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Tim’s Story
Site created on March 23, 2020
Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. On March 14th Tim was at my shop building a 10ft table for a new piece of equipment. He had trouble coming up with the name of a tool he needed on two occasions. He could describe it to me and when I told him the name he recognized it. This greatly concerned him as this had never happened to him before. We went to lunch to celebrate Ben’s birthday then headed back to the shop. He was still concerned about the word finding difficulties so we went to the Emergency Department at Miami Valley South. They did a CT scan and found a large mass on the left side of his brain. They immediately transferred us to the main campus of the hospital in downtown Dayton. There an MRI found a 5cm (2+inch) tumor surrounded by extensive swelling as well as a several smaller “daughter” tumors. We were at the hospital all week with Tim undergoing multiple tests and the doctors trying to get his BP under control. The nurses at the hospital were wonderful and the Doctor had a exceptional reputation and felt confident she could achieve a 75% resection(removal) of the tumor but probably would not be able to remove the daughter tumors. Those of you who know Tim well know that he researches everything. What he found was the Mayo Clinic was number one in the country in brain cancer surgery and we wanted a second opinion. We called and they said they could see him April 6. As this is assumed to be a fast growing tumor we could not wait that long. They were tentatively planning surgery for the following Tuesday in Dayton. When I relayed that to the scheduler and she said “let me see what I can do”. By the grace of God they were able to see us on Friday. The Doctor in Dayton was totally supportive of us getting a second opinion but was reluctant to discharge him due to his BP. We were finally discharged at 7pm on Thursday and Abby and I drove all night to get to Rochester for our 8 am appointment. The neurosurgeon was very confident that she would be able to resect 95% if not 100% of the tumor as well as remove the larger daughter cells. While we are so grateful to the doctor in Dayton and the care we received there, we thought the Mayo Clinic offered the best option. We drove home to Dayton on Saturday. On Sunday we were back on the road with Ben, Abby, and Nick to Rochester for an MRI on Monday and surgery first thing Tuesday morning. We are still in shock and trying to wrap our heads around the twist life has taken. Any positive thoughts, good vibes, prayers would be appreciated.
Hello all! Thank you for your continued support and concern for Tim. He is about two months post op, and well into his radiation/ chemotherapy treatments, which he is receiving at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. We are incredibly blessed for a few different reasons. One being that we have residence in Gatlinburg, Tennessee which makes reciecing this excellent treatment at UT possible. Another being that Tim is taking to the treatment wonderfully. He reports little nausea and only slight fatigue. He is excelling in daily activities, most of which involve his expert handy work. Tim is the ultimate fighter, and although the world is still turned upside down, we are thankful for this time we get to spend with our family. Thank you again for your thoughts, prayers, and good energies.
