Friday, August 9, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
Boyd
Dear Friends and Family,
Thank you for all of your prayers and encouraging thoughts. Boyd had brain surgery on July 31, 2013 to remove a cancerous brain tumor.
Brief timeline of events:
Sunday, July 28: Boyd became dizzy and disoriented at church. His vision became like a tunnel and he didn't have spacial awareness on his left side. We left early and called 9-1-1. The ambulance driver and ER doctor thought he was having an ibuprofen overdose. Boyd's right hip needs replacing and he took a lot of ibuprofen to relieve pain. Boyd felt pretty stupid and was released.
Monday, July 29: We visited Boyd's doctor and X-rays were completed on his hip. Boyd still felt nauseous, dizzy, disoriented and his depth perception was off. Tuesday, July 30: Boyd awoke me and exclaimed he had the worst headache of his life. He couldn't walk to the bathroom or keep food down. We went to the ER and a CAT scan was completed. His brain was swollen and a spot was noticed. Later he was transported to Sunnyside Medical Center. After an MRI we met with a neurosurgeon and he explained that the tumor was in a precarious place. He wasn't sure he could remove it and felt a biopsy was the best choice. Wednesday, July 31: Another MRI was completed with better imaging and the neurosurgeon now felt he could remove the tumor. The surgery was 3 hours long and a 3 inch by 1 1/2 inch GBM glioblastoma multiforme tumor was removed. This type of tumor is the fastest growing type of brain tumor with its own blood supply. It is so aggressive that it doubles in size in 2 weeks. Miraculously Boyd came out of surgery with good strength in his left side, complete vision, cognitive awareness and a sense of humor. Thursday, August 1: After another MRI the neurosurgeon noticed that 5 percent of the tumor was left. He was disappointed that he hadn't gotten all of it. In addition, these types of tumors have finger cells that are impossible to remove. Boyd's doctor wasn't sure whether he should perform an additional surgery. After thinking about it all day and consulting one of my childhood friends (Reid Thompson a neurosurgeon at Vanderbilt) he decided surgery was too risky. Saturday, August 3: Boyd had the oxycodone cocktail for a couple of days and then was released to recuperate at home. We are so thankful for all of your phone calls, emails, texts and messages through face book, yet right now Boyd needs to sleep and get ready for chemotherapy and radiation. Additionally, when he talks about everything that has happened he becomes choked up and is unable to rest. Please use this blog to read updates on Boyd's health and communicate or leave messages for Boyd. Thank you for your continued prayers! Love, Boyd and Deanna
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