Boyz from Texas!!!

What a great surprise!!! Steve got a visit from the Texas boyz tonight, they have a meeting coming up in Chicago and made the drive from O'Hare to the rehab joint to visit. What a great treat!! I finally got to meet the two guys that I have heard so much about but best of all, their arrival brought about one of the famous Steve smiles. I'm sure you have seen one or two of them.
Other than Steve apparently spending the majority of the day trying to negotiate his release things have been going well. He has been working on Sudoku puzzles the past couple days. I have been somewhat hooked on them for the past several months and Steve tried a couple prior to the surgery, it is a really good brain workout. He brought a couple puzzle books with him and he and the speech therapist have been doing them. I blame my friend Jo for getting me hooked on them but if it helps Steve with his "executive function" that's great. He is still a bit focused on that. I do believe it is getting better each day.
We didn't see Dr. Crute on Monday, apparently she is in Honduras. But we did get to see the next best thing, her nurse practitioner, Michelle. We love her too so it was all good. She was pleased with Steve's progress so far. If the neurosurgery people are pleased, we are pleased.
We touched base with the crew in Madison and will be going there Tuesday next week for an MRI and then to see Ian. Keep you posted on the outcome of that. They aren't sure what the next step will be in terms of treatment but will have a better idea once they see Steve.
Steve's doc at rehab said maybe home on Friday, no promises. They have the weekly meeting tomorrow at which time they will discuss his progress and potential discharge date, will know more about that tomorrow.
Following discharge, there will be outpatient therapy, OT/PT and speech. Plus whatever they decide in Madison.
I think that is about everything. It is only Tuesday but a lot has happened this week already. It is somewhat of a whirlwind. Hoping once Steve is home it gets a bit more "normal" guess we wait and see.
As always, thanks for your continued thoughts, prayers and support.
A special heartfelt thanks to Scott and Derrick, your visit meant a lot!! It was also nice to put faces to the names. :)

Peace and Love,

Kim & Steve

Steve's Day Out X2!!

Hello, hope everyone enjoyed Halloween!
Steve had a great Halloween weekend, as did I and the dogs. Both Saturday and Sunday Steve was able to come home!!!
Day passes only he had to go back each night but we made the most of it. Saturday was a trip to the local coffee shop for his favorite sandwich and to touch base with our friends Rocco and Jan, then home for some time with the boys and a nap. Ordered in dinner and on the way back to the hospital went to the local ice cream shop to see Steve's "ice cream girlfriend" for the infamous medium vanilla with twinkle cone.
Sunday was a regular old Sunday for us...breakfast at the cafe, nap and football. Did I mentioned the bears won!! Steve got to log on to his computer at his desk in his office and nap on his "resting couch", all in all a great weekend!
Things are going well in regards to the rehab. Balance is getting better and he is walking pretty well, the left foot gives him some trouble once he starts getting tired but other than that he is doing well. Still focusing on improving the "executive function" they spoke of after one eval but that is coming back too.
His staples came out Friday night, a bit of a surprise to both of us, we thought that was happening on Monday but the order came through and one of the nurses took them out Friday night. I think they wanted them out before he went out on a pass.
Steve is having some pain in his jaw on the left side, he continues to stick with the story that one of the nurses came in at night and popped him in the jaw. I told him if he wouldn't mouth off and if he would just do what they say that wouldn't have happened. It is better than it was just two days ago so, that is a good thing.
We go to Dr. Crute tomorrow morning for a follow up appointment, don't know what she will have to say but we are both eager to talk to her. Also going to contact Madison to see what the next step is with them. Always something.
Overall, things are going pretty well, yeah, I really said that. Given that Steve has been in the hospital (regular or rehab) for over 2 weeks, and has at least a few more days to go, things are going pretty well.
Each day Steve gets stronger and is able to do a little more. We have fantastic friends that call, email, drop in etc. and we have Jeff. Seriously everyone needs a Jeff. I really recommend one. :) Sometime in my life I will find a way to thank him for all that he has done and continues to do during this whole thing. Sometime. While being the rock that keeps Steve in tune with the business and keeps the business rolling, he also keeps me "sane" or as sane as I can be. No small feat there. While doing all this he manages to coach a local football team which just so happened to win their first ever playoff game Saturday!! Way to go Coach!!
Well, I think you are caught up on the happenings of the weekend, overall it was great. I anticipate Steve coming home fairly soon. If we get any funky info from Dr. Crute, I'll let you know. I'll also keep you posted on Steve's homecoming date.
Thanks again for all the love, support, prayers and warm thoughts you have sent our way, they are appreciated and they are working.
Peace and Love,

Kim & Steve

Steve's Status

Sorry for the delay on updating, it has been a hectic week.
Steve is doing okay and has transferred to a rehab facility to work on regaining some strength and motor skills. When he heard it may be for two weeks, that didn't sit so well with him, he wants to be back to work, the gym etc. He has gotten his head around it and is waiting to get things started.
The rehab plan is pretty much a full time job. Steve will be having occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech therapy. Both OT & PT will be twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Speech is once daily.
This has been quite a bit different from the recovery from the first surgery. We have been told this is much more typical. As we heard following the first surgery, Steve's recovery and handling of the major surgery was somewhat "freakish", actually they just said it was not the typical response. What we are seeing now is much more typical. Typical or not, it doesn't make it any easier. Since Steve and I both thought his recovery would be like the other one, we are coming to terms with the reality of this time.
He is still focused on regaining his strength and getting back to his routine day-to-day business. He is doing better each day and is super motivated.
Monday is day one of therapy, I'll blog either Monday or Tuesday to let you know how it is going.
Your thoughts, prayers and support mean a great deal to both of us. Keep them coming and know that we appreciate it.

Peace,

Kim

Post Op update

You'll have to excuse the lack of Steve's witty comments and quips, you've got me "filling in" while he is recouping. But, I wanted to update everyone so you knew what was happening on this end.
First, I just read Steve's blog post from this morning, can I just say he is remarkable and quite honestly he makes me a better person. That being said let me catch you up.
Dr. Crute is as we thought a remarkable surgeon but most of all remarkable person. Again she took the time to explain things prior to the surgery as well as after. It truly helps a lot to have someone explain what they are doing so you can understand, I am immensely grateful to her for her honesty and don't know how we would have made it this far without her.
The surgery went well, the enhancing "thing" had grown from the time of the scan, it ended up being 1.7 cm but Dr. Crute got it as well as some other "residual" matter. She removed the aneurysm clips from the previous surgery and things went well.
I left the hospital a little before 10:00 p.m. and Steve was resting. He has been struggling a bit with coming out of the anesthesia, Dr. Crute did a CT scan it came back ok, she is planning an MRI in the morning.
I am hopeful that tomorrow morning he will be more alert and less groggy. He did talk with me a bit before I left so that was nice.
Those of you who know Steve know, he is a fighter and doesn't stay down long. With the tremendous amount of love and support he has coming from all of you, he'll be back to blogging himself in no time.

So...keep the good thoughts and prayers coming, they are appreciated more than words can say. I'll do my best to keep the blog updated w/ progress. Thanks again for all of the love and support through this challenging time, it has helped us weather the storm thus far.

Peace and Much Love,

Kim & Steve

Surgery Redux

Okay, I did pretty damn good yesterday!

Kept my mind off of the surgery and even made it to the gym. Even got a couple hours sleep last night.

So to keep with this Blog's theme, I thought I would share the mindset that I am in now 4:30am...just a couple hours before my surgery.

Feeling overwhelmed in a really good way by all of the thoughts and prayers sent my way this week. Thank you all! It has really helped keep my head right.

I am not fearing this surgery...I know in my heart its the right thing.

The most prevalent thought running through my head is that I can't wait to wake up from Surgery later this morning and see Kim my beautiful wife smiling back at me! Then I know all my prayers have been answered - in more ways than one.

Peace Out

A slight change in plans

Well, my latest plan was to get a new MRI on 10/20 and evaluate the 'peculiar' spot at that time. Well, after a visit with Dr. Crute, my Neurosurgeon today, we have decided to change the plans.

Next Thursday, I will be going in for Stereotactic Neurosurgery or in the words of my rockstar neurosurgeon...."A Chip Shot" for her. Two years ago it was the size of a tennis ball, this time the tumor is only slightly larger than a pea. It is in the resection cavity, aka, the hole in the temporal side of my head that the first tumor was in. So to stick with the golfisms...this round of golf will be pretty much mini putting. However, it definitely needs to be MULLIGAN Free. :)

Now this surgery should be pretty simple...I mean really, all she needs to do is cut where my other incision was and use a simple little CRAFTSMAN PHILLIPS HEAD SCREWDRIVER to unscrew the plate from last time and use a common spoon to dig the tumor out...NO PROBLEM! A CHIP SHOT!

Now thankfully, Dr. Crute is the Tiger Woods of Neurosurgical golf so this should not be a problem. However, if she had the golf skills of my business partner Jeff "SHANKAPOTTOMUS" Carpenter...we would have issues.

As you can tell, I have a pretty good attitude about this. I believe strongly that this is the right decision. Removing the tumor is ALWAYS the best case option when Glioblastoma Multiforme Tumors are involved. These thing are nasty as hell and can quadruple in size in weeks not months. I have a great team of doctors and an even better support team.

I will only be in the hospital for a couple days, and be recovering for about 2 weeks before I am back to work and 6 weeks until I am back to my new normal. The benefit this time is that I have the opportunity to manage my schedule which makes me feel better from a business standpoint.

All is good! If this is all we have to do every couple years, then so be it! I feel great and "Damn It Feels Good to be me!" (If you don't know the reference...check this link out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFLIxnbmO5E ) Quickly becoming my new theme song.

I will keep you all informed! Thank you for your Prayers!

PEACE OUT!

It looks a little Peculiar...

Well, when two of Dem Smart Docs look at your MRI and tell you that it looks a little peculiar, it may sound a little alarming, but when they let you go home and tell you that we will look at it in 6 weeks, it feels a little more like tooth decay than tumor recurrence. :)

So they found a little spot in my MRI yesterday. According to Dr. Robbins and Dr. Mehta, it looks a little peculiar. Peculiar because it doesn't seem to act or look like tumor recurrence, but they don't know what it is. It could be Necrotic "dead" tissue, or what the hell...maybe a fly flew through the MRI field when they took the picture.

So, I go back in six weeks for another MRI Check.

So, here is the deal....I am not worried....you shouldn't worry! I feel great and am probably in better shape than I have been in years! We have been going at this all along as a chronic disease that we treat as needed. We have no idea what this is, but worst case scenario, we treat it.

This little speck on an MRI can't be nearly as difficult to fight as that tennis ball they took out a couple years ago! :)

So thank you as always for your prayers and thoughts, life is good and I am not going anywhere....except for a Sales Call later today! :)

Peace Out!