First, a most important note: Tegan’s MRI was cancelled at the last minute by insurance (no comment) – it’s now been moved to another location next Thursday. She’s doing okay at the moment, walking a bit more, getting wheelchair rides, etc. Let it be said that she is almost comically tough though, so it’s hard to say what’s really going on there …
As for myself, we’re at a temporary stretch where the medical portion of the updates are getting a little complicated, as they zero in on this thing. If you’re not into the details, I completely understand – you can walk away now with the following PET scan results: mixed-bag results, some good things for sure, some things that may or may not be so good, a lot is still unknown.
If you’re interested in a little more detail, here you go: lymphoma is probably off the table as lymph nodes aren’t lighting up on the scan; it doesn’t appear to have spread any further than the primary tumors in the chest and to the lungs; there are multiple tumors in the chest, including two big ones; the two big ones appear very different on the scan – one lights up, one almost appears like dead tissue; all tumors globbed together are about the size of a regulation softball (I know, the balls keep getting bigger), but shaped more like a Demogorgon (see Stranger Things); they seem to be narrowing this down to thymic (of one kind or another) or a germ cell tumor, both of which are insanely rare – like maybe 400-500 thym/year in US and even less for germ cells (at least germ cell tumors originating in the chest); the biopsy tomorrow will tell us what kind of cells (maybe multiple types) we’re dealing with; from there, we’ll have to come up with a plan pretty quick, including where/who is treating, and how; bottom line: it hasn’t spread all over, and it’s probably not lymphoma – when someone tells you those things, you should, no doubt, smile! Only caveat is that many types of lymphoma (even those that have spread quite a bit), are highly treatable. Thymus tumors and germ cell tumors? Think super rare … a little more challenging finding experienced docs to treat … a little hazier on what treatments are effective depending on exact types, etc. BOTTOM BOTTOM BOTTOM (need I say, bottom) LINE: I have 100% faith in God’s plan, and this thing is completely open-ended. I am not a doctor, but I have recently attended the Graber Hammock School of Medicine (as in lying in the hammock all day, splitting my time between prayer, reading medical papers, and teaching myself to read PET scans). ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN AT ANY MOMENT IN THIS JOURNEY. I firmly believe, in fact, it’s possible they will stick those needles into my chest tomorrow and find the tumors are nothing more than coagulated Diet Mountain Dew (the one that “lights up” really is a spot-on color match – a neon, highlighter green color).
Now for the important stuff. I am not a social media guy. I have zero presence on FB, Twitter, etc. etc. I do actually have a YouTube channel where years ago I posted our end-of-season Upper Loudoun Youth Football Team videos (Go Bulldogs!). Despite the fact they are AWESOME, I believe that channel only has two subscribers – both from New Zealand, for some reason. I do have an Instagram account with about 40-50 followers/friends/buddies (whatever they’re called) but it’s really just a place for me to post videos of myself acting stupid in adventure races, around the house, with the kids, etc. But let this be said: I really dig CaringBridge! Are you kidding me??? A form of social media where I have a captive audience, and I’m the only one who can really post content? I apologize in advance for abusing this power. For many of you who know me well, you know I’m also a “writer” (man, that sounds really cringy, but I suppose I am). I’ve been writing since I was a kid, beginning with my own Magnum P.I. episodes when I was 12 or so. Academic papers (grad school many years ago), essays, short stories, novels, screenplays – my computer and filing cabinets are stuffed with them. There may come a time when some of these bonified masterpieces see the light of day … two novels are close, and one screenplay was in pre-production when our friendly global virus showed up. In the meantime, I’m afraid you may be destined to absorb the brunt of my creative musings. I promise not to paste a 500-page novel into this site, but you might see me dumping my thoughts on past experiences and how they relate to this current journey right here, in these journal entries. PLEASE IGNORE AT WILL. And I mean that, sincerely. These ramblings are, admittedly, for me – regardless of audience or lack thereof, writers gotta write.
Much peace, love, and thanks to you all for the amazing outpouring of prayers, love and support. I’ll let you know how the biopsy goes (I’ve read where if it is, indeed, Diet Mountain Dew in there, they simply counter it with an IV of Diet Coke) …