Month: May 2025

Mike began radiation treatment yesterday morning. He didn’t feel the actual x-rays themselves, and the treatment only took about 15 minutes. He remained fairly alert and didn’t experience TOO much fatigue yesterday afternoon. We even stopped at the Lexington Mill Pond for a brief walk, just to get out and get some nature therapy. We […]

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve begun our final descent to our destination. Please ensure your seatbacks are upright and your seatbelts are fastened. Thank you.” As my flight began its final approach to Columbia on Friday, it struck me how much that message is exactly how I feel heading into Mike’s treatment. The takeoff was really […]

This week I am blessed to be on a wellness retreat in the desert. I had set this up several months before our world was knocked off kilter with Mike’s diagnosis, and I almost cancelled it several times before ultimately deciding that since we’re still in a holding pattern waiting for treatment to start that […]

We went Monday so that Mike could be fitted for his radiation mask. They also did an MRI so they’ll be able to determine exactly where to target the radiation.  We will meet the oncologist Thursday to learn more about the chemo treatment plan. We do know that chemo will be in pill form, and […]

“If you see someone without a smile, give ‘em yours.” – Dolly Parton The other day I just needed to get out of the house. I hadn’t been shopping in a while, so I thought it might be nice to just go out and calm my racing thoughts with some new clothes. New clothes always […]

I guess we’ll need a new countdown now, because we got a call from Dr. Engh last night. He has enough information from pathology from Duke to fully diagnose Mike’s tumor as a grade 3 astrocytoma with wIDH. Not the news we were hoping for, as it is a more aggressive tumor, classified as having […]

Still no updates on pathology or when Mike will begin radiation therapy, so I thought I’d change things up a bit today on this here little blog (I suppose I’m a blogger now, how weird is that?). When someone we love suddenly has their world shattered by an event like this, whether it’s a loss […]

This weekend Mike and I celebrated our 22nd anniversary. 22 years that seem to have breezed by! We’ve been through a lot these past 22 years, but Mike’s brain tumor has definitely been the hardest challenge we’ve had to face together. What did we do to celebrate? Well…Mike went with me to Publix and he […]

23 days and every day still brings improvements. His stride continues to improve when he walks. His face is less droopy, and he’s starting to get some feeling back on the left side. His left arm and hand also continue to improve – he was able to put together a shower chair Thursday without any […]

I genuinely wish I had more of an update for everyone 3 weeks to the day after Mike’s brain surgery! We are still waiting on pathology results, and we’re still waiting for home health to be approved so Mike can continue his occupational and physical therapy. In the meantime, I’ve had to go back to […]