Update 3/24/08

Good Morning.
Yesterday Tom and I had a great Easter. Here he is wearing his new Easter buff (thanks Penny and John!). Last week went well. We got out of the house a few times and Tom got back on the computer to check email.

I'm heading back to work today so Tom is his own social secretary again! He is checking emails and taking walks which is as close to perfect as we can wish for right now. He still has some R&R in his future but everything seems great.

The next milestone is Friday when we get the stitches out and after that is an MRI early April.

As always we thank each and every one of you for your love and prayers.

Love Theresa

Update 03/16/08

As things calm down the updates will become less frequent and it is my fervent hope it will never get active again. That said, we do have a few more exciting weeks. Today for example we had a one-off experience: a home hair cut.

Faye came by to help Tom transition back to a more even look. Thank you for brightening our day. In the next weeks Tom will start some new drugs, get his stiches out and will hopefully be back at work by the end of the the month.

Update 3/14/08

Well we are home and I am waiting for that flood of happiness that will engulf me. Six days ago I was unsure if Tom would walk back into our home but now as he sleeps I really feel just a bit tired.

We are working hard to get back to normal and that will happen in due time. In the meantime we are figuring out new drugs and getting back into managing the old ones. There is bill paying and grocery shopping on the horizon and all sorts of in-home infrastructure to be dealt with.

Both of our employers have been kind and understanding and we are very grateful. We have more family members and friends than we can count send wishes and prayers through calls, emails, and TM. The requests to visit have been large and I thank you for understanding the time is just not right...yet. Soon Tom will be dying to see a face which is not attached to my body :-)

Trey Bean, a long time friend of Tom's sent these pictures today taken from a tall building in Dallas during last Tuesday's fog. Without getting verbose I present them as an analogy to Tom's last week.

Love Theresa

Update 3/14/08

We are going home!

Update 3/12/2008 (done on 3/14)

Tom made it out of ICU! It took all day since the hospital is full but by 9 p.m. he was on his way. Special thanks to the ICU nurses Lissa and Ruth (and our old friend Mary from the first lap).

Tommy and I left the hospital at 10 p.m. last night and Tom was happy. The TV repair man was working in his room, he had a cup of Blue Bell Ice Cream and the pain med had kicked in. It was a long day for Tom but hopefully things can slow down now.

It is likely he will be home Friday or Saturday. How amazing right? Brain surgery and maybe home within 100 hours.

Love Theresa

Update 3/12/08

Wow I think I just broke through the hospital's blog filter. For two days I could not post on site. Yipee!

Anyway Tom is doing super today. He has pain but also has drugs which I always think is a great combination (like bittersweet chocolate and a nice cab...). At this moment is is getting an ultrasound. I can't show an actual picture right now because they won't let me photograph it. It is Phillips Doplar IU22. I'm not sure why they think it is top secret as this picture is on the web. Anyway this is going on up and down his legs and should help someone evaluate his long standing blood clot.

They keep promising to move him to his own room soon but the hospital is still full. I'm sure he will be in a private room soon. Overall he is weak and a little goofy but healing very well.

We have met with Dr. Kew, Tom's oncologist and have determined the next course of treatment (more chemo, no radiation). Thanks for your continued interest.

Love Theresa

Update 3/11/08 (on 3/12)

3/11/08 was a great day. In a nutshell the surgery went great and Tom is recovering.

(Begin details)
The day started at early and we were admitted to the hospital at 6 a.m. (again "we" is really "Tom"). At 7 a.m. the nurse brought Tom his stylish gown and stockings and he signed a lot of papers. At 8 a.m. they rolled him out for an 8:15 start. Tom has a great doctor who shared Tom's taste in music so Tom brought him a Don Henley CD which they played during the operation.

At 11:30 the doctor found me in a PACKED waiting room and said everything went great. They were still in there sewing him up but Dr. Blacklock felt they had a total resection, no excessive bleeding and no complications. He was very pleased.

At 12:30 or so I was allowed a three minute visit and Tom looked great. He was drugged but very calm and peaceful.

As it turns out not only was the waiting room packed the entire hospital was. The patient rooms were all full so people from ICU could not be moved out. That means ICU is full and the recovery patients can't move out. Tom finally went into ICU at 7:30 p.m.

Once there and settled he got another great staff and when I left him at 9:30 he was sleepy and hoping for some Jello.

(end details)

I'm heading back now to catch the doctor before rounds. Your calls, text messages, and emails mean so much. I am sharing each with Tom!

Love Theresa