Success!!

This is going to be brief but I just wanted to get the word out to everyone waiting for news...my Mom's surgery was a HUGE success!! After being in surgery for 2.5 hours we got a phone call from the operating room nurse letting us know that everything went well and she was on her way to recovery. Her surgeon Dr. Silbergeld met with us shortly afterwards to tell us they were able to remove all of the tumor and successfully place her chemotherapy. They did another brain MRI just prior to her going into surgery and they used this image to guide the tumor removal. She had minimal bleeding and after coming out of sedation she was already talking on the operating room table! We didn't share this earlier but the one major concern we had prior to surgery was the possibility that her speech could be damaged due to the location of the tumor being so close to her language center.

After a long 3 hour wait we were able to see her in ICU. She had a big sleepy smile on her face and was able to recognize us and tell us all about her amazing team of nurses and doctors that had been taking care of her the last couple hours. With very little help from a physical therapist she has already been up and out of bed. Our mom is AMAZING!! Her brain may experience some swelling tomorrow which is normal after this surgery and it may effect her speech temporarily but it is nothing that would be permanent. There is actually some talk of sending her home tomorrow if she continues to do this well.

Thank you to all of you who kept us in your thoughts this morning, we could FEEL THE PRAYERS! Once again God was watching down on us today and we are so grateful for His blessings. The University of Washington has surpassed all of our expectations and we could not have found a better place for her to come. The chemotherapy they placed in her brain today will be effective for the next 6-8 weeks and we will be working on starting another treatment plan in the meantime. Today completely reaffirmed that we have found the right doctors to take care of my mom and help us formulate the best plan of care for her. More updates to come tomorrow, time to rest and regroup for her recovery. Much love to you all!