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| Morning of surgery |
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| Day after surgery |
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| Welcome Home, Daddy! |
It's been a while since we've updated Jon's blog. The last time you heard from us, Jon was nearing the completion of chemotherapy at the end of September 2015 and preparing for the National Brain Tumor Society Long Island Brain Tumor Walk with his team Tumor Tacklers. We raised over $11,000 and walked with 80+ team members who showed up to support Jon in his fight. November's MRI showed a stable tumor and we went into the holidays with relief that treatment was behind us and excitement over planning a first time trip to Disney the following fall with the kids.
Jon's scan three months later (February 2016) showed that the tumor was growing again. We left the oncologist's office in shock, but hopeful that the MRI in four weeks wouldn't show any more growth. Jon got the flu, so the MRI was moved to six weeks later. As much as we tried to prepare ourselves for the appointment, we weren't prepared to hear not only that the tumor had grown in those six weeks, but that Jon would immediately begin radiation/low dose chemo followed by 6 months of high dose chemo. We left the appointment knowing the oncologist had reached out to Jon's surgeon, but he thought it was unlikely that surgery would be an option. The next day, we were told Jon would be having his third craniotomy, just one year after his last one.
Once again, our world was turned upside down...the next week was spent making arrangements at work, going to doctor appointments, celebrating Tom's 9th birthday and worst of all, telling the kids. Their responses were appropriate...anger, sadness, fear, anxiety. They felt all the same things we were feeling. All the things we didn't want to say out loud because if we did, we might fall apart. There is no time to fall apart...just brief floods of tears followed by getting back to business as usual. Survival mode...
On April 26th, Jon underwent his third craniotomy with Dr. Gutin, chair of neurosurgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering. While last year, his mood was determined and positive, this time, Jon seemed defeated and lost. His smile and shining eyes filled with worry and fear. Somehow, this time felt more like the first one all over again. Jon was in surgery for almost 7 anxiety filled hours. After three days in the hospital receiving incredibly compassionate care, he returned home to the loving arms of Maggie and Thomas. Now, he focuses on recovering from surgery and prepares to start radiation and chemo as planned. His smile is still rare, but he puts on a happy face for visitors and phone calls. You see, the road ahead is daunting, knowing he will feel tired and nauseous, struggle with eating and trying to grow his hair back, being the dad, husband, friend, son and co-worker he wants to be. For now, we are trying to take it one day at a time...as best as we can.
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