8 days after surgery

Today was very eventful. Dad completed some of the tasks on his to do list, which got him out of the house and I believe gave him some sense of freedom being out of the house.

Because I have to leave in time to get the girls in bed, I missed out on some wonderful music last night. Wendy's dad and John were able to enjoy the mini concert by Diego for dad. Dad loves when Diego and his sister play, so I can only imagine how much he, and everyone else, enjoyed this treat.

Dad was determined to get a steak from Folk's Folly today. One of the differences in dad that we have noticed is his tendency to perseverate on specific ideas or tasks that he wants to complete. Since Folk's Folly closed at 5:00, dad's friend Tim Purcelli took him to Buckley's and they had a great time.

My favorite part of the day was seeing dad play the guitar. This is one of the things that defines my dad in my mind. When we were children, he would always play the guitar and sing for and with us. He met mom when he was in a band in Germany. This past year, I asked him to record himself playing the guitar and singing specific songs that he would sing for us as children. It has always been comforting to me and something I wanted my children to experience with him. He played a blues song, off the cuff, for Annabelle and was comforting to hear... like it always has been my entire life.

Thank you for your continued support and for providing us with the time and space to become acclimated to our new circumstances. We love you all and can feel the power of your prayers and thoughts.

7 days after surgery

Dad came home today!

After keeping Uday up all night walking the halls, dad was discharged early this morning and was able to come home.

Of course he had an agenda. He wants to get a new stove, get his oil changed, swing by the West Clinic to get the ball rolling on things there, etc. Needless to say, it has been quite a struggle keeping him reigned in today. He's in good spirits overall, but beginning to ask more about his diagnosis and prognosis which makes me sad because of the answers we do have, but also the many we don't.

Having dad home is proving to present a different set of challenges than him staying in the hospital. He still has slight balance and swallowing issues, so someone is always on high alert when he is drinking something or gets up to walk somewhere. He will hopefully sleep well tonight and take things easy.

At least we are home with him. Dad can sleep in his own bed, eat off of his own dishes, shower in his own bathroom... Simply being home is an antidepressant.

Diego came by again today and brought homemade soup this time. Diego is such a beautiful soul. He radiates Christ and his aura is one that you can't penetrate with evil. We love having him around. Mabel and David also visited and tried to keep dad settled at the house, and Wendy's mom so generously got dad a patty melt, which he has been talking about for two days. Sometimes it's the little things.

The girls were also able to go visit dad and Annabelle was taking full advantage of him sitting and had her cuddles and wanted him to read books to her. Adelyn immediately leaned in to have dad kiss her when she saw him (despite the bruising and staples), and Mia cautiously gave him hugs and a kiss and kind of hung out near him while she read.

We are so grateful for this step forward in the first part of our journey. Please continue to pray for dad and for God to give him a sense of calm. Also, pray for mom, Mark, and Katherine as they are the ones that will be at the house with dad. Constantly on alert and trying to balance allowing dad his independence and keeping him safe will be a challenge no doubt.

Thank you again!

Day 6 after surgery

Dad was moved to a step down room today. It's between ICU and the regular floor in terms of nursing care.

He had a lot of visitors today including a serenade by an old friend Karl, and amazing homemade arepas from Diego. Some of you may remember Diego as one of the cellists that performed at the house when mom and dad hosted a "concert potluck" so to speak.

Dad also had another visit from PT, which included a walk around the floor with a cane (dad explicitly requested a wooden cane, and the PT produced one), and ended in dad showing off some tai chi with alternating balancing on each leg unassisted.

We also found out that dad's neurosurgeon, Dr. Sorensen, is in a band with a few other doctors at the hospital and they decided to keep their day jobs, but are supposedly pretty good. You know dad loves a good musician. 😄

Overall, dad is doing great. His mind is in tact and he has no trouble recalling information about the most random things that he tactfully segways in to in conversation; such as the fact that original arepas were probably made with sheep cheese because there were no cows in Venezuela until Spanish settlers brought them over. Always a social studies methodology lesson somewhere.

Mark and Wendy were able to come by and spend some awake time with dad today, which I'm sure he loved. Of course mom and Katherine were by his side most of the day as well. I want to say thank you to Uday for, again, selflessly staying with dad tonight. He is doing this knowing that he will probably get no sleep due to the constant checks from nurses, but eagerly volunteered because of the love he has for dad.

Dad and the littles about a month ago (Adelyn and Annabelle)

I forgot to mention yesterday that Dr. Friedman from Duke returned my call, and requested dad's MRIs. This is great as a second opinion, but they may also have clinical trials, or be able to refer us to clinical trials that will be helpful for dad after the 30/42 (30 days of radiation/42 days of chemo).

I also spoke with UCLA today, and there is promising information on trials using DCVax there under Dr. Linda Liau. Always good to have a back up just in case!

We are still so moved by your prayers and thoughts for our family and dad. We get strength knowing we have an army of prayer warriors behind us.

Please also pray for my girls.

Mia is 9, and loves her Opa. She has been with him the longest of the granddaughters and spends the most time with him. Dad used to pick her up from school or the house almost every day and they would eat ice cream or hang out at my parents' house and listen to music and read.

Annabelle ("Boo") is 2. She knows Opa has a "boo boo" on his head and he has to stay with the doctors for a little bit. Every night, she asks me to give her "scratchy beard kisses from Opa," when I am putting her to bed. She gets upset when Omi (my mom) comes over without her Opa. Of course when we FaceTimed him, she wanted to be silly and bounce around, but just before calling, she ran in to the room giggling with excitement about calling Opa.

Adelyn ("CoCo") is only 1. She is a cuddle baby and normally loves to just climb in to dad's lap, put her head on his chest, and pat him. I can only imagine how much she will squeal, and how quickly she will toddle over to dad when she sees him again.

The girls are used to seeing my mom almost daily, and my dad, on average 5-6days a week. This is the 8th day in a row now that they haven't seen him and they are looking for him. Mom has also been gone, and I'm sure it's a little strange to them to not see my parents.

Family is everything to me. My parents have always been supportive and encouraging to all of their children. They love us unconditionally, and have always showed us. I've always wanted my girls to be around their grandparents because I want them to have vivid and fond memories of them, to learn from them, to be loved by them. Now, it's more important than ever to me...

Thank you for lifting us up in this journey.

Day 5 after surgery

Today was another great day!

All tubes gone, up and walking around, and eating.

The physical therapist came by this morning and got dad up to walk around. Thanks to new house shoes Katherine brought him, he was walking around comfortably as opposed to with those awful hospital socks; you know the kind with grips on the top and the bottom (we were told they are cheaper to make that way).

She initially had daddy walk with a walker, but he took about 10 steps and told her he didn't want to use it. So, she allowed him to walk with her, and his IV pole, around the floor without a walker. When they got back to the room, dad did a little soft shoe shuffle (you would have been proud Kenny) and asked the PT if he passed now that he could dance, and could he go home now. I told him that maybe we should start with a nice slow waltz and Katherine chimed in that tap dancing was a bit more precarious to pursue at this time and we should work up to it. 😊👍🏻 I should also mention that the next time he walked around he asked if he should jog back to the room. 😁

He still has a little bit of issue swallowing thin liquids like broth soups and his jaw is pretty sore, making chewing painful. Overall, he's doing really well and trying to prove he is ready to go home.

We are so grateful that Meta and Albert Laabs came by today. He is a 6 year survivor of GBM and I think helped dad feel a little better about his diagnosis. We also have another friend, Zehong, who is a 9 year survivor. Great stories of LIFE all around.

Mark and Wendy made it back today and came straight to the hospital to see dad. He was moved to a step down floor and Mark is staying the night with him tonight.

You can really tell how great a person is by the company they keep. All of the amazing people that have come to visit and bring food are a testament to the amazing friends dad has. Last night, dad's friend Uday stayed the night with him and gave a great report about his night when I checked in on him this morning. Uday is a "cigar shop" friend that dad has, and he and his family have been a beautiful blessing during this time. Their love for dad is evident in the way they have stepped up, coming home early from their family's Christmas celebration, to Uday's wife, Sunita (I think I spelled that correctly) checking on a prescription for dad to help make his eyes feel better (she is a pharmacist at Methodist). Just another example of how God made sure dad was somewhere surrounded by friends that love him in the hospital.

Thank you again for your prayers! We are almost to the point where dad can come home, but the journey is just beginning. Please keep praying diligently for dad!

Day 4 after surgery

Today was beautiful outside and dad made huge progress.

He no longer has the NG tube for nutrition and was sitting in his chair most of the day talking to us.

He seems to have a little bit of delay either on the intake or output, not really sure which. When you ask him a question, it takes a second to get an answer. But the answer is always right!! His memory is fully in tact. A friend of a friend came by today, he is helping me navigate clinical trials. His name Dr. Mike Leppert. The story of how we were connected is rather interesting, but what is even more interesting is the many other connections we have. It turns out that dad went to high school with him and knows his sisters, he also gave me my epidural for Annabelle, AND his wife (who was diagnosed with this same horrible cancer two months ago) is very good friends with Mark's mother in law. Small world! The coolest part? When dad heard his name, he asked Dr. Leppert if he went to the same high school as daddy. They then began to make all the connections. So awesome 😊

Dad is still very tired (we think from the Keppra), but he tried to stay awake, talk, and hold conversations with us to better regulate his brain to day and night cycles.

He has some pain from the surgery, but that is to be expected, and this time it's normal pain.

Uncle John was able to spend a good amount of time with daddy today. Who knows what they talked about, it's their "man time" that they typically have on Sundays smoking cigars. He said dad was quite the conversationalist and I know dad appreciated the time with his best friend.

Mark and Wendy are on their way home to Memphis from Argentina to be supportive and spend time with dad. It will be nice to see them. We always love to have them home, but for me, this time I can't wait to just give them huge hugs and maybe even cry on Marky's shoulder for a brief minute. Sometimes the emotions just take over you, and I can imagine finally seeing my brother during this time will be one of those times.

Thanks again for being so supportive of us and dad, please don't think any of you go unnoticed. We read the comments every day and know how much you all love our dad!

Today was thumbs up (and finger, from Annabelle) all around!

Day 3 after surgery

Our day started with dad sedated and on the ventilator. By 2:00, he was off of the ventilator and trying to talk to us. We have been encouraging him to rest and let his brain and body heal from having had two surgeries in the past three days.

Dad definitely knows what's going on, and he is so obviously and hopelessly in love with mom. If you know dad, you already know this. Everything he does or says reflects this. Today, when he was off of the sedation, but still intubated, he wanted nothing more than to hold mom's face and made sure she was near him. It's beautiful to see such love and devotion. A true inspiration really. No amount of brain trauma and no brain invader will ever change that.

We really think that having dad's two "brothers" John Walpole and David Poley sit with him and read the bible and devotionals yesterday helped in his being able to relax and stay calm. Knowing these men were by his side and loving him through this, lifting him up, could have been nothing more than comforting and empowering.

Dad is a fighter, but he also knows when to allow himself to rest. This is a great thing because I want him to jump up and have a discussion about some historical event of which he knows every detail.

He knows himself. He knows what his body and brain needs; he gives us the reassurance we need by passing his neuro exams, having short conversations, and telling us he loves us.

Today was wonderful. We started to get our dad back. He is smiling, wanting to see his granddaughters' video messages, telling us he loves us, and responding to just about everything we say to him.

Thank you for being on this journey with us. It's exhausting and scary, but without your love and support, it would be unbearable.

Quick update

First text about dad from Katherine this morning: "Dad is doing great-he is still on the breathing tube, just until all of the sedative wears off, and responsive to the doctors. He is keeping calm and relaxing. He is ready to wake up:)"

He seems to be irritated that they keep asking him the same neuro testing questions, which I'm so happy about. They are weaning the sedatives and will then pull the tube out and he will be free!!! Well, at least free of the breathing tube 😊 he will still need to be in the hospital for a little while longer.

Thank you for your good energy, thoughts, and prayers. The universe, and God are listening and answering!

Dad just wrote "eyes" to tell Katherine and mom that they are bothering him. They are still swollen and he is having a hard time opening them. Yay!

Day 2 after surgery

First, I hope all of you have had a merry Christmas.


Today was a very stressful and productive day. Dad was given a CT scan this morning because he had become non responsive over night. They determined that he had blood pooling under the skull between the membrane and the bone. This was causing the brain to be pushed past midline and our amazing neuro resident Doug Taylor, put a call in to Dr. Sorensen requesting dad be brought in to surgery again to take the blood off.

*A side note about Doug. He is a friend of Mark and Katherine's from high school and college. We are so grateful to have a familiar face in such a scary time. It just shows you how God is working to help put our fears at ease.*

They took dad in and removed the blood. They also placed drains to prevent the blood from pooling there again. From what I understand, the doctor thinks dad responded poorly to the Levanox that he was given to help prevent blood clots, and it caused him to bleed instead. We are so grateful for Doug, and his assessment, being able to identify that the pressure dad was saying was causing so much pain, was something worth looking in to further.

Dad came out of the surgery well and as a comfort and safety measure, they opted to leave him intubated and slightly sedated through the night in hopes of him getting good rest. He will remain in the neuro ICU tonight.

We are so blessed with amazing friends that are practically family and the outpouring of support and love. David Poley is like a brother to dad, and he offered to spend his Christmas night by dad's side tonight. They always meet Saturday mornings for a weekly devotion at Starbucks. He is reading their devotion with him in the hospital right now and going to be a vigilant prayer warrior by dad's side.

We want to thank all of you that have brought food, provided words of encouragement, warm bodies with which to interact, and of course your thoughts and prayers for our family.

I'm including a picture that Mark and Wendy sent us from Argentina this morning. Wendy included a caption saying that this beautiful moon reminded her of the star over Bethlehem.

Day 1 after surgery

Dad is doing great. He still has some pain and swelling but is sleeping and comfortable.

He had another MRI so they could determine how much of the tumor is left. Dr. Sorensen was only able to do a subtotal resection, so a good portion of the tumor is still left.

We spoke with a great medical oncologist from West Clinic today, and he gave us the pathology report. It confirmed what Dr. Sorensen had previously told us, which is that dad has glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). It is a very aggressive brain tumor, but I will leave it at that because though we are taking a practical and realistic outlook, we are very optimistic with the possibility of treatments and clinical trials.

As dad heals and his brain has the opportunity to recover from the surgery, we already have begun the process of finding and contacting universities and clinics that have clinical trials for which we can apply and see if dad is a good fit. We are on top of this as much as we can be, I think dad would be proud that we have his determination and fighting spirit at a time that he needs to rest and can't do these things for himself.

We are so grateful that we have some friends that have had a great outcome with this diagnosis; having had the standard treatment in conjunction with being enrolled in a clinical trial.

As we have been in ICU, we have had the good fortune of only having had two nurses. We started off with Josiah, had Bethany for an 11:00-7:00 shift, then Joaiah came back again at 7:00. We have been very grateful that he is so kind and understanding and that he seems to really have dad's best interest at heart as he works during this holiday time.

Keep sending your prayers and good thoughts. We need them and they are so appreciated. Without your strength and constant prayers, we know we wouldn't be as strong and hopeful. Thank you all.

Post-Op Funnies

After waking up, dad tested stellar on his neurological testing.

He has some pressure around the incision point, and really was not fond of the way his staples in his head feel (he has about 40).

The one thing he was most concerned with, was going to the bathroom.

His true personality was shining through as he insisted that the nurses wanted him to pee on himself (he still had a catheter in) and that they were measuring his progress by how often he did. Lol

He is in pretty severe pain from the brain invasion and has been made comfortable and is sleeping well. He will continue to be assessed for good neurological functioning throughout the night and will hopefully return to a regular floor tomorrow (Christmas Eve).

His post op CT scan was "beautiful" according to the nurse, which means that he doesn't have more than expected swelling, bleeding, or fluid.

Katherine and I have begun developing a network of support personnel for our upcoming journey, and believe we have some great people and resources on our (and dad's) side!

Keep sending those good vibes and pray pray pray!

After surgery

Dad came of surgery beautifully. Dr. Sorenson was able to get about 1/5 of the tumor and remove it.
It is a tumor that originated in the brain, so it doesn't look like it is anywhere else in the body.
The doctor is familiar with this type of tumor, but we will get confirmation from the biopsy in 4-5 days.
Please continue to pray, send healing vibes, and put your prayer warriors on our situation.
Thank you for all of the support and outpouring of love.

Introduction to the waiting game

Dad just went back. They are going to update us when he is under, then again every hour or so.

Dad's leg compression things

Dr. Sorenson (the neurosurgeon) said that, based on the trajectory and location, they think the tumor may have originated in the brain. This could be problematic because it would make it more likely that there isn't a clean border of the tumor. Without a clear border, the brain and tumor would be intertwined around the edges. This would reduce the amount of tumor that can be removed with minimal damage to the brain.

He said his goals for surgery are

1) to diagnose the tumor

2) retain as much function as possible and

3) remove as much of the tumor as possible.

The likely side effects of the surgery will be weakness on his left side, possible slower speech, headaches, and reduced peripheral vision out of the left eye.

Mabel and daddy

They will be putting him to sleep quickly so that he can wake up quickly to be able to assess if there is any issue that would require he go back in to the OR.

He will have a central line in his neck, an arterial probe in his wrist, and his IV in his hand. He will be nicely bruised!

We want to thank all of you for your prayers, calls, texts, emails, etc.

We will keep you updated!

Why we are here

After having some headaches, strange behaviors (what's really considered strange for dad?), the inability to carry a tune, and sporadic numbness, the decision was made for dad to go to the VA. Once there, a CT scan revealed a tumor in his brain. The VA then transferred him to Methodist University, recognizing that they have a leading neurosurgery team, to complete testing and receive treatment.


The MRI showed an approximate 8cm large tumor that is situated in the right side of his brain spanning from the frontal lobe to the parietal lobe.


After discussion, Dr. Sorensen, the neurosurgeon, will take on the tumor in a 4-5 hour surgery at 7:30am Wednesday. They are hoping to be able to get all or most of the tumor, and will biopsy what they extract. Dad will be in the ICU overnight to watch for bleeding, swelling, and infection. They will do another brain scan to ensure he is stable, then he will have to hang out in the hospital for an additional day or two before being able to come home. We will have to wait 4-5 days for full biopsy results


Dad has already expressed excitement regarding having a great scar to show his students when he returns to work. Prayers are much appreciated!