For his nearly 8 years of adulthood, Desmond had managed his life with aplomb. A punctual and loyal employee, he worked hard and paid his bills. Over the last few months, there was an abrubt change. He unceremoniously quit his job. He stopped paying his bills. He withdrew from his family and friends. He became extremely self depricating. He got evicted. His family and friends were at a loss for an explantion, as was he. Offers of love and help were thrust upon him. He would fight it, eventually acquiesce, seemingly level out, and then fall backwards again. Drugs were ruled out. Mental illness was the only explanation. He agreed to get help by way of in-patient treatment. Before being taken in, they require a clean bill of health to rule out physical causes. This, to all of us, was merely a matter of course. The ER has a standard "mental crisis" protocol. Blood work, CT scan, etc. The shock of being presented a CT scan showing a large, abnormality in his left, frontal lobe was profound. This occured around 8:30 pm on a tuesday night. By 4:30 in the morning Wednesday, Desmond was at Sanford Medical in Fargo getting an MRI. The news was not good. A large, cancerous tumor in his left frontal lobe. The doctors posited it had likely been growing for years, possibly five. Part of it in the center was now a mass of dead cells. "Liquified" was the descriptor used by one neurologist. The doctors recognized the tale of Desmond's months long "mental crisis" as standard, predictable symptoms of such a tumor. It was made very clear to us that remission is not an applicable word to his situation. It will continue to grow, that growth will cause damage. His life will be shortened, considearbly. What we don't know is the type of tumor and the corresponding "grade". The expectancy at this time is broad and not worth speculating on. That is a good problem to have, however. The next step is surgery. On July 12th they will resect the tumor. Everyone is impressed with and confident in the Sanford Medical team. Soon after, we will have answers to many questions; What type of tumor? What grade? Will he need radiation or chemoherapy? Both or neither? To what degree will there be cognitive set backs, permanent and temporary, from surgery? Nobody wanted this prognosis, but it is what we have been dealt. Desmond has been taking it in stride, with his usual sense of humor, laid back style and inquisitive nature. He has a strong family support sytem. All love, prayers, thoughts and well-wishes are appreciated. We'll update CaringBridge sometime soon after Friday. Thank you for visiting.
