Planning another brain surgery

Mon 07/30/07
Susan's Dad and brother Randy & wife Dorothy joined Susan & me to meet with Dr Ceverha, our trusted and experienced neurosurgeon at LB Memorial. We discussed our neuro-oncology visit last week at UCLA; and he reiterated his long-held position that Susan needs another craniotomy to de-bulk the tumor in order for radiation and chemotherapy to be more effective. He gave us some help in knowing what questions to ask when we visit the neurosugeon at UCLA tomorrow. Barry Ceverha is a compassionate and caring professional who truly has his patients' best interests at heart. He wants to see Susan well by any means – he's a good man. We trust him.

Tue 07/31/07
Susan went to UCLA today along with her parents to consult with Dr Linda Liau. This was another informative and beneficial meeting that allowed us to establish our next step. She agrees with Dr Ceverha that Susan's tumor takes up too much space in her brain and needs surgical resection. We were impressed with her compassion and care and developed a sense of comfort and trust during our visit.
We are strongly leaning to the UCLA option due to their "deep bench" in specialization and technology. It adds up to the highest levels of competence combined with patient-specific information during brain surgery. For example, combining data from the functional MRI with a structural MRI will result in an anatomical map of Susan's brain that identifies (and protects) vital areas. An inter-operative MRI will allow the team to do MRI during surgery to clarify any sensitive regions. Also, Dr Liau can actually wake Susan up during the procedure to interact and get more understanding of real-time brain function. (That one's pretty wild.) Access to these technologies and methods enables more intricate brain surgery and is a clear advantage. We have a tentative surgery date for Mon 8/6 at UCLA.
I inquired about UCLA brain surgery families getting a discount on football tickets in case Sue's dad wants to switch allegiance from USC. You never know.

Wed 08/01/07
After consulting with physicians and family, Susan and I decided to proceed with a second surgery at UCLA on 8/6.

Thu 08/02/07
This was a big day of pre-op appointments at UCLA. We left the house at 7:30a and returned at 5:30p. I got Susan a wheelchair and we rolled to: anesthesia dept, blood type/screening exam, admissions & finance dept, neurosurgery dept re clinical trial, radiology dept for a structural MRI, and an internist's office for health screening exam. The structural MRI will be digitally fused with the functional MRI from last Friday to complete Susan's brain mapping.

We gathered at Emmanuel for worship and prayer at Oasis. One theme that emerged was waiting on the Lord with the awareness that He is waiting on us. There is a sense of expectation. Later, Rachel Shivers shared with me that the Hebrew word for "wait" is the same as the word for "hope." Truly, waiting means "waiting with expectation." I was reminded that I need to continue proclaiming words of life in spite of the circumstances. We concluded the night with intercessory prayer for healing in the body of Christ and for pushing back the realm darkness. People were invited to continue our prayer vigil through Monday.

Fri 08/03/07
We were back at UCLA for language evaluation with Dr Susan Bookheimer, a nueropsychologist who works with neurosurgeon Dr Liau. We had a 30 minute consultation followed by a two-hour exam that established a cognitive baseline for comparison after surgery.
Dr Bookheimer confirmed Susan would most likely not need to be awakened during surgery since there is a 1cm margin between the tumor and Broca's area (for speech). If Susan does need to be awake, she will assist.
We were advised about the possibility that the area for speech impulse could be severed during surgery, resulting in a total loss of speech for 4-6 weeks until that function relocates to another area of the brain. Brains are amazing.

Sun 08/05/07
We enjoyed an uplifting day of worship, rest and visits. Pastor Bill White incorporated a video interview with Susan and I from last week in his sermon on Colossians 3:15, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." We shared how we have peace and our reasons for thankfulness during this season – people obviously were encouraged. We thank God and are amazed that He would allow us to be used in such a way.
Family and neighbors visited us Sunday evening for conversation, food and prayer. Our friends Pete & Angela Corbett dropped by with daughter Ryann and Angela's mom to decorate our driveway with sidewalk chalk in "the biggest greeting card we could find." It's a spectacular display of colorful images, scriptures, and love notes. Our neighbors, the Gilhams, joined in also. We're loved.