The Beginning

A few weeks ago my mom called me.  "Have you noticed anything different about dad?"  He had just been in Washington for a few days to move Abbie to Utah but I hadn't noticed anything.  Dad seemed tired and a little withdrawn, but under current circumstances, totally understandable.  Yet, mom seemed sure there was something wrong and asked dad to get checked out.  After a brief doctors appointment, dad has a complete brain MRI on Friday, March 4.  The doctor wasted no time and called the very next day to set appointment with a specialist.

Diagnosis:  Glioblastoma, the most common and most aggressive type of brain tumor there is.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glioblastoma_multiforme) 

There is no clear cause for these types of tumors and no genetic connection.  It isn't something he did or didn't do.  The doctor said, "You're just unlucky."  Wow... that's some luck, huh?

We have a long passionate history with Star Wars in our family.  It was one of the few movies dad would let us watch on Sunday, using the clear battle between good and evil as his reason.  From dogs to llamas, several of our pets have been named after Star Wars characters.  As we begin this battle with brain cancer, it seemed only fitting that we turn to Star Wars for the name of our opponent:  Deathstar.

There has been such a great outpouring of love and support from so many of our family and friends.  We appreciate all your phone calls, Facebook posts and messages, and emails.  We started this blog to help keep everyone up to date on the battle. 

Status:  Dad is scheduled for surgery on Friday, March 18.  The goal is to remove as much of the deathstar (tumor) as possible while not causing any further damage to dad's brain.  Although they don't expect this to alleviate any of the current symptoms, short term memory loss, tiredness, and just a general mellowness, they do expect that this will help to prevent further brain swelling which will help to prevent further symptoms.  Dad is expected to spend 3-4 days in the hospital after surgery. 

We will be posting here regularly to share our experiences with you.  We will share all comments and posting with dad, so feel free to share your thoughts for him here.