Long Necks & Clean Colons: Or Perhaps, Long Colons and Clean Necks

Today went pretty well. John's colonoscopy and upper GI tract endoscopy came out clean, and he is still scheduled for the PET scan tomorrow. (CORRECTION: PET scan has been scheduled for Monday) I guess they even gave him pictures of his clean colon. Martha and I are a little jealous because we didn't get pictures when we had our colonoscopies last spring. :)

We have had 36 visitors to John's blog since I set up a counter earlier today! The sitemeter is cool. You can even see where everyone is from. Click on the little green graph icon on the left side.

Thanks to all for getting the word out about John. We all knew it already, but John has a knack for making friends and influencing people. It has been heart-warming to know that support is coming our way from all over the country.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

"I tell our runners to divide the race into thirds. Run the first part with your head, the middle part with your personality, and the last part with your heart." - Mike Fanelli, club coach

Setting the Course

It has been a busy, but a more comfortable day in Topeka for John. After a painful night landed him in Stormont-Vail, the team was gathered and started setting the course.

The schedule as I understand it is this:

Thursday: Upper GI and Colonoscopy scan to try to see if the source is there.

Friday: PET scan

Next Wednesday: Neurosurgery:

As I understand it, John and Karen will have to decide whether to have 1) a needle biopsy done or 2) an incision in a difficult area in order to remove as much of the mass as possible. Martha said that the mass was near golf ball sized.

There are benefits and risks involved in each choice. With a needle biopsy, the mass can be reduced in size with less risk to the brain. With the incision, there is the chance of the loss of some brain function. For instance it could affect John's vision in some peculiar way.

After removal of tissue with a needle biopsy, the area would be treated with radiation, and would be larger than the area treated after the small incision procedure is performed.

That's it in a nutshell, but I could be mistaken on details so I'll say no more.

Well, I must get some rest, and I'm sure all of the rest of you must, too.

Night, all! As Laura would say, Love yous........

Update 8:44 a.m. CST

Karen just called to say that things have stabilized. John is rehydrated and resting comfortably. They have a very busy day of tests ahead.

Take care all,Greg

p.s. Martha and I will be changing to gmail completely next week. Our new addresses are similar to our old ones, except gmail.

grswick at gmail dot com and mtswick at gmail dot com

Update 6:30 am 2/27/08

John is in the hospital, Stormont Vail (I think). They were unable to control the pain last evening. Upon arrival at the hospital, they admitted him and performed a second CAT scan to see if things have changed since Friday.

Martha is heading up there this morning.

John's Bump in the Road

John Tiffany, current champion of the Tiffany NCAA March Madness Trophy, proudly displays the coveted traveling trophy.

"It's just a bump in the road," John said, "we're going to beat it."

Our run to victory begins. We join forces in a battle to save an incredible, bright, witty, loving, and kind gentleman. Oh, yeah, did I tell you John's a fighter? That's important these days.

The story began last Monday when John developed intense headaches. Thinking that it was the flu, John endured until Wednesday, when an extremely intense headache gripped him, and he called Karen home from her work. On Thursday, Dr. Atwood, his family physician, ordered a CAT scan. Results showed abnormalities. John returned Friday morning for a MRI scan. It was then that doctors began using unfamiliar terms like metastatic lesions in the brain.

Since then it was been a whirlwind of expeditious doctor visits and lab tests. We know that he has one walnut sized mass and one navy bean sized mass in his brain. It is suspected that these growths have metastacized from another part of his body. However, lab tests so far have been unable to discover the source.

John has been put on on a steroid called dexamethasone to reduce the intercranial pressure caused by the masses. Hopefully this drug will reduce the severity and frequency of his headaches. He has also been given a pain reliever called hydrocodone.

John and Karen will need a network of supporters to get through this ordeal, so please keep in close touch with them, help when you can, and pray tirelessly.

That's really all I can say for certain right now. I will try to update as new information becomes available.

Be sure to visit often, make comments, and share words of encouragement, prayers of concerns, and anything else. If you want me to post something in a newly titled post instead of a comment, please send it to me.

May all of our thoughts, prayers, and actions serve to lift up John and all the rest of his warriers so that they may gather strength and gain wisdom during this extremely difficult time.