Dave Linn Dave Has A Story

Dave became a runner in the mid '80's. In January 2016, he was still running 4-5 miles three times a week.

On February 3, 2016, Dave felt pain in his hips. When he went to the doctor he was diagnosed with bursitis. Steroids and pain meds did not help the pain so he was sent to an ortho doctor. He was given injections in both hips. That didn't help either. He couldn't sleep or even go to work because of the pain. Near the end of February his left leg and foot began to feel numb. His doctor said he should go to a neurologist.

On March 3, I went with him to see a neurologist. He was baffled and said Dave needed to see his oncologist immediately. Since the neurologist knew Dr. Bhatia, he called him, and Dr. Bhatia told him to send Dave right over to his office. Both doctors agreed that he should have multiple MRIs. Since the MRIs couldn't be scheduled until the following week, Dr. Bhatia had him admitted to the hospital so they could be done that same day.

On Friday morning, March 4, we got the results of the MRIs and the brain MRI showed that he had a lesion on the frontal lobe. Dr. Bhatia wanted a brain biopsy immediately. Dave was prepped for surgery, but it was postponed when the surgeon noticed that Dave had been taking Aleve. The possibility of a brain bleed was not worth the risk.

The brain biopsy was done on Monday, March 7 and on March 11 he was diagnosed with large b-cell lymphoma in his brain. The following week he had another surgery to place an Ommaya Reservoir in his brain so one of the chemo treatments could be put directly into his spinal fluid.

Chemo treatment began on March 16, Michelle's birthday. Dave had to be hospitalized for the chemo treatments since they were so strong. He received the chemo on and off for three days.