4 Steps Forward, 2 Back

Dear Family and Friends,

Darn...we are not home. The roller coaster ride continues. 4 steps forward, 2 back. Cody developed a fever and headaches Wednesday and they have continued since. We have taken a CAT scan of his brain Thursday which showed what appears to be fluid build up on his brain. Today he had an MRI on his brain and spine to get a closer look as to the possible cause.

They are saying that some portions of a couple of vessels his brain appear to be enflamed a bit which may cause brain fluid to block, hence the headaches. The purpose of the MRI was to rule out any new tumors. In fact, they are at bay; there are no new ones and they appear to be, at worst case, the same size, best case a bit smaller than the MRI of a couple of weeks ago. So very grateful for that. We are waiting to have the neurosurgeon have a look at the MRI to get his opinion..which may not happen until Monday. There is some talk of maybe putting in a shunt to help drain the fluid to relieve the pressure. Part of the set backs could be from weaning off so many medications at the same time. ????

Another bit of good news is his white counts are up and total ANC level (a calculation of many things) are up too. Platelets are struggling a bit, but overall things are looking up in that department.

The two steps back is that now that he is off steroids, his appetite has waned quite a bit, his pain is back so had to pump back up his continuous pain medication and he wants to sleep all of the time and this unknown headache thing. We have made some progress with physical and occupational therapy. But, since his pain is back, it is difficult for him to do physical therapy.

Cody continues to have a good sense of humor, when he is awake. Which is a great gift. A small example: Cody's face was all puffy from the steroids..Dave was trying to make light of it by telling Cody he now looks more like Dave. His response? "Not really, I have a skinny bum and tummy." ouch!

This is the update for now and are hopeful that next week will bring more steps forward. You all have been so faithful about keeping us in your prayers......thank you.

The Days