Therapy in Action at HEALTHSOUTH

Today Leif met with his therapists for the evaluation of his needs and the establishment of goals. HealthSouth therapists will help Leif reach his full potential. Leif met with his assigned ST [Speech and language Therapist]. She works with the cognitive aspects of rehabilitation [speech, memory, language, social interaction] Leif did very well with the ST. Leif also met with his OT [Occupational Therapist] The OT addressed Leif’s needs in the area of his daily activities. Today this ranged from getting out of bed and going to the bathroom and taking a shower. The OT will address simple routines and go towards more complex tasks. Leif also has a PT [Physical Therapist] The PT worked with Leif in the gym. He worked out walking and doing steps. Today’s gym time was short. Leif is on the ‘Road to Recovery’ and needs our prayers. His brain surgery was just 6 days ago. Headaches, general weakness mostly on the left, and his left eye vision issues continue to be priorities for prayer. Leif has requested prayer for his left hand today.  Let us petition our Great God to release healing from the Sanctuary on High. Thanks to all of you, Leif’s friends, who faithfully support him in prayer. Healing is happening! God Bless!

Written by Pop

'Physical Therapy' at HEALTHSOUTH Begins

Today, Leif transferred from University Hospital ICU to the HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital at Drake Center.  His cognitive functions are intact.  His memory is good.  His humor is with him.  He is in good spirits! He has a great appetite.  VSS. Lab values are stable.  He continues to have headaches for which he is being treated with pain medication. His blood sugars remain stable.  All of his IVs have been removed!!  Yeah!!  He is struggling with weak motor skills on the left side of his body. [Mainly left leg and arm] These will be strengthened through ‘physical therapy’ at HealthSouth. Leif’s left eye has some peripheral vision issues and needs our prayers. Friends, please continue to pray that this time spent at HealthSouth will be very productive for Leif’s healing and rehabilitation. Day #1 of ‘physical therapy’ starts tomorrow morning. Exercising, physical therapy, proper diet, and rest are key components this week. Thank you, my friends, for bearing Leif’s burden into the presence of the Lord. Our Lord is caring and concerned also, and He will take Divine Action as we bear our heartfelt requests unto Him. Thank you Lord!  Let us look forward to this day with faithful anticipation of Leif’s improvements! Thanks to all the doctors, nurses, therapists, medical staff and blog friends that have helped Leif and are continuing to help him in his recovery. God Bless!

Written by Pop

Post Surgery Day 4; Good News Continues

Today Leif had two therapy sessions which included walking and exercise. The walking route is increasing in length daily. The ‘plan’ is to transport Leif to the Rehabilitation Hospital at Drake for 'physical therapy' which is necessary following his tumor surgery. The Rehabilitation Liaison came to meet with Leif today. He is being evaluated for the move to Drake Center which will be a 'milestone step' in the recovery process. His faith, spirit and work ethic remain high. His appetite remains very good. His taste buds work very well. His memory is sharp and his analytical detailing is tremendous. His mental capacity appears to be 100%.

Pray that Leif qualifies and is accepted into the Rehabilitation Hospital at Drake. This will help him to be strengthened and rebuild muscle control. Pray also in regards to his ‘left peripheral vision’ that it would improve. Your prayers make the difference!

On behalf of Leif and the family, we say too our blog site friends: Thank you so much… for being strong to pray and support Leif in his time of struggle.  I read a plaque in the University Hospital main entrance area which said:  And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. [Galatians 6:9] The promise is for Leif and all of us.   Praises to our God!

Written by Pop

Post Surgery Day 3; More Progress!

Leif continues to be faithful in body, mind, and spirit to the 'Recovery Process'.  Last night '2' tubes were removed!  The drain for internal bleeding and another for relief. [Blessings 1 & 2]. Today Leif made more progress on the 'Path to Recovery'. His day started with getting out of bed and eating breakfast while sitting in a chair. [Blessing 3]. The 'Physical Therapists' came in to work with Leif. After a surgery of this nature therapy is required. Walking presents a challenge. The right leg is doing well and the left leg requires focus in the walking process. Leif was happy to have the therapists guiding him with their expertise. Leif completed his walk with difficulty. [Blessing 4]. Chaplin Steve came in and spoke with Leif during his lunch. He graciously prayed with Leif concerning his healing. [Blessing 5].  Leif has been blessed with a loving God, great doctors, nurses, therapists, other medical professionals and friends like you. [Blessing 6]. Your prayers and support and Father God's favor bring about the blessings. [Blessing 7].  Kindly pray for Leif's physical activities: weakness on the left side to be strengthened; a lessening of the pain levels of his headaches and the perfect functioning of the '5' senses. God Bless!

Written by Pop

Post Surgery Day 2; Good Progress!

Today began with Leif resting in the horizontal position and ended with Leif sitting in a chair chowing down pizza, soup, cookies, etc.  Today's cat scan showed the brain's air pocket greatly reduced. Dr. Warnick cleared Leif to stop the use of Oxygen and begin to sit up, walk etc. This is a giant step forward. His pain levels came down also with the reduction of the air pocket.  Today Leif made great progress in the recovery phase. Praise God. Now he faces the goals of regaining strength and muscle tone through exercise and walking. Leif requested his books and journal to begin a time of reading and writing. Let's pray that tomorrow brings new steps forward in the 'Recovery Process'. Thanks be unto our God for the continued healing taking place in Leif's life. Thanks to all of you for your continued support and prayers. You are true friends! Leif will be back in the Blog's authorship soon to tell his story.

Written by Pop

Post Surgery Day 1, "Not to Worry"

Leif is eating very well. His appetite is back. He eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus fruits! He even ordered a Frisco Melt Combo with a Vanilla Shake from 'Steak and Shake'. He finished it off big time!  Dr. Warnick came in today and checked Leif.  He is using  cat scans to monitor the brain conditions. Pressures are being watched due to an air pocket.  At present Leif is under bed rest restrictions and must lie flat and stay on oxygen. When these conditions are normal Leif will be released to normal activities such as sitting and walking.  Let us 'pray' that the air pressures in the brain return to normal very soon. Leif wanted to see a picture of his tumor. Dr. Warnick laughed and got his cell phone out and showed Leif the pic. of the tumor. Leif said "Praise God it is out of there!". As Dr. Warnick was leaving he shared with Leif and Mom "...Not to Worry.'

Friends of Leif; Thanks for your strong compassionate prayers and support. Your prayers are making the difference! Soon Leif will be back in the driver's seat of this blog. Until then I will update the 'Blog' to keep you 'Posted'

Written by Pop

Leif's Surgery Today [Success]

This morning Leif went into surgery at 6:45 AM.  At 2:00 PM the surgery finalized and Leif headed for PACU [Post Anesthesia Care Unit].  We consider this operation to be very successful. Mom, Lena and I met with Dr. Warnick and Dr. Zuccarello following the surgery. Their report was very good. They detailed some of the intricate work that had been performed. Most of the massive tumor had been removed. We thanked the Surgeons for their exceptional labors.  The pathology report on the removed section will give the doctors insight as to the best treatment plan. The University Medical Teams, doctors, and nurses attending to Leif were amazing and did a great job. We thank our God and Saviour for blessing this operation. Praises to His Name!   Leif will now begin his 'Recovery Time'.  He will be in ICU for a few days in order to stabilize under watchful care. Presently he is experiencing severe pain following the surgery.  Let's pray that he heals without any set backs. Please pray that in the course of the next week that all of his body functions, his vision and other senses  return to their designed operation and that he has 'no deficits'. We will keep you posted. Thanks for your faithful prayer support and compassionate friendship for Leif. You guys are amazing friends!
God Bless!
Written by Pop

Vital Signs, Recovery is a Go

Leif shares that he knows that this is a major and serious surgery. He feels that he has been taught that the recovery path takes time and has to be journeyed on patiently. Leif believes he has been prepared to walk this path and is grateful that the Lord has shown him the steps of recovery. Strength and health return day by day. Having gone through one surgery already, Leif has learned a bit about the recovery path. Surgery is tomorrow! Lets pray and ask our loving God to bless the surgery and Leif's return to full health with no deficits.
Written by Pop.

A Milestone Update - Gotta Love Technology

I don't have a whole lot of information to share for updates, but hope to share some thoughts about all the activity lately.

Just so much has happened so quickly, it has been hard to capture and process it all.  The past day or two have given me time to think through some things.  I have had some time to bounce feelings and thoughts off of friends and family, and pray through my struggles and situation.  So as I have been going through this time in my life, one thing that has hit me is all the technology that has been used for my evaluation and treatment.

There have been CAT scans, MRI imaging, and FMRI with Tensor imaging.  There is even a process they are using that will link and bind the MRI and FMRI information so the upcoming surgery to remove the tumor can be even more accurately performed.  This greatly enhances their ability to know before they cut that they are touching an exact area they want instead of being unsure.  In this, I take comfort that the Lord has not only provided the best means for success, but at the same time can't help but be amazed at how advanced our technology is to help me and others like me have the best outcomes.

Tomorrow I head down to be admitted to the hospital so I can begin the pre-op work necessary before my surgery on Friday.  So long for now, God Bless and I'll talk to you in a few days.

The Open Door

Today I had an appointment with the neurosurgeon that has been managing my tumor case.  He and others had already reviewed the FMRI and MRI reports and was ready to review everything with me.  I didn't realize how much information was going to be divulged at once during my meeting with him.  The purpose of this meeting was to decide whether further surgery would be advantageous or not before treatment.

Now before meeting with me I learned he had already received unanimous consensus from 5 collaborating neurosurgeons that to surgically remove the tumor before starting other forms of treatment would provide the best chance of success.  At the time my mind reeled at the thought of another major brain surgery.  As this information settled, he told me of another neurosurgeon he had already asked to be a co-surgeon with him during the operation.  This surgeon he spoke of is not only highly regarded in his field but has worked with my doctor many times in the past.  His passion for the best outcome for me and skills at lining up the best team to get those results touched my heart.  I began to feel that all the Lord's work in this situation was beginning to show me to a door...this door being another surgery.

With the opportunity of this door there comes much fear for me.  I mean, we are talking about my brain!  The door has some risks...just like any situation like this would bring.  So what to do, how to decide?  I will just break it down like this.  The direction I feel the Lord leading me is that he has setup an ideal circumstance for healing...he has directed  me to this point through a number of key situations...the door is before me and feels difficult to pass through.  I will continue to put my trust in him and walk through the door.

Result?  Currently I am scheduled to have the procedure May 25 and feel that it is the best decision I could have made.

Blessings Of Technology

Clearly your support and prayers have positively impacted the direction of my treatment.

Until now my astrocytoma (brain tumor) was believed to be only grade 2 meaning generally non-aggressive.  This week I had several appointments with the specialists managing my tumor.  After these visits there was a multi-disciplinary panel of specialists that comprehensively reviewed things to decide the next step of treatment.  The Board's conclusions this week revealed a possibility that part of the tumor may also be grade 3 which is more aggressive.  Because of this, surgical resection must be considered before any other therapy in order to remove as much of the grade 3 tissue as they can.  In order to determine how safe another resection of the tumor is they ordered an FMRI (Functional MRI) with Diffuse Tensor Imaging.  This is one of the most precise ways to map various functional areas of the brain.  This was done to be sure they can remove the tumor tissue they want without potential for damage to other areas of my brain that are touching or are too close.

The FMRI was an interesting experience.  Performing tasks with basic motor skills, guided thoughts, listening, watching visual element and other various stimuli for about an hour inside the MRI tube with my head motionless and taped in place was quite the ordeal.  I find it truly amazing how the Lord has enabled us to harness such technology in order to help treat such complex medical issues.  Essentially I will find out how this influences the treatment direction in the next few days...more updates to follow.

Progress By Any Measure

Had several appointments today to begin setting the stage for tumor treatment plans.  There was not any definite conclusions made, since a full multi-disciplinary board is planned to review the best treatment for my tumor...which by the way is called an OLIGO-DENDRO-ASTRO-CYTOMA GLIOMA.  After they review everything, they will get back with me about options, possibilities, implications and the like.

Praises for today include:
- Removal of several blood pressure medications from my regime I left the hospital with.
- No bad news by any measure from appointments.
- Feeling stronger all around every day.
- There has been NO deficits or deficiencies as a result of my brain surgery to date.

The Lord is absolutely at work here and it shows plainly every day.  Thank you all so much for your love, prayers, and support.

Picture Journey

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks.  They symbolize the progress, support and love that I am grateful for over this enduring time!

Just before brain sugery.

This is a view of my wall while inside my ICU recovery room.  This meant so much to me as it shows the support so many people sent in.  This is not even everything, just a glimpse.

This is just after surgery on my brain.

First open picture of the entry to my skull complete with drain tube for pressure release.

One of my great nurses...the staff was clearly supplied by the Lord as their attitudes and skills were so encouraging.

This journey began on April 27 when I went into my family Doctor to explore why I was having severe headaches.  Headaches that were all over my head and causing blurred vision.  Due to the severity, he suggested I have an immediate cat-scan and sent me right over to the hospital.

After some waiting and further headaches, the Radiologist was finished reading the scans.  He was kind and calmly told me that there was a 'mass' present on my right side temporal lobe running from front to back behind my ear.  This would definitely explain some things, but certainly left a great deal out there.  No one was with me and I did not even know where to start.  I called my mother and family was soon by my side! I was so blessed to be able to have someone by my side.

I was checked into the ICU and proceeded to slowly wade through the implications a brain tumor would have on my life.  Within the next few days I had brain surgery to reduce the size of the mass and recovered in the surgical ICU for a week before coming home.

I am home now and feeling stronger but there is still so much to wade through.  My goal is to use this blog page to post updates, needs, goals and gratitudes as I walk hand-in-hand with the Lord to conquer this tumor.