Whoa!

Today was a crazy day. Mark got a call from the University of Arkansas - Medical Sciences today. This is Professor Yasargil's office. Mark has an appointment tomorrow at 1030. It is a new patient meeting to present our information and imaging to the doctor's office. This is not a guarantee that he will take Mark's case.
A positive thing though is Mark saw Dr. Runnels today, the very first neurosurgeon we saw that told us this was a tumor. He indicated he referred many patients to Dr. Yasargil and he will pretty much take our case.

So.. we have another trip to Little Rock tomorrow. I don't know that we will walk away with a surgery date but we at least now have arrived at 'the guy'. This is the last referral we will have to go through. If Dr. Yasargil can't do this, then we really have little options left.

One step

Well today is a good day but another mildly scary day. We found out that the VA approved our referral to Dr. Yasargil. That is the good news. The scary thing is that they did it on Monday - ridiculously fast for VA standards. We are trying hard not to read into the rapid turn-around but its a little hard.

So the we get the shot at the guy who is 'the guy' to help cure Mark. The doctor gets to accept or deny the referral though I guess based on the imaging.

We should hear from Dr. Yasargil's office in a week hopefully. Then we go from there..

Tough

Its hard to go to work tomorrow. I know that everyone has the same 'what happened' question on their mind. Unfortunately not a lot of people at work get my emails or read my blog. It is probably natural but I have no real desire to talk to anyone about this right now. Mainly because everyone has the same questions that we do and I still have no answers. It gets old and it makes me want to avoid talking to anyone.

So how are we doing - that is what everyone wants to know. We are living. Still the only thing that has changed for us from a month ago is that we know. Nothing else is different physically, we are still here. We still do our chores and play with our kids and go to our jobs.

It's tempting to be a smartass about it sometimes. Probably using humor as a defense mechanism. I guess I should feel blessed that Mark and I get this time to prepare. People leave thier homes every day and something tragic happens. Lots of people would kill to get this chance to get 'prepared'. Not that Mark will not be here soon, but the reality is this is brain surgery. Its no joke and its not small potatoes. So.. since I have this time to 'prepare', I have a lot of time to think about things. Bottom line - there is no 'prepared'.

Also - the kids have to go back to the daycare lady tomorrow that I'm not exactly thrilled with. When the heat index is over 100 degrees, I don't believe the children should be outside. They are under huge shade trees that cover the yard but it is still hot. They have an old house though so they don't have air conditioning.. not sure which is worse.

Waiting sucks

So today was supposed to be our 'big day'. We got up early and drove to Little Rock with the hope that we would leave with a plan of action. We got very little of what we were hoping for. We were there an hour early which was good. The hospital is huge. It is becoming a trend that every waiting room is packed in other specialty areas - except the one we go to. Apparently neurology isn't high in demand for most people. They took us right in and the doctor was waiting.
The first doctor we talked to was younger - probably a resident. He couldn't see the MRI scans very well with the computer he was using so I whipped out my printouts from the last appointment we got. He did a few motor-function things with Mark and then went to consult with another doctor. The other doctor was a much older man who obviously had more experience. He heard our story and did more motor-function stuff with Mark. The two doctors left a few times to talk and then came back in the room.
The older doctor sat down and got very serious. He really scared us. He agreed that it was an astrocytoma probably grade 2. He said very clearly that we will be facing surgery. He said that it is in a 'delicate' area of the brain and in a location that is hard to reach. With 40 years of experience under his belt, he 'could' do the surgery but preferred to have the guy across the street do it. The guy across the street is Gazi Yasargil. This guy is amazing according to all of the articles. If there is one person in the entire world who knows this stuff, it is this guy.
So now we wait. The doctor today has to contact the other neurosurgeon we saw two weeks ago for a Chief of Staff referral from Fayetteville to have Mark get a shot a Dr. Yasargil. We now have to wait for that. If we don't hear anything by Wednesday, Mark will followup with this.

The doctor said this is not a common tumor. He wouldn't say 'rare' but it is not common. He sees maybe 2 or 3 a year. We are hopeful if we can get in with this other Doctor but the question is will we get in with this other doctor... so the wait continues.

Cranky

3 days to go until our first trip to Little Rock. We know that this will be a review of the MRI again and to talk about options. That will be something at least.. more information is what we need. It would help if I had some idea of how soon they will want to schedule surgery. That is the one question everyone asks and the one we also want to know. It is hard not to be cranky sometimes in that respect. There are many people who let us know their support and prayers and then ask us questions to which we have no answers.

Mark and I are planners. We like to get things thought out and organized prior to events. The problem is we have very little control over things right now. We want the date when everything will be over and this will be done with. It is a goal that we can reach and then move on. Unfortunately there will be no date in this case. No one magical moment will make all of this be done and over with, it will be just take time and medicine. For control-freaks like us, that sucks.

I have been rather cranky. Thank you to anyone who has met my crankiness and had patience with me.

Tired

So the swingset got almost done. The monkeybars have to be attached but they are together, it is just putting them with the main portion that is left. A few odds and ends and its done. I can't describe what a massive pain in the ass that was, how sunburned and exhausted Mark and I are but how relieved I am that it is here. William already is having a blast on the glider swing and going tumbling after the slide. Now I know I can take the kids out and have a fun place to play with them that doesn't involve car seats or staying inside. 5 days until Friday..

Foiled..

Yesterday wasn't so great of a day. A few things that just peeved me and I had a hard time focusing. This weekend's project for the swingset is being set back a little. We woke up to rain this morning. We have a few pieces already put together. We've been working on it in the evenings so the rock wall, one of the ladders, the monkey bars and the swing bar are all done. Last night I got the very beginning of the bottom frame done. If you want to see what we are building, google Cedar Skyfort. My earlier comment on time I would like to take back. Time has slowed to a crawl again. I need to get to Friday but I don't want to get to Friday. At least on Friday we should know something more.