Well, today was a Monday! Monday's are always a little weird, for everyone. At least, everyone I talk to always blame mistakes or oddities are because "It's Monday". Mondays are Mondays.
Enough of my Monday mantra. On to what you avid readers all want: an update on Jordon!!!
Today Jordon had an MRI and blood work done, and then we met with Jordon's "favorite" doctor.
The results in a nutshell: the swelling in his brain is almost completely gone. We got to see his MRI image from December and today. They look like completely different brains. Brains are supposed to have wrinkles, lots and lots of wrinkles. However, Jordon's MRI scan from December showed virtually no wrinkles because of how much pressure was in his brain. There wasn't even room for spinal cord fluid (a normal brain usually has two large pockets of fluid), his December scan showed none!!!!
Enough of my Monday mantra. On to what you avid readers all want: an update on Jordon!!!
Today Jordon had an MRI and blood work done, and then we met with Jordon's "favorite" doctor.
The results in a nutshell: the swelling in his brain is almost completely gone. We got to see his MRI image from December and today. They look like completely different brains. Brains are supposed to have wrinkles, lots and lots of wrinkles. However, Jordon's MRI scan from December showed virtually no wrinkles because of how much pressure was in his brain. There wasn't even room for spinal cord fluid (a normal brain usually has two large pockets of fluid), his December scan showed none!!!!
This is what a brain should look like (note the wrinkles)
This is kind of what Jordon's brain looked like back
in December (note the LACK of wrinkles)
According to the MRI they also got most of the tumor. There is a little area in the front center part of his brain that is still picking up the dye. The doctor can't be 100% sure that it is part of the tumor, or there is a chance that it could just be scar tissue, but with astocytoma glioma's it is better to be safe than sorry, so they will have Jordon take chemotherapy.
He starts chemotherapy on the first of May and will do cycles of 5 days of high doses of chemotherapy and 23 days off. This should go on for the next year unless his platelets and white blood cells continue to drop.
His white blood count and blood platelet counts are low. If they continue to drop he will need to have an infusion. I think they will go up. The reason they dropped is because of the chemotherapy. He has another week or so before he starts up again. That should give his body time to produce more platelets and white blood cells. We also have to keep him away from anyone sick so he gets to continue wearing his masks.
Jordon has swelling behind his right eardrum causing temporary hearing loss. It's kind of like a kid that has an ear infection without the infection. No pain, just a loss of hearing. This should go away on it's own, but if it doesn't then they can drain it and his hearing will go back to normal.
Jordon's cortisol levels are also low. This is a steroid the body makes naturally, but Jordon's body isn't making enough, possibly because of the steroids they had him on for his seizures last month. The low levels cause nausea, fatigue, and a variety of other symptoms.
Finally, in regards to the seizures, the doctor said there is nothing causing Jordon's seizures. It is possible some of the scar tissue could cause seizures but unlikely. Dr. Glantz said that seizures are their own beast. They kind of had a mind of their own. The doctor is adding another seizure medication on top of the Keppra that he is already taking. This should stop the seizures altogether. For his type of brain trauma, 1 to 2 small seizures a year you can live with, 5 or so a week is NOT livable.
Overall, Jordon's progress is still considered miraculous. As we pondered the tender mercies of the Lord, we can't help but know that it is in the Lord's hands. It always has been and always will be. Sometimes things happen in life that are hard to understand, but with faith and trust in the Lord, we will make it through the ups and downs. It is through the refiner's fire that we are perfected. The Lord has great plans in store for each one of his children. However, we can't recieve these great ultimate gifts until we have been proved. We were sent here to be tested and tried. Each trial in life is just one more opportunity to learn and grown and become perfect in small ways, and with each thing we perfect in our life, we will one day be able to fulfill the commandment "Be ye perfect".
He starts chemotherapy on the first of May and will do cycles of 5 days of high doses of chemotherapy and 23 days off. This should go on for the next year unless his platelets and white blood cells continue to drop.
His white blood count and blood platelet counts are low. If they continue to drop he will need to have an infusion. I think they will go up. The reason they dropped is because of the chemotherapy. He has another week or so before he starts up again. That should give his body time to produce more platelets and white blood cells. We also have to keep him away from anyone sick so he gets to continue wearing his masks.
Jordon has swelling behind his right eardrum causing temporary hearing loss. It's kind of like a kid that has an ear infection without the infection. No pain, just a loss of hearing. This should go away on it's own, but if it doesn't then they can drain it and his hearing will go back to normal.
Jordon's cortisol levels are also low. This is a steroid the body makes naturally, but Jordon's body isn't making enough, possibly because of the steroids they had him on for his seizures last month. The low levels cause nausea, fatigue, and a variety of other symptoms.
Finally, in regards to the seizures, the doctor said there is nothing causing Jordon's seizures. It is possible some of the scar tissue could cause seizures but unlikely. Dr. Glantz said that seizures are their own beast. They kind of had a mind of their own. The doctor is adding another seizure medication on top of the Keppra that he is already taking. This should stop the seizures altogether. For his type of brain trauma, 1 to 2 small seizures a year you can live with, 5 or so a week is NOT livable.
Overall, Jordon's progress is still considered miraculous. As we pondered the tender mercies of the Lord, we can't help but know that it is in the Lord's hands. It always has been and always will be. Sometimes things happen in life that are hard to understand, but with faith and trust in the Lord, we will make it through the ups and downs. It is through the refiner's fire that we are perfected. The Lord has great plans in store for each one of his children. However, we can't recieve these great ultimate gifts until we have been proved. We were sent here to be tested and tried. Each trial in life is just one more opportunity to learn and grown and become perfect in small ways, and with each thing we perfect in our life, we will one day be able to fulfill the commandment "Be ye perfect".
We love this Greg Olsen painting
6 comments:
Thank you for the update! You both are so amazing and are handling the trials at hand better than I could ever imagine. I love the pic of Christ! I am also glad to hear he has wrinkles. :) I know you are being watched over and blessed. We love you and please let us know if we can do anything to help!
Hey Wendy, I had time to read through your blog. I am so sorry to hear about your husband. You are sure one strong lady though. I am absolutely amazed by you guys. I feel stupid about saying on your last blog about you having a boy. I was just scanning through your blog and saw a picture of a boy, later to find out today that it was your nephew (crazy me :) ) Anyway I hope everything goes well, and good luck with the chemo.
Wendy you are amazing. I just want to be around you continually. You never cease to amaze me your optimistic attitude. I am sorry to hear that Jordon has to do chemo still. I am grateful though that the doctors are confident about progress and doing everything to treat all the symptoms. If we could just figure out the seizures. Send him my love!
Well guys, it sounds like you still have a long battle ahead of you, however, with your strength and positive attitude... I know you will make it through. You are both heros! You are putting your faith in the Savior and that is exactly what you should do. I continue to put Jordon's name in the temple each week. We love you.
Wendi, you are amazing. And I thought we had a rough first year. I'm just so glad he continues to heal. What a miracle.
Thank you so much for keeping us updated. I'm glad to know the swelling is better. You guys are great and I love you both so much!
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