Friday, October 16, 2009

"It went as well as it possibly could have."

That is a direct quote from our doctor. He said he couldn't have been more pleased with the results of the surgery! Praise the Lord! He was able to safely remove all of the tumor that was exposed and accessible. There are still parts of the tumor that remain, but everything that he was able to see he was able to remove and with, as of right now, no side effects. What this means is that Karl take the next ten days or so to recover from this surgery then he will begin radiation to remove the parts of the tumor that were unable to be removed surgically.

I asked the doctor if he could give a percentile of the tumor that was removed but with this type of tumor it is impossible to say for sure. One interesting little twist is that the component of Karl's brain that controls his speech is on the right side of his brain, which is common to only about 5% of the US's population. This meant that Karl actually didn't need to be awake during the entire surgery. Whoops. Oh yeah, Karl was awake during the entire surgery. But it makes his recovery much easier since he was awake.

I think we are all a little speechless right now. Now obviously this is just the beginning of a long and tough road to get rid of the rest of the cancer but at this moment its the first good news we have heard in quite awhile.

Thank you all so much for praying. At about 3:00pm today I heard a voice in my head say that Karl's surgery was going to turn out really well. Now whether this was an angel, the holy spirit I don't know but I've never really sensed something quite like that before. It was pretty cool.

Karl will spend the night in the ICU to make sure there is no bleeding in the brain, will hopefully move to a regular observation room at some point this weekend and will be home soon.

Here is a list of things we...well...listed while we were waiting for the doctor

1) Animals that start with the letter "d" (Alan chimed in with door mouse)
2) US Presidents (He forgot Clinton. 65% of you are smiling, 33% are scoffing and 2% are saying who?)
3) State capitals
4) The 1992 Dream Team (Laettner? Really?)
5) SWISS conference schools

I think that's it for right now, but we'll keep you posted.

-Keith

8 comments:

  1. Hallelujah! What a great answer to prayer.

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  2. Glad to hear Karl is doing good and that the surgery went well. We are praying for him, the recovery and for your family. Also, I loved the mention of the SWISS conference schools. :-)

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  3. we prayed several times today for the surgery and will continue. we love your humor and have been cracking up at the wit. we are covering you guys in prayer.
    love, michelle for the toys (i am home at my parents' house for the weekend.)

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  4. all hail karl the conquerer!!! Go big man, go!

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  5. Dear Trish and family,

    You have all been on my heart and mind and my husband and I are concerned for you and praying. We know all too well the journey you are on because of our family's cancer situation in 2007-2008. Here are some practical things I learned and if I can pass along a tip or two that might help you... I remember the waiting, the patience, the praying, and roaming the hospital campus at Northwestern in Chicago. You should treat yourself to Au Bon Pain once in awhile though because it is a yummy treat. I don't know the neighborhood around there, but I did get out every day for a 30-60 min walk during our 5 weeks in and our of the hosp. (that was around Michigan Ave, though, so it was safe and sort of fun). Just stretch and get some fresh air. It will give you the stamina and clarity you need right now. And inquire with the hospital for reduced parking fees - at NMH they reduced the price for longer hospitalizations. Check with American Cancer Society (they probably have an office right there at the hospital) - they will give you cheap hotel rates and assistance with parking and reimbursement for miles driven and special helps like that. Sleep when you can, pray and rest in His tender care. And know that you are all being lifted up in prayer. Take good care of yourselves and each other.

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  6. I am so glad to read that last update. We will be continuing to pray. Thanks for the frequent and humorous updates Keith. On the list of things he had to list I would have been in big trouble on just about all of them. But then you got to the 1992 Dream Team and a felt much more comfortable there.

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