3/28/2004

As Scott stated in his last update, we are so thankful for everyone’s help, encouragement and especially prayer. The little notes we receive at scooterscoop really mean a lot to us. I wish we were able to give out more updates but we have been exhausted with all the doctors appointments, phone calls and research.

First, I want to state this. This cancer is a heavy burden. In dealing with it, I think at times Scott is much stronger than I am and many of you who have talked with him know what I’m talking about. He amazes me. I can only believe that God is truly answering your prayer to sustain us and lift us and keep our eyes focused on HIM. A friend shared this verse with us and I hope it encourages you folks who are praying for us. ‘Matthew 7:9-11 “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?” Please please don’t stop praying for us. It appears now that we have a long road ahead.

We saw Dr. Raizer, the neuro-oncologist, this past Thursday and he gave us the final details of Scott’s latest pathology review. They’ve concluded that Scott has a cancerous astrocytoma (level III) and not a mixed tumor. This means he won’t be eligible for the stem-cell rescue procedure. Instead they are suggesting a course of radiation, which he will receive daily for about a month and a half (not including weekends) and at the same time begin chemotherapy, which he will remain on for 1 to 2 years. As long as the remaining tumor does not grow or it SHRINKS (pray for that!) or it disappears (really pray for that!!) they will consider the treatments successful. Scott will have MRI’s taken every two months in order to monitor this. They want to begin as soon as possible. We know that the radiation and chemo will cause him fatigue, especially the first three months. We are also told that there could be some long term side effects to the radiation. Please pray for these things.

We are heading out to the east coast this week for second opinions from some of the top brain tumor specialists in the world. They will review everything and give us and Dr. Raizer their recommendations for treatment. We’ll let you know how it goes.

Michele, Scott and Josephine

A brief update:



First of all, I want to thank every one of you for your love, compassion and prayerful hearts for me and my family. It’s incredible encouraging and powerful to us! Physically, I’m improving every day from my surgery in such a way that continues to impress everyone who’s had the opportunity to spend time with me. It’s definitely strange to think that I’m missing a part of my brain, but hey, I’ve always enjoyed being a goofball anyway. The truth is that I’m really doing quite well even though recovering from any kind of surgery is a bit of a trial. The most difficulty for me right now to completely recover my short term memory, I regularly seem to be scratching my head to remember certain issues and titles or names, but I’ve been told that in six weeks I should be quite recovered. In the mean time I’m using a recorder and note book to keep me as much on track as possible.



Spiritually, I’m using my free time to refocus much of my life of the Lord through prayer and Bible reading and I’m really excited about it. I haven’t been able to see the movie “The Passion” but I’ve really enjoyed reading through the gospel of John and now Luke. If you’ve never read through John in two days you’re missing out on the flow and the context! It’s like a new revelation all the way.



I want to keep this short so I should wrap this up with my prayer request at this point. I’m meeting with my Neuro Oncologist tomorrow and will learn the details of the analysis of my cancerous tumor and thoroughly discuss his recommendations for treatment. Then we will need to schedule second opinions with someone else probably out of state. Please pray for wisdom and guidance through this process, but also for God’s intervention for healing right away! I believe God still has a purpose and calling on my life for his will.



In Christ’s Love,

Dear Friends -
I would like to give a brief update on the news we received today from our visit with Scott's neurosurgeon and neuro-oncologist. We hope to provide more details on the prognosis and how people can pray for us in the next few days as we sort through this.

Right now what we know is this. Scott's tumor was composed of two different types of tumor cells. One called an oligodendroglioma and another called an astrocytoma. In each type they found level 2 and level 3 grade cells. That means a combination of cancerous (3) and non-cancerous (2) but they treat the tumor at the highest level of tumor grade found, so Scott does have a cancerous brain tumor. It looks like he will certainly be undergoing chemotherapy starting in a few weeks and depending on some further study of the tumor they may also recommend he undergo an intense procedure of harvesting his stem cells, killing everything off and replacing them with his own. That would mean 3-4 weeks in the hospital.

In the end, I wish we could say more now but we are quite pooped and need to actually obtain some sleep. We really do want to continue to thank all of you for your love, support and encouragment which is making such a profound impact in our lives that we can barely explain it. We are dramatically empowered and encouraged in the showering of your love, affection and profound prayers. I wish we could really communicate what we're feeling, without having you stand in our shoes! We simply want to thank each of you with the love of Christ for your incredible love and affection. You are truly an incredibly powerful and supernatural role in our lives.

Love,
Michele, Scott and Josephine

March 16, 2004

It’s 6PM on Tuesday night. Josephine is happily jumping up and down in her bouncy chair and Scott has finally settled down for another nap. We are glad to be home but we were a little concerned this morning when it seemed Scott’s left eye and forehead were more swollen than we had seen yet. He also seemed to be experiencing some more “confusion”. We called Dr. Chandler and his nurse Mary Ellen explained that this was totally normal for the swelling to peak at about three to four days after the surgery. Hearing this relieved our worries. Since we’ve been home Scott’s been trying to rest and manage the pain and our expectation is that after today the healing process will get easier with each day. One of the joys of today was that Scott got to take his first real shower and wash his hair!! Mark that off your prayer list! He was getting a little grizzly.

I want to share a story that testifies to my husband’s character and Gods grace. On Sunday morning, as I got ready to go to the hospital, I was feeling very sad and discouraged. I tried to shake it and pray through it and rationalize it away but I wasn’t very successful. When I arrived at the hospital, Scott was also having a difficult morning due to the pain. We were a sorry lot. Soon after I arrived, his nurse, who I hadn’t met yet, came in to check Scott’s vitals. I asked her if Scott had shown her pictures of Josephine yet. (He had shown everyone who entered his room!) She sat down on the sofa to look at the pictures and began to tell us about her own two teenage children. They were each going through a difficult period of teenage rebelliousness and depression and she was struggling with feeling responsible. We listened for a while and then Scott asked if we could pray for her. She welcomed the invitation. We sat down beside her and began to pray for her and her children. Soon the tears started to fall as God was lifting her spirit and strengthening her! When we finished, she was so grateful. After she left I realized that my spirit had been lifted and strengthened too! In that moment God had shown me so many different things. I was reminded about the way he cares for us through caring for one another, His sovereign control over all of this, and how in the end it’s not about us but about Him. I wouldn’t have had that experience if it weren’t for my husband who, in spite of his pain, took that opportunity to pray for his nurse. I hope this letter doesn’t embarrass him (because I’m bragging so much) but he is my precious gift from God and I’m so proud to be his wife.

Thank you for continuing to care for us with your prayers, help and encouragement. Thursday is the day we get the pathology report and learn what we need to do from here.

God Bless You,
Michele

Hello Everyone,

Jennifer and I had the opportunity to visit Scott last night at the hospital,
and in short, he's doing pretty well. His brother Steve was there, as well as
his parents, for about our first 30 minutes. After they left, we talked for
another hour and walked with Scott all over the floor he's on. Much of the time was spent with a fellow patient and her family who were thrilled to see Scott walking around. We were all in her room--she had surgery on her entire spinal column--laughing and enjoying God's good graces.

Scott looked good--well, he does need to wash his hair or he's going to start
looking like a candidate for American Idol--he moved well and his conversation
was great. There were a couple little "memory" moments where he couldn't think of a word, but most people wouldn't even notice that. His humor is there, and when we were with his fellow patient, the evangelist came out again. It was a really blessed evening.

Keep praying for Scott. He and Michele are still waiting for the results of the
tests which should be available on Thursday. These results will determine the
direction of Scott's after-surgery treatment. They are obviously concerned
about this and we should direct many of our prayers to their peace during the
waiting period.

O, I almost forgot the good news: Scott most likely will be going home today! So, keep those encouraging words and prayers comin' in. Thank you all for your support.

Blessings to you all,

David

"I feel like I've been balancing on the edge of a cliff for the last three
weeks. . . and someone just told me I could take a step back."
-Michele Gray (March 12, 2004)


Dear friends,
I must be brief so I can get back to the hospital but I wanted to give everyone the update on how Scott's surgery went yesterday. He didn't go into surgery until 2PM but he was in recovery by 6PM. The waiting was difficult but I was relieved when we finally saw Dr. Chandler coming out to give us Scott's report. He said the surgery went well and very much as he expected. He removed as much of the tumor as possible including a difficult area that was pushing up against his brain stem. There is still a small portion in an area they cannot operate on without surely leaving Scott with permanent brain damage. From what Dr. Chandler could tell, the brain tumor does appear to be benign but we'll get the full report by possibly Thursday of next week. Scott came out of the anesthesia talking and was able to put together sentences. This is really good!! We don't know yet if his short term memory has been affected but even if it is, it might only be temporary. I am so happy about all this news. I know that God was with Scott and the surgery team. I kept praying that the Lord would guide the surgeon’s hands and that he would remove "not too much, not too little". I feel confident that this prayer has been answered. I was able to talk with Scott a bit last night in the ICU and his silly charming sweet personality is still there despite the heavy dose of pain killers. Praise God!!! The doctor thinks he is going to recover well and will probably move him to the regular neurology floor today.

Keep praying for his recovery and the upcoming pathology report on the tumor.

We are so grateful to all of you and will keep you updated!

All our love,
Scott, Michele and Josephine

To All the Wonderful Family and Friends at scooterscoop,



Thank you so much for all the incredible encouragement you are. I am thoroughly grateful to hear your words of encouragement and blessing. I pray the Lord will repay each one of you in this life and the next for all of the prayers, kindness and support you’ve shown us. Thank you so much!



One important note: I do currently read all of the email sent to scootercoop@comcast.net

It’s just that it will be much easier to have someone else monitor the mail box and send out updates during my early recovery. (Thanks Dave and Jen for running the email, and Nicolle for arranging and scheduling all the babysitting and help! I also have thank – and smooch – Michele for being an amazing wife and support!)



I would really like to encourage all of you who are praying for me. I’ve received many wonderful stories of successful surgeries and recoveries. I’ve even received one story from a friend who had a dangerous tumor that actually disappeared through the power of prayer. Please pray that happens for me!



I feel very confident that everything is going to go well and that God has further plans for me in this life. If you came over to our house recently you might be surprised to find Michele and me joking and laughing and enjoying ourselves. We see no reason to give in to fear or worry. That’s the enemy’s territory and we aren’t going to let him steal one day. The truth is that although we don’t understand all of God’s ways, we do know one thing: God is good all the time! No matter the circumstances.



One reality that is coming clearer all the time to me through this is found in James 4:14 “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” It’s become more a reality to me that time is short, no matter if I live for 40 more years or not. I want to make my life count for Christ and now is the time for me to be serving Him and others. Frankly, I’m excited about that. When I was on the Neurology floor I kind of wandered from room to room and chatted with my fellow patients and had a blast. Before I left each room I asked them if I could pray for them and I didn’t get one “no”. I prayed with them right there and each one was so grateful it makes me wonder why I would’ve been nervous about doing that in the past. Regardless, I’m really enjoying serving God in stepping out and reaching other people. It’s fun. You have to try it!



So, please keep me in your prayers, and don’t be afraid to pray for this to dissolve. No matter what happens, I know God is good all the time and your love and concern is a powerful demonstration of that.



With Christ’s love,







Scott

For those of you who are interested in the details of what’s happening the next few days you can read the following. It’s kind of boring though.



The Surgery



On Friday morning I will undergo surgery to remove the tumor at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. They won’t be able to remove the entire tumor, but the results of my MRI, MRA indicate it is quite likely I have a benign rather than cancerous tumor. After it is removed it will be thoroughly analyzed in the pathology lab to determine its nature. The results will determine whether I will need to undergo immediate chemotherapy or whether my Doctors will be able to wait and see how the tumor behaves over the long run. It is entirely possible that this tumor is slow growing and I’ve had it for over 25 years (or longer). If that’s the case we can probably wait to determine what action will be best.



The Recovery



The bottom line for the short term is that the surgery itself doesn’t appear to be all that dangerous although it’s a bit daunting for me. I will be in surgery for roughly two to three hours and then 24 hours in the ICU. I will then move to the Neurological ward for two to five days and then will be able to return home. Immediately after the surgery I will have a lapse in short term memory while my brain retrains itself and probably some loss in peripheral vision in one eye. I understand that it will be approximately six weeks until I’m back to full thinking and study mode and able to return to work. (Michele says that doesn’t mean I get to slack on my laundry duties. Heh, heh. Always a comedian!)



The strange thing about all of this for me is that except for a small headache right now I feel pretty everyday normal. (OK, OK, fill in your own personal joke comments HERE – and if you don’t I’ll be disappointed!)

March 5, 2004

Dear Friends and Family,

Many of you have been expressing your love and concern for Michele, Josephine and me over the last few weeks. Thank you so much! For others of you this letter will come as first news and a surprise about the recent events that have been surrounding our lives. In either case, we are praising God for our friends and family that care for us so deeply. My intent in this letter is to answer the many questions you have about my (Scott’s) health and let you know exactly how you can pray for us and help us.

The bottom line is that I (Scott) need to have brain surgery. The Doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago (one of the world’s finest facilities) have just last week discovered a tumor in my left front temporal lobe and will attempt to remove it the morning of March 12th. Thereafter the tumor will undergo analysis in the lab and in five days we should know if it is fast growing and cancerous or slow growing and benign. My Doctor expects that it will be a level two benign tumor on a scale of 1 – 4 with level one being the best case scenario, while the level four would be the worst. The difficulty is that Neurosurgeon Dr. James Chandler will be able to remove most of but not quite the entire tumor without causing damage to my past memories and ability to speak. There is a reasonable chance however; that if the tumor is not totally benign and slow growing that chemotherapy will be able to knockout the sliver that extends into the rear portion of my temporal lobe. If it’s a level one tumor we’ll be able to leave it alone and it won’t affect me much at all for the foreseeable future.

The good news is that – at least I’m told – the portion of the brain that is being removed is among the least necessary parts of the brain and that it shouldn’t affect me in the long run. (Personally I get the feeling I need all the brain power I can get, while my Dad tells me not to worry because they won’t find much in there anyway!) Despite the difficulties we still love to laugh as often as possible! I may have some difficulty with short term memory for awhile but the brain is a marvelous instrument and will quickly adjust. I am hopeful that I will be able to return to my regular roles as husband and father rather quickly.

It would be an overstatement to say that I’m not afraid or nervous however. I fully believe in my heart Paul’s writing in Philippians 1:21 which states “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” but I am also fearful about the possibility of leaving behind my lovely wife whom is an incredible source of joy and influence in my life and my precious seven month old daughter. I ache to be a strong, significant and supporting husband and father for a long, long time! I love them so much and pray constantly that I can be here for them and I believe I will be. God isn’t done with me yet and there’s so much more I believe He has for me to do!

One thing we would ask you to do for us right now is pray, but please do not call! We appreciate all of the support and love but we are being swamped with phone calls and it’s extremely tiring emotionally and physically. We are so grateful for the love and support we are receiving, it is awesome and overwhelming, but we’re on the phone too much. Please don’t feel we don’t appreciate your efforts, it’s just that trying to explain what’s happened on the phone all day long is simply overwhelming. Fortunately, we do have a few friends who have given us suggestions on how to handle all of this.