Tucked in at Tiverton

Brain cancer is...

...ready for tomorrow.

Above you see the view from the Tiverton House, third floor.  New for us! Also new?

An early dinner at Skylight Gardens. We have often wondered about this restaurant. We glance across the street at it as we enter our favorite Napa Valley Grille.


When we entered the Grille today, they told us that, starting now, they only serve in the bar from 3-5 pm.  See you later Napa Valley Grille!  Hello Skylight Gardens! 


Thank goodness for new opportunities.


Darrell's appointment with Dr. Cloughesy is at 8:30 tomorrow morning.  We will post shortly after.


Much love to you and yours.

Back in the Southland

Brain cancer is...

...happy to have the kids back home.

Alex and Tiana had a great time in Abu Dhabi.  We celebrated their return with a trip to Alex's favorite restaurant: Stubriks. This is the beginning of a great new era, one of having them in the same state as us for at least the next four years.

We hope you are with those you love today.

Life Is Sweet

Brain cancer is...

 ...loving life.

A couple days ago we met with our financial advisor.  He "stress tested" our portfolio.  What a cool skill to have, stress testing things.  Today we "stress tested" our Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) using yesterday's news of a suspicious spot on Darrell's MRI.

Early returns suggest that our PTG is real and not solely perceived. We spent a couple hours imagining the worst. And then we moved on.  Thanks to all team members who assisted in that process by sharing scripture, wise words, flowers, and peanut M & Ms. My mom said that she learned from her Grandma Lizzy (Andi's middle namesake), "Don't go looking for trouble. It'll find you soon enough." As a team, we all concluded that worrying about tomorrow only robs of you today.

As a result, we spent today...enjoying it.

What can be better than saying "cheers" at breakfast with your dad?

 And what could be better than enjoying your mom's koi (above) or her beautiful garden at lunch...

...unless it's exchanging long stories over shrimp scampi?

All any of us has is today.  Cheers to the day!

Bonus Content 

Other people's vacations go by so quickly! Tomorrow we pick up Tiana and Alex at LAX. Here's their hotel window view of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. 

They sent us this picture and then told us they'd be going to the top.  My stomach dropped.  Here's a view from the top.

I asked Alex if it made his stomach drop too, and he said it did not because he and Tiana are so accustomed to viewing the world through an airplane window.  Imagine looking out the window of building so high that you felt like you were in an airplane.  Life is sweet.

MRI Results Are In

Brain cancer is...

 ...getting closer monitoring.

Above you see Dr. Park studying Darrell's latest MRI.  

Specifically, he's looking for evidence of what the radiologist found:  A new, 6-mm spot in a different part of Darrell's brain that is far from the tumor site.  (The tumor was in the left frontal lobe; this new spot is in the right temporal lobe. Click here for a diagram of  the brain if you're interested.)

 Here's the relevant portion of the radiologist's impression:

Dr. Park's words to Darrell were, "I am not overly concerned, but neither can I ignore it." 

This new spot could in fact be tumor tissue, but it could be other things too like radiation necrosis (tissue death).  Typically when GBM recurs, it's in the same spot as the original tumor--not so far away.  So that's promising.

Today Dr. Park scheduled another MRI scan in four weeks, rather than waiting our typical eight weeks.  He also asked us to get Dr. Cloughesy's opinion and was open to following Dr. Cloughesy's plan if Dr. Cloughesy suggests an alternative.  We'll see Dr. Cloughesy on Monday morning.

Other types of imaging tests may be recommended by either Dr. Cloughesy or the Tumor Board at St Jude.  The Board will discuss Darrell's case next week.  Possible options for further imaging studies include a PET scan and a procedure called MRspectroscopy.

In summary, it's a "wait and see" situation.  Darrell's feeling relieved--nobody put him in the hospital today!  It's the best we could hope for given these results.  Don't worry, Team D.  It won't help, and it could very well be nothing. 

We take today as a reminder that this journey is not over.  When the going gets tough, the tough get...

 ...breakfast burritos. 

Your faith and good wishes are just incredible.  We wish you the best today. 

No Word Yet on MRI

Brain cancer is...

...forever learning.

The newest lesson is just because we want the MRI results and we've always gotten the MRI results, it doesn't mean we will get them this time.

The results don't change anything, so no matter what we'll be okay.

We see Dr. Park tomorrow morning, so at least we'll have the results by then.  If we get the results tonight, we will update this post.

We are sorry to have left the whole team hanging!

Lesson learned.

Still Waiting for MRI Results

Brain cancer is...

...practicing patience.

The radiologist hasn't released results of today's scan yet.  Sigh.  We waited until 7 pm our time to post, hoping for last-minute word from the radiologist, but it was not to be.

Thank you so much for your yoga poses, calming thoughts, positive emoticons, flower analogies, prayers, and good wishes.  I can't imagine doing this without knowledge of how many people are standing with us (in the words of Kim N.). We hope no one does it alone.

After a bit of a sleepless night, Darrell did well today, and everything proceeded exactly according to schedule. 

Above you see Darrell, MRI disc in left hand, IV bandaging on left arm, head Optuneless, and torso backpack free, skedaddling home.  Yes, we put the disc into our computer and looked at the images, but our training in the field of brain imaging remains a bit lacking.

We plan to post tomorrow as soon as we get the news. 

Again, thank you for embracing us with your hearts and spirits.   The next time you have an MRI or some other anxiety producing procedure, you tell us, and we'll return the love.  A promise. 

97%

Brain cancer is...

...having nowhere to hide.

Darrell had an Optune data download today.  He maintains his incredibly high compliance rating:  97%.  GBM: You can run, but you can't hide.

Tomorrow morning is Darrell's next MRI.  Therefore, today is scanxiety day.  If you have any spare calming thoughts, please send them this way.

We wish you a pleasant Monday.