to all!

We're home

Marc was discharged yesterday afternoon, just in time to get his radiation therapy. It seems like we are having trouble getting the radiation going. We just hope we have no further setbacks so that we do not miss any more treatments.

He is glad to be home but is really tired; which are most likely effects from all of the medications that he is taking now coupled with the radiation therapy. We are hoping that there will be no further admissions or complications.

We would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I will try to post more next week.

Hanging in there . . .

Marc continues to be stable. He is very frustrated being confined to the bed and also because of the expressive aphasia. I can't imagine what it would be like to know what you want to say but not be able to get the words out. He is still getting heparin (the anticoagulant) via IV and once he is therapeutic will start with injections that will be daily to keep the blood from clotting. I am guessing that he will be hospitalized for two or three more days. He is really wanting to get home and wants to see the grandchildren.

I'll post more tomorrow.

One step forward, two steps back . . .

Well, we really thought that Marc was doing better since coming home last Wednesday evening. Friday night he started having some left leg pain and swelling. He didn't show any signs suggestive of a blood clot and had no difficulty breathing, the pain improved with rest, moist heat and Aleve. The last 2 days he seemed to have more energy, his leg was feeling better but still bothered him some. We tried to get into the Dr. yesterday but there were no openings so we went in this morning. The Dr. examined him and thought the pain was probably musculoskeletal and not anything more serious but ordered venous doppler studies to rule out a blood clot as the cause of the pain. Long story short, the doppler study indicated a very large clot extending from the groin to the lower leg. We were sent to the ER and Marc had a CT scan of the lungs which showed multiple pulmonary emboli (blood clots in the lungs). That made the situation much more serious requiring treatment with an IV anticoagulant and frequent monitoring of the blood clotting levels. Although he had had no more seizures, his dilantin (anti-seizure medication) level was also very low again requiring IV medication to get his levels up to a therapeutic range. At least we are not in ICU, just the IMU. It isn't quite as noisy here and maybe Marc can get some rest. The nursing staff here is excellent and we have the same night nurse we had last week.

Marc now has very few veins to choose from for IVs or blood draws as they have been 'used up' the last 6 weeks. He needed the heparin as well as the dilantin and they couldn't be given through the same line. In order to assure a good IV access in case of an emergency, easy access to blood draws and multiple ports in which to administer the medications the Dr. suggested placement of a central IV line. She got the line inserted without difficulty and an Xray confirmed proper placement of the line. They were able to D/C the peripheral IV line and start giving the medications in the central line. Marc is finally resting some.

Because of the blood clots, Marc has been placed on total bedrest. That in itself is very frustrating to Marc as he usually will get up in the night and walk. He is discouraged that he is back in the hospital and I can tell it is very difficult for him. Fortunately he is accepting the treatment and realizes the seriousness of the situation. We are hoping the stay will not be too long and that he recovers quickly.

Please continue to keep Marc in your prayers. I will try to keep the blog updated daily.

New hair do, or should I say no hair do

Well I guess Marc got tired of me calling him an "Old Hippie" and decided to get rid of the rest of his hair before I decided to braid it in back. We went to the barber to get the shave today. It was kind of sad to see the hair come off but Marc looks pretty good bald!

The first radiation treatment went well. Marc had no problems. The staff at the radiation center are wonderful. We have been very fortunate to have such good caregivers that are so close to home. So far Marc has done well with the chemotherapy with no side effects but he has taken only 2 capsules. As I understand it, most people do well with this drug.
Marc is pretty tired but overall is doing well. He is still having some expressive aphasia but it seems to be improving daily. It does frustrate him when he knows what he wants to say but just can't get it out. I told him I guessed that my finishing his sentences all these years might have some benefit but I usually don't come up with the right answer when I am trying to guess what he wants to say. We are both learning to be more patient.

On a positive note, our grandson Brayden's baseball team won their game tonight 10 to 0 with Brayden pitching 67 pitches to 14 players (is he major league stuff or what!) and they play for the championship tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be nice so Marc and I are planning on going to the game.

More later . . .

The CT Mask

We went to the "trial run" today for the radiation therapy. We thought that the pictures would help express how claustrophobic the mask makes Marc feel. The pictures displayed are: positioning Marc on the CT table, placing the mask and securing it to the table for the radiation treatment and a post-treatment picture showing the mesh indentations on Marc's face.

He did well today for the trial run. He was a little anxious at first but settled down and was able to tolerate the entire procedure without difficulty. We go back every weekday now for 7 weeks (with the exception of holidays). Tomorrow will be the true test as the treatments will last 20 minutes, that's a long time to lie there with that Mask on his face. Marc is strong and determined so I have no doubt that he will make it through the treatments without further problems.

I'll post more next week after a few treatments . . .



(Click on photos to enlarge)

We're home again

Here is a photo of Marc "all wired up" for the EEG

The neurologist made a late appearance last evening and reviewed the EEG results with us. The EEG was concerning because there seemed to be an indication of a possible "status elepticus" or continuous seizures which are very serious. He ordered a repeat EEG this morning. Fortunately, after studying both EEGs it was determined that the abnormal waveforms were PLEDS (Periodic lateralized epileptiform discharges) which are not as alarming. Marc will need to continue to be on antiseizure medications and have frequent monitoring of the medication levels. The good news is that the confusion and aphasia that occurred were a postictal (after seizure) condition and not the result of tumor regrowth.


We spent the day waiting on the neurologist to come in and review the EEG with us. It was a long day indeed. We had been told that if everything looked OK on today's EEG that Marc would be discharged today. The neurologist finally got there at about 6 pm. Then we had to wait on the admitting Dr. to come in to write the discharge orders. All said and done, we didn't get home until 8:30 pm.


The radiation was again rescheduled to start tomorrow and will continue 5 days a week for 7 weeks. Tomorrow is a "trial run" just to make sure that the targeted radiation is set up correctly and the actual treatment will begin on Friday. He will start the chemotherapy on Friday and take it daily until the radiation is completed. Thank goodness we have good insurance as 20 capsules of the chemotherapy retails for $5863.00; that made the $30 co-pay seem like peanuts.

We will be continuing speech therapy and increasing the frequency of the visits as Marc lost some ground there. He had improved so much prior to this last episode that they had cut back the sessions to once a week. Although his expressive aphasia has improved some since this admission he feels like he is back to square one.

Marc continues to have a wonderful attitude and says that he will beat this thing. He gets frustrated but that is understandable. I can't imagine how he feels going from independence to relying on me to drive him to his appointments, set up his medications, remind him to take the medications, etc. I just know that I am very proud of him and so thankful that he has the great determination and drive to overcome this illness.

I will post again next week after a few treatment have been completed. Please continue to keep Marc in your thoughts and prayers.

The Saga Continues . .

Who is the patient here anyway??

After doing well during the holidays Marc had a minor but troublesome setback. On Saturday night he became very confused, agitated and couldn't speak. Steve was in Kansas deer hunting and Julie was home with the three grandchildren so I called Marc's good friend Ricky who graciously got out of bed and came right over to the house and helped me take Marc to the emergency room. Julie, bless her soul, called a friend to stay with the kids and came right up to the ER to be with us.

They immediately did another CT scan, which showed no changes and lab work which returned normal except for a sub-therapeutic dilantin level (the antiseizure medicine). Because Marc's confusion and agitation had abated with the exception of some mild expressive aphasia the ER doc had come in to tell us that everything looked good and we could go home. Just after that Marc started getting agitated, had some mild facial twitching, became very confused again and the aphasia worsened. At that time the ER Dr. contacted our Dr. for admission. That was all fine and well but the hospital was full. With no beds available, we spent 25 hours in the emergency room before finally being admitted to a room. While in the ER Marc was given IV dilantin to help bring his level up to the therapeutic range.

The next morning Marc had another MRI which also showed no changes from the last one. Because the symptoms were very similar to his initial symptoms we were very concerned that the tumor had regrowth and we were very relieved to find that this was not the case. His labs again looked good with the exception of the dilantin level, which was still low. He received more IV dilantin and the neurologist felt that the issue was probably related to seizures and ordered an EEG to be done this morning.

The preliminary report from our hospitalist, a wonderful Dr. that has cared for Marc during each admission, indicated some frontal lobe activity. In layman's terms, this means that the problem that Marc most likely has is seizures related to the GBM removal. We were initially told that Marc would need to be on anti-seizure medications for the rest of his life but the reality didn't really set in until we learned this. Now we have to concentrate on getting the levels of the medication to a therapeutic level and keeping them there. We still have not spoken to the neurologist as he comes in late in the day for rounds, so now we are waiting for the official report from him. He did indicate last night that Marc would possibly need to have another anti-seizure medication added to his daily meds. So now we sit and wait again. Marc and I both were disappointed that he wasn't able to go home tonight but understand the need to have the medications properly adjusted so that we do not continue to have problems. We are now hoping to go home tomorrow and have rescheduled the radiation therapy to start tomorrow.

As a side note, Steve did get back late last night and brought home a trophy buck and a doe. He spent most of the day at the hospital with us and cheered Marc up with a bacon cheeseburger and fries for lunch. What a blessing it is to have such wonderful family and friends!

More later . . .

Papa and Annie all pooped out after all of the Thanksgiving activities while Abbie tries to figure out what's going on!

Well you can tell who tuckered out after all of the Thanksgiving activities. We had a wonderful holiday with Steve, Julie, Annie and Abbie; unfortunately Brayden was visiting his Dad so he wasn't here. Steve even helped get all the outside Christmas decorations up, so it looks like Christmas at the Budges'.

Unfortunately, we just thought that Marc would be starting the chemotherapy and radiation therapy this week. The radiation oncologist decided that it would be better to wait another week to be sure that everything had healed from the second surgery before starting the radiation therapy. The chemotherapy is taken orally every day that Marc has the radiation.
We are tentatively scheduled to start on Monday next week. It is probably just as well. Marc is healing fine but the high doses of steroids they are having him take are giving him some unfortunate side effects. He has only been sleeping 3 or 4 hours a night so, needless to say, he is exhausted. The steroids are also causing him some anxiety. We went back to the Dr. yesterday and he gave Marc a prescription for Xanax to help counteract the side effects of the steroids. He actually slept about 8 hours last night and was only up two or three times, so it definitely helped. So after a few nights of good rest he should be ready to begin the daily therapy. I know that we both just want to get this started, the waiting is terrible. We are not bored by any means as Marc is still going to speech therapy, ophthalmology appointments and other Dr. appointments.

I am just thankful that my work has been so gracious to let me be off with him when he needs it. I am hoping (and needing) to get back to work, at least 6 hours a day, starting the week after next. That way I will be sure that he is tolerating the therapy well before I start back. I hope to be able to work until about 2pm every day and then come home to take him to his therapy. That way if he has any problems immediately after therapy, I will be home with him when they occur.

Well, that's all for now. I'll write more next week after the treatments get started.

Went to MD Anderson today

We went to MD Anderson today and what an impressive place! They are very organized and efficient. Marc was seen first by the nurse, then the fellow and then the MD (who is the head of the neuro/oncology department). They reviewed Marc's records, MRI/CT films and pathology slides. The diagnosis was confirmed and they agreed with the treatment plan as set up by our local oncologist and radiation oncologist. They also said that because the tumor is a very fast growing type, they would recommend further treatment after the standard treatment is completed. They urged us to consider entering a clinical trial, for which he is eligible. It is a trial using the standard chemotherapy in increased dosages either alone or combined with other medications, including thalamide, accutane and celebrex. There are eight combinations of the drugs that are being studied. The protocol that he will be placed under will be selected by computer. By using the combinations of medications they are hoping to arrest further growth of the tumor by basically cutting off the blood supply to the tumor. The participation is voluntary. I think that we will probably enter the trial. It would start by repeating an MRI 3 weeks after the standard treatment is completed, then placing him on the protocol selected by the computer. The medications are all oral so we would only have to drive into Houston once every 4 weeks for evaluation. We would be able to have the blood tests drawn locally and they would coordinate the care with our local physicians.

Marc doesn't really want to have to drive into Houston but since the appointments would be monthly rather than daily, he is leaning toward going for the treatment. Today the traffic was terrible. I don't think it is the drive that bothers him as much as it is me driving! He has turned into a great backseat driver. The decision is ultimately Marc's but I told him I want us to celebrate our 50th anniversary, plus many more after that, and that I would like him to do everything possible to beat this! That means he needs to stick around another 19 plus years! So I am encouraging him to participate in the studies.

We start the radiation and chemotherapy next week so I will be adding to the blog then. In the meantime, Marc and I would like to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving.

Slowly improving

Being home is good. Marc is slowly improving but still very uncomfortable and not resting well. He has a lot of swelling in the right side of his head and face and it really bothers him. I am going to remove some or all of Marc's staples tonight to see if that doesn't help him rest better.

We went to the radiation oncologist yesterday. They put a mask, kind of like Jason in the horror stories, except it is a formed mesh that covers his head and face and he has to lie very still while they do a CT scan which takes about 20 minutes. Well, he didn't tolerate it well at all yesterday so we went back today. The Dr. gave him a prescription for a tranquilizer to take about an hour before the procedure and told him he would probably need to take it every time because when they start the radiation therapy he will be in the mask each time he has a treatment. It went better today. They do the initial scan to determine the exact area to be radiated.

Next week will be a very busy week for us. Monday Marc has appointments with his oncologist and his primary care provider. Tuesday we go to MD Anderson in the morning and see the neurosurgeon in the afternoon. It seems like we have something on Wednesday too but I will have to check the calendar to be sure.

I will post more next week after our appointment with MD Anderson.

Home at last!

We just got home and boy is it nice to be here. Marc just cannot rest at the hospital, so needless to say, if he doesn't rest, neither do I.

I will be busy scheduling followup Dr. appointments, etc. I have no doubt that Marc will take advantage of his recliner and finally get some much needed and uninterrupted rest.

I will post more after I get everything scheduled and when we know more about where we go and when.

Please continue to keep Marc in your prayers.

One more day - Marc says no more!!!

We waited all day expecting to be discharged but it didn't happen. Marc is still having quite a bit of pain, some problems with his blood pressure and had another CT scan this morning. Fortunately it came back OK and showed no additional swelling or bleeding. The Docs just want to monitor him another day, be sure the medications are adjusted properly and make sure that he is doing well prior to discharge.

Marc and I were both disappointed. It is so hard for Marc to rest well in here. He is wide awake at 3 am every morning. He is typically an early riser but not that early!

I will post again tomorrow evening, and with any luck it will be from home.

Another day in hospital

Marc is not happy about it but they want him to spend another day in the hospital. They left in his central line but it is no longer connected to the IV so he is able to move around without draging the IV pole with him. He is up more, we actually just got back from a walk and even went outside for a bit. It pretty much wore Marc out but he won't admit it.

I'll post more later when we know more.

Third post-op day

Marc is progressing a little every day but disappointed that he hasn't improved as fast after this surgery as he did with the first one. He is up out of bed and walking some now and was moved out of ICU this afternoon. He is in room 4214. He is hoping to go home tomorrow but still has the IV. He has gotten rid of the catheter and was very glad to see that go. He still has quite a few headaches, especially when he stands up or moves suddenly but is taking the pain medications more regularly now which is helping a lot.

The grandkids got to come up to visit tonight, it sure was good to see them.

More tomorrow . . .

Second post-op day

Marc had a better night last night, a little restless but much better than the night before, or so I am told. Steve insisted that I go home last night to try to sleep and he stayed with Marc. I went home about 11 and returned about 5:30 and slept like a rock!

Today has been a better day. Marc has gotten up into the chair twice and is still sitting up after dinner tonight. He seems a little surprised that he hasn't progressed as quickly as he did with the first surgery and is disappointed that he isn't doing more. I think he has make remarkable progress. He is having more pain than he had with the last surgery but again, this was a much more extensive surgery. The pain is improving and is generally controlled with oral medications now. He is hoping to walk in the hall tomorrow and still would like to get home as soon as possible. Hopefully we will get home on Sunday, the sooner the better!

More tomorrow . . .

Rough night but better day!

Well Marc had a rough night last night. He seemed to be in a lot of pain and the morphine just didn't seem to help much. He was restless and even tried to get out of bed during the night. He slept for about an hour all night. He got clear liquids for breakfast and lunch today and a soft diet for dinner. He didn't eat much but he was sure glad to get some fluids in besides those in the IVs. His appetite is returning as Steve is on his way to the hospital now with a special order strawberry milkshake for Marc. He was able to sit on the edge of the bed, much to the nurses dismay, as he was still ordered to be on bedrest and was able to stand beside the bed while his bed linens were changed. He wants up more and will pester them until they give in, this I know first hand! He is planning on walking in the hall tomorrow.

I saw his incision for the first time today and realize now why he has been so uncomfortable. The incision is about 9 inches long and crescent shaped extending from in front of his ear lobe to his mid frontal scalp. It is a very impressive incision.

Steve showed up with more than just a strawberry milk shake; he now has much less hair. Brayden helped Steve with a trim tonight and now his head is as bald as a baby's behind! I have included a picture of my two special boys, they are quite a pair.

We are hoping for a quieter and more restful night tonight and a better day tomorrow.

Post-op note - 11/12/08

Marc made it through surgery fine. He was in surgery from 7 am to 1:30 pm and finally got to the ICU around 2:30. They let us in about 3 pm. He is still really groggy and seems to be in a lot more pain with this surgery than he was last. According to the neurosurgeon the post-op CT scan looked good. We are staying with him, except when they kick us out of ICU, 6pm to 8pm and 6 am to 8am, and will post any changes when they occur. Please continue to keep Marc in your prayers.

More in the morning . . .

Ugh!

Surgery was rescheduled to Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. because the Dr. had an emergency surgery come in. When the Dr. came in at 2:30 and said it would be Wednesday morning Marc said "Great, I'm going to get a cheeseburger!" So we will let you all know something Wednesday after the surgery. If all goes well, he should be out of surgery and in a room by 1 p.m.

Until Wednesday . . .

Getting ready for round 2

Marc said that I had to get rid of the picture on the header of the blog and put something that looked better, so here it is. We are getting ready to head to the hospital for the second surgery and will be glad when it is over! Surgery is supposed to start at 11:45, that is if they are on time.

Will update the blog after surgery. . .

Scheduling consult for second opinion at MD Anderson

For those of you who have asked, we have been moving forward on seeing someone at MD Anderson for a second opinion on the treatment of the GBM. Our son, Steve, has a friend who's father is a neurosurgeon in Ohio and he has a friend who is a neurosurgeon at MD Anderson. Well, through their diligent efforts, we have made progress on getting an appointment to confirm that the treatment plan we have is a good one. Today I requested that the pathology tissue samples be sent to MD Anderson for review. After MD Anderson receives the samples, we can schedule an appointment. I have all of the records and MRI films that we will take for the appointment and I am to call next week after Marc is discharged to schedule the appointment. We think we are going in the right direction but it never hurts to double check. The oncologist that we have trained at MD Anderson and follows their protocols, so we feel pretty good about it; on the otherhand we are glad to get an appointment to either confirm or dispute the treatment plan.

More on Monday after the surgery . . .

Encouraging news

Marc & I saw the radiation oncologist today and were very encouraged. He told us that Marc has several things in his favor: his age, the fact that he regained the strength in the right side back so quickly after surgery, the fact that his speech continues to improve and most importantly that the surgeon resected the entire tumor and didn't just take part of it. He told us that Marc has a very good chance of beating this tumor. He uses image guided radiation therapy which uses CT imaging to guide the smallest amout of radiation to the area needed. The plan is to have 7 weeks, 5 days a week of radiation/chemo. The chemo is by tablet and he will take 1 tablet daily on each day that he has radiation therapy, then continue the chemo 1 day a week for 1 year. We are scheduled to begin the radiation/chemo regimen on December 1st.

The radiation oncologist recommended that Marc have the pituitary tumor removed prior to starting the radiation therapy. He felt that having the surgery now would give him the best chance of restoring his vision as now he has no central vision, just peripheral vision. The vision loss is due to the pituitary tumor's pressure on the optic chiasm (see the above diagram to help visualize the problem).

Long story short, Marc is scheduled to have the pituitary tumor removed on Monday morning next week. He should be in ICU for about 3 days, although he hopes it will be less.

Please continue to keep Marc in your prayers. I will again post daily while we are in the hospital.

More on Monday . . .

Getting more active, or should I say doing too much

We had a good weekend, much better than the last two weekends! Marc is feeling better and is having trouble sitting still. I have to watch him to keep him from doing things he shouldn't be doing. He carried the plywood that we had covered the windows with during Hurricane Ike out to the curb! I can't take my eyes off him for one minute. How he did it without me knowing it is beyond me. You can bet that I am watching him closer now.

We were able to go to our Grandson Brayden's baseball game on Saturday. It was nice to get out and enjoy the game (his team won). We were also able to join a group of friends for dinner Saturday evening. We had been scheduled to go camping with them this weekend; since that wasn't possible it was good to see everyone.

We see the oncologist tomorrow, so we hope to know more about the plan for treatment. We also hope to schedule an appointment at MD Anderson for a second opinion sometime later this week. We want to make sure that we know all of the available options and do everything we can to beat this!

I've included a picture of Marc, Marcia and the three grandchildren taken on Halloween.

More later . . .

The maze after diagnosis

We are home, and settling into life as it is now, day by day. We have begun the adventure into the medical maze. It seems no matter how much you know about the system, you are still at a loss when you are thrown into it from this angle. I spent 4 hours on the phone just scheduling appointments with the doctors, physical therapy and speech therapy . We spent 3 hours at the Social Security office just finalizing the disability applications that had been previously completed on line. There is no normal now. We have everything written down on a calendar so we know when, where and what time to go to the next appointment. We are both a little overwhelmed but we are making it.

Marc has not lost his since of humor. When Annie, our 3 1/2 year old granddaughter asked him what was wrong and why he was in the hospital his reply was "I have brain damage". A little sick humor there. I am sure that Annie has gone to day care and told her friends and teachers that her Papa is brain damaged!

Thank you all for your prayers, calls and e-mails, they are both needed and appreciated. I will update the Blog again later this week.

Home and loving every minute of it!

God, it is good to be home. No matter how sick you are, you cannot rest in a hospital. Marc is adjusting as am I (Marcia is writing the blog at this time, Julie has done a wonderful job but will be out of pocket for a while). If you want to e-mail Marc & I - my e-mail is marciab@swbell.net . We are grateful for all of the friends and for the prayers. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Home at last!

At 9am today Marc said he was leaving the hospital by 10; there was no doubt that he would. Marcia had the Dr. paged to come in to write his discharge orders and, all said and done, they didn't get out of there until 12:30pm. Steve had gone to the house and mowed the yard so it was ship shape when they got home.

The pathology report came back this morning and the news isn't good, the report confirmed that the lesion is Astrocytoma Grade IV, typed as Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM). Marc will start radiation and chemotherapy in about 3 weeks, it will be 5 days a week for 4 to 8 weeks. They will start outpatient speech and physical therapy next week. They will be busy scheduling all of the followup Dr. visits for the following week. We are all going to try to live as normal of life as we can and are optomistic that the treatment will be effective and that Marc will have few side effects from the treatment.

The blog entries will be once or twice a week now that we are home from the hospital but if anything changes we will post it. Marc, Marcia, Steve and Julie thank all of you for your support and prayers and ask that you continue to keep us in your daily prayers.

Post Op Day 3 Continued

We are finally in a room. The first thing Marc did was get into the shower, he said he liked Marcia's sponge baths but enough was enough. LOL. We are in room 4245 at Memorial Hermann in The Woodlands. Marc is hoping to get out and go home tomorrow. We are not so sure and are thinking maybe Sunday would be better.

We still haven't heard anything about the biopsy, so we continue to hurry up and wait! More later . . .

Day 3 Post Op

Not much to report yet today...Marc was able to get a good night sleep (or the best you can in a hospital) after Marcia gave the "orders" to leave him be for the night. She was awoken this morning to Marc up and moving furniture around the room at 5:15 AM! He is ready to go, claiming that if he isn't moved from ICU by 3 PM, he is walking out! Of course we won't let that happen but he is ready to get the show on the road! They have decided that he is strong enough to move to a "normal" room instead of the step down unit which is great news! There is a possibility that he could be going home in the next few days and we are all looking forward to that!

Still no news on the biopsy. We hope to have news today, but it may be the beginning of next week.

That is about it for now - we will post more later as there is more to post.

Post Op day 2 Continued

Today was a frustrating day for Marc. His Dr. was in first thing this morning and told him that he was doing so well that he could be moved from ICU to the step-down unit so that he could still be monitored but get up and around more and even walk in the hallways. He was excited about getting out of this room! The problem was they didn't have any available beds so as of 9 p.m. he is still in ICU.

Today he got up and put on his sweat pants and T-shirt, walked around the room, then the halls with PT and then decided that he needed to wash his hair and get it trimmed around the surgery site. The sink in ICU is like one in an airplane, he bent over and with a little help from Marcia got his hair washed. Then Marcia trimmed his hair so the 'comb-over' effect was gone.

He has had a great nurse the last 2 days, she would change his dressing and personalize it. The first said "This is my brain on drugs. Any questions?" and the one after the shampoo and trim said "Bull's Eye" with an oval marking around the length of the incision. She had comebacks as fast as Marc could give them out. She came in once when Marc was taking off his heart monitor and BP cuff and asked him where he thought he was going; when he told her that he was going to walk out to the lobby she firmly reminded him that he was still in ICU. She did however, concede and walked with him so he could walk Steve, Julie and Marcia to the elevator.

He has now been up for over 15 hours and when Marcia asked if he was ready to go to bed he said no. Stay tuned for more tomorrow.

Day 2 Post-op

Marc continues to do well. He has been sitting up in the chair since 5:50 am, walked with little assistance of physical therapy and is back on a regular diet. He looked at his incision today and said that he looked like half a 'Frankenstein'. I think he would look good with his head shaved but thats a big step. Marc has asked that I attach a picture of his incision - don't be frightened, but it is real! It looks like he will be bumped out of ICU today and moved to the regular rooms, then a couple more days, we think, before he is discharged to home. We are still waiting on the pathology report but hope to have it by Friday.

Great report

It's 10:54 and the neurosurgeon just left - the news is good. The MRI looks like they got all of the tumor although he suspects that there are micro-tumors in the swollen brain tissue around where the tumor was.This means that Marc will need treatment with radiation and chemotherapy to give him the best chance of beating this tumor. The pathology reports might be in on Friday; so we are still just waiting for the final reports. We will be meeting with oncologists when the final path report is back to develop a plan of action.

There is still no immediate plan to remove the Pituitary tumor as it is most likely benign; the neurosurgeon said that we would tackle that one at a later date after we know more.

Marc may be moved from ICU to a regular room tomorrow and have some intensive physical, occupational and speech therapy. We have no clue as to discharge date from the hospital yet. If he works as hard in the next few days as he did today, I imagine that he will be discharged sooner than expected. All of the Docs were impressed with his remarkable attitude, humor and determination.

More tomorrow. . .

One day post-op and he's walking in the hall and flirting with the nurses

Well it didn't take Marc long to convince the nurse to get him out of bed. Once he was up in the chair he was ready to go walking but impatiently waited on the physical therapy staff to get here. He's been out of bed all afternoon and is eating a regular meal sitting up in the chair. His mood is good but he is quite feisty. The Dr. still hasn't made rounds so we still do not know the MRI results. More tomorrow.

Up, up, and away (or so he wishes)!

Thought you might like to see how he looks this afternoon OUT OF BED and in his chair. What you don't see is his nurse standing behind Marcia while she takes this picture!

No word from the doctor yet so we will update again later. I will say that I am amazed at how well he is speaking, walking (yes he is up and moving), and his quick tongue (as usual)! We are truly thankful for how well he is doing.

Thank you for all of your kind words of support, we are sharing them with him as they come in and he is enjoying hearing from all of you!

Wednesday - day after surgery

Well, we just got to the hospital this morning and Marc is asking for a hamburger (with jalapenos) and french fries. The nurse keeps teasing him to take it slow, but that isn't working for him! Marcia said he woke up first thing and said "let's get out of here!" He got a few solid hours of sleep last night, probably the first since this whole ordeal started and this allowed Marcia to sleep as well (also much needed). Marc is talking well, moving too much, and ready to run out of here as soon as someone turns their head!

We have decorated the room with pictures of the kids, so if there are any you want to add, just email them to me at jbudge18@charter.net.

We are waiting for the MRI results from this morning and will update you later this afternoon when we hear something.

Surgery Day - Tuesday, October 21st

Surgery was scheduled for 11 AM today. At 9:30 they came and got Marc from his room to take him down to pre op. What seemed like hours later, it was time to go. The surgery started around 1:30 (after 2 hours of prep time) and lasted about three hours. We were called to meet with the doctor who reported that he was waking up and doing well. He was optimistic that he had removed all of the tumor. They would be sending a tumor tissue sample off to pathology and it will be a few days before we hear the results. In the meantime, Marc is resting well, a little fiesty (but whats new), and seems to have good movement in his right side. He is talking (and cussing) and we are all hopeful.

Tomorrow is a new day and they will do an MRI in the morning. We will start talking about the game plan and what course of action to go from here, but for now we are thankful that God watched over him during surgery and the surgeon didn't remove the humor gene!

The MRI...

Sunday mid-day the MRI was done. That evening the Neurosurgeon came by to let us know what was going on. The news was not good; Marc has two tumors, one on the left side of his brain and one on his pituitary gland. The one on his left side of his brain appeared malignant and surgery needed to be done as soon as possible. The tumor is the size of a golf ball and is in an area that affects speech, memory, emotion, and some mild right side weakness. Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday.

In the meantime, they started him on steroids to beef him up and help shrink the tumor. He laid restless in bed, down for the first time in his life and not happy about it to say the least! Always the kidder, all of the nurses left the room with smiles on their faces and laughing as Marc teased and joked with them.

The steroids seemed to really help as his speech improved some and he definitely had more energy. On Monday, he was able to get out of bed for a good portion of the day to get some pressure off the back(side)!

A restless night sleep was ahead while waiting for the surgery...

How this came about...

Guess I need to start by bringing everyone up to speed as I am sure everyone has heard parts of the story but maybe not everything...

On Wednesday, October 15th Marc woke up not feeling really well. As he would say "he was just not right". By Wednesday evening, he made a doctors appointment for the next day. The symptoms were slurred speech, slight ride side weakness, and trouble seeing. At first glance, the doctor assumed that he had a stroke and ordered additional testing for early the next week.

Friday night, all seemed well at The Budge house with Annie spending the night as usual. Tea parties and movies were on the agenda. By Saturday, he was really struggling to speak without a slur and was worn out.

Saturday evening while watching a movie at home, Marc had a seizure which affected the right side of his face. At that point, it was time to go to the hospital. In the ER, they ran a CT scan which showed that something was there. He was admitted to the ICU for observation, to control his blood pressure, and to wait until the next day to have the MRI.