From Dr. Klopfenstein appt today

We met with Dr Klopfenstein this morning and he explained more of the anatomical details regarding the tumor and how he would approach the surgery.  He said the tumor could possibly have been there for some time, perhaps years.  He wants us to meet with Dr. Klemons (an Ear, Nose, Throat specialist) to explore the possibility of his involvement during surgery.  That appt is not scheduled yet, but hopefully early next week.

We had been leaning towards the more aggressive surgery option, but after he explained more of the details, we wanted more time to consider it.  There is a possibility of it affecting eye movement, speech, eating and requiring significant rehab.

He gave us more expectations regarding surgery.  The day before surgery would be the embolization (where they block off the blood vessels to the tumor).  The surgery is a 6-12 hour procedure, he said basically it's the most involved surgery you can have.  Then 3-7 days in the hospital (first part in ICU), followed by at least a month of recovery at home.  Depending upon how the surgery goes, there could be significant additional rehab required.

As far as any post-surgery radiation, those plans will be made once we are past the surgery.  There is a local tumor board that would review the case and decide the plans for that stage.  If it turned out to be cancerous, then an oncologist would become involved.

Surgery will probably be later this month.  Thanks for your prayers so far, and please continue to pray that we can have direction and peace regarding treatment decisions.  God has been speaking to us and working in our hearts through this time.  It has drawn us closer together, and we are realizing more than ever what FAITH really is.

Love,
Derek & Leann, Lexi, Wesley, and Whitley