Our babies: They are getting the worst of this. Again, we basically had to abandon them twice during my surgeries. We decided that when we travel to Duke in July they are coming with us, and will attend a child education class on what I am going through. They are encountering lots of stress. Elijah (6) best expresses it by acting out and getting attention, and Liam (8) goes into what I call "squirrel mode" by keeping himself engaged by running back and forth around the house and spewing out random facts.
Medical personnel:
Boyd: Nurse who works for Dr. Jiang. Has been indispensable as a communication hub between here, Forbes and Duke.
Dr. Jiang: My primary care physician. Basically the center of the team. He is very thorough, knows what I am going through, and cares about me.
Dr. Snedeker: Head of the Forbes ER. It seemed like few things were harder for him than delivering horrible news to me and my family. He visited me several times before and after the surgery, which I won't forget.
Dr. Julian: The neurosurgeon who performed the first surgery. There are 4,400 neurosurgeons in the United States, and supposedly 125 who know how to complete a successful surgery. Like a lot of surgeons, he had a tendecy to be arrogant, but that usually means he knows what he is doing. I think he was one of the 125, because he was the head of Allegheny's neuro department, and was a fellow at Sloane Kettering hospital. Needless to say, he was happy when I told him that Dr. Friedman at Duke told him I had a good, clean surgery. Also. Jaci told him that he literally saved my life.
Maureen: Dr. Julian's PA. Even though she caused me unspeakable pain, I am still grateful for her help and prayers.
Mary: One of the few good nurses I had following the surgery. She kept telling me I would live forever because Jaci would keep fighting for me.
Dr. Lieb: The local oncologist in State College. Very friendly, knowledgeable, and is up on his research. Is more than willing to work with Duke. Since my treatment will be here, he will be taking more of an active role. As far as I am concerned, that's a good thing.
Dr. Patel: Radiation oncologist in State College. Young, friendly and thorough. Hopefully radiation treatment will be bearable with him.
Dr. Vlanovic: Neuro oncologist at Duke. Our consultation was literally her last day. However, she was able to tell me I had an IDH1 mutation, meaning the tumor may have developed over several years. IDH1 patients have a significantly longer life than most glioblastoma patients. This news alone made it worth the trip, as did the fact that they will monitor me after the initial treatment, and suggest trials and other possible life-prolonging measures.
Others:
Pastor Mark: Has been unbelievably helpful. (see a future post on my religious journey). Traveled to Pittsburgh to see us and prayed with us the night before the surgery.
Fred and Sandy: Jaci's parents. I think of them as parents, and they think of me as a son. They end up with the kids more than they should. Most of the burden falls on them. We really can't repay them.
Other family: Jaci's family thinks of me as family, and have taken me in. My aunt spent the week with Jaci while I was in the hospital. Others have done us huge favors, ranging from assembling furniture and heavy lifting. Our cousin dropped me a bunch of DVDs to watch while sitting around. I really wanted to watch Die Hard With a Vengeance, and, lo and behold, he gave us the special edition. It was a rare copy that even had the alternate ending, which the studio tried to hide.
Aunt Val and Uncle Biff: Thanks for the company and the love. We are looking forward to hopefully seeing you in November!
Graham and Robin: It is always fun to geek out with Graham as we watched Star Wars and other stuff. It was also great to talk to Robin, a teacher, about the "Marzano Research Institute," which promotes a 67-point research based plan based on common-sense concepts like grading, putting learning objectives on the wall, using a point system of 1-3 to assess the mastery of the objectives (separate from the letter grade), collecting needless data, and celebrating success. It turns out all this "research" is internal. So, the conclusion I came to is that I agree with Mark Twain that there are lies, damn lies, and statistics.
Makayla and Emma: We love you and are proud of you. Sorry you are caught up in this whole mess.
Other friends: Countless friends from high school, college, former co-workers and others have reached out with gift cards and dinners.
The congregation at Grace United Methodist: The church sent us many love offerings, too many. Also lots of sympathy cards.
The Hope Fund: Thanks to amazing co-workers donating holidays, I am still getting paid, but Jaci isn't. The fund is covering rent and car insurance.
TJ and Kathy: TJ is another warrior. He was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer 14 years ago. He was given a year to live, but is still very much here. Always a good person to talk to about my feelings and other issues. TJ's wife Kathy is still a patient advocate for TJ and relates to Jaci very well.
Mandy: A natural-born leader who has rallied several people in the community. Organized a raffle that will literally raise thousands of dollars for us, as well as a food drive. Also went to Hershey with us, and has spent lots of quality time with Jaci. I hope someone recognizes her talents.
Erik Weber: A friend since high school, and another warrior kicking cancer's butt. Sadly, his non-Hodgkins Lymphoma came out of remission and he has a difficult course of treatment coming up. He is in all of our prayers.
Sara: Our chauffeur and babysitter during our latest trip to Duke. I can't thank her enough for the ride and support.
Joe Biden and Michael Bloomberg: The former vice president lost his son, Beau, to brain cancer a few years ago. He and the former New York mayor donated $1.25 billion to the Duke brain cancer center, hoping for a brain cancer "moonshot." Unlike some other problems, throwing money at cancer research will do some good.
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