9/01 - I'll have a Burger with that Fry...

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Thursday, September 01, 2005
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Have you ever heard anyone talk about Army life? One of the
sayings I’ve heard come from those folks is, “Hurry up and wait.”
I think we’re in that situation now. Today we had the ‘big’
meeting with the oncology doctor up at the hospital. Son #4 wasn’t
too happy about going back there. He’s normally very outgoing with
strangers, and was for the first few people in the doctor’s
office, but after the doctor came in and talked to us for 20
minutes, he had had enough. He just curled up in a ball on my
sweet wife’s lap. When the doctor wanted to test his strength in
both hands by squeezing her fingers, he just started to cry and
refused.

Anyway, the pathologists at the university think it’s a low grade
ependymoma. But, because it was in the supratentorial part of the
brain, (top and side) which is very unusual for an ependymoma
(they’re normally at the base of the brain, around the spinal
column) they wanted to make sure they got the type exactly right.
(So, if you ever plan to have a brain tumor, order the
supratentorial kind, not tentorial kind in the back of your
brain.) Our docs sent a chunk of it off to Johns Hopkins in
Maryland to a supposedly renowned tumor reader dude named Dr.
Peter Burger. Ok, for a tumor reader dude, the internet says he’s
pretty cool.

Director of the Neuropathology Surgical Consultation
Services, [at Johns Hopkins] Dr. Peter Burger is one of the
world's leading authorities in the interpretation of surgical
specimens of brain and spinal cord tumors in adults and
children. He has extensive experience in interpreting
stereotactic needle biopsies.

So the docs want to wait for his answer. (He was on a two week
vacation and just returned on Tuesday). Anyway, the surgeon said
they got a gross total resection (GTR) of son #4’s tumor (all of
it that they could see with the surgical microscope) but that
there could still be a few cells left in the ‘tumor bed’. If we
were to go now on what our pathologists say, they would have us
decide between leaving it, and checking often with MRIs, or (what
they recommend) spot radiation treatments for 5 days a week for 6
weeks. There’s a whole list of side effects that can happen with
radiation treatments. So, I guess its hurry up and wait for Mr.
Burger.

Ok, enough of that stuff. After the Doctor’s appointment we went
to Wendy’s for lunch where son #4 ate everything in site. (He’s
gained 2 pounds since the day before surgery) Then we stopped by
my office where he was showed with, “Oh he’s so cute.” And “What
long eyelashes he has.” He got all sorts of goodies like candy,
toy trucks, and stickers for his helmet. (He’s got it loaded with
truck stickers).

I still say I’d trade places with him in a heartbeat. I love
candy!

Enjoy today’s Jokes!
Marty

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Reader Comment Section:

You have a buffet called CHUCK-O-RAMA???
~Jeffrey G.

[Yeah, sometimes we put “UP” in front of the name...]
[This is the place where last year a 300+ lb Pacific Islander on
the Atkins diet was told by the manager to eat something else
after his 12th trip to the roast beef section. He refused, and
then was asked to leave. He demanded a refund, and ended up being
escorted out of the restaurant by police. We do have some
interesting things happen in Salt Lake...]