On Her Way Home!!!

After spending most of the day in the ER, Marion and Megan are on there way home. They determined that the splotching was caused by a reaction to Megan's seizure medication. They will make a few changes to her meds, and give her Tylenol for her fever. We will be making sure she rests for a few days. No talking, and no up and moving around. Bed rest for a few days!!! Thanks for your prayers!!!!

One Step Back Two Forward

Megan is on her way back to the ER at MD Anderson. She went to the Dr. yesterday because she was running a fever, and she had developed some splotches on her chest. They gave her some antibiotics, and felt it was just something that was going around. Her left ear was swollen and just didn't feel well. Through the night her temp climbed to 102 and the splotches spread to her arms and face. Please pray for her today. She would love to stay home. We hope they don't admit her. Just treat her and send her home.

Down & Out

Well all the activity has taken it's toll on our little girl. She is at the Doctor right now, and is feeling terrible. She has a sore throat and her left hear is swollen. We think it is due in part to all of the activities she has taken in since Christmas Eve. We have notified Dr. Lang, and we were told to pump her full of antibiotics, so that is what we will do. We will forgo any New Years Eve or New Years Day activities at the Ranch, and just let Megan get some much needed rest. She is running a fever and the Dr's do not want that to persist. We will monitor her closely and keep you posted. Once again please forward this to all you know who will pray for her.

Megan's First Sunday Back At Church

Sunday marked the first service Megan attended since she was diagnosed. Curry stood and brought everyone up to speed as to how she was doing and said "most of you know that, but what you didn't know, is that she is here". She received an emotional standing ovation, not only for her, but for what God has done. She looks so good and so strong. She is getting better quickly, but does need to rest as much as she can. The Sunday morning outing did make her very tired. After the service the line to talk to her was long. Many people prayed for her, and wished her well. Curry prayed for her, and for the upcoming radiation treatments. Megan's request is that we all pray for the 6 weeks of radiation she will have to endure. Please pray for her daily, and send the address of this blog to all you know who will. Todd & Sabrina Farber are huge supporters of Megan. Sabrina has organized meals and all kinds of help. Todd is a hunter, and some of the meals she has supplied have included venison. We are also a family of hunters and found these meals to be superb!! If you are a family that has some deer sausage in your freezer, this one is one for the book!!

Sabrina's Braised Green Cabbage & Venison Sausage.

8 tbs unsalted butter
1-2 large yellow onions, sliced thin
2 cups dry white wine (buy the cheapest one)
1 tbs salt
5 bay leaves (organic bay leaves ore most flavorful)
1tsp white pepper (grind fresh if you can)
1 head of green cabbage, cored and sliced thin
2-3 lbs of venison sausage (substitute any link sausage for venison)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in large skillet with tight-fitting lid. (Cast iron skillet works best because you have to put this baby in the oven a minute)
2. Add the onion to the butter and saute until translucent, 6-8 minutes
3. Increase you heat to high and add the wine, bay leaves, salt and white pepper. When the mixture simmers, add the cabbage and cook until cabbage wilts and you are able to place the top on the skillet.
4. Cover tightly, transfer to oven and cook for 40 minutes.
5. In the meantime cook your sausage in the oven with your cabbage or grill it outside. When you sausage is done, slice it to later place with the cabbage.
6 Remove the cabbage from the oven, fish out the bay leaves and then place 6 more tablespoons of butter on the cabbage. Correct the seasonings and then put your sausage in a separate bowl or mix in with the cabbage.

Enjoy!!

Borrowing Thing

She does that borrowing thing quite well. If you look close, you can see that little twinkle in her eye. She looks like she is up to something.

Christmas Went Well

Good Morning, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you all. Today marks the first day Felix will go back to work, & leave Megan at home. I am pretty sure he is ready for the break. He has a whole new appreciation for what Megan does every day, as does her father!!! We are not allowing her to be alone just yet, so Hannah or Marion will be with her this morning. We are planning on keeping a pretty close eye on her for the first month or two. She is now 12 days, post surgery. Megan did GREAT over the holidays and hung right there with everyone!! We spent Christmas Eve at Harry & Marcia's, and she didn't seem to even get tired. I tried to stay up as late as I could last night and make sure all was going well, however she out lasted me. I had to go to bed before she did. We prepared 2 25lb top round roasts in the La Caja Chin (pig cooker). With a little help from Megan's Uncle Charlie & Aunt Sue they were cooked to perfection. Megan was able to wash her scalp 24 hours after they removed the staples, and the scar is very thin. She has to use baby shampoo for a little while until healing is complete. I am having a little trouble posting pictures to the blog. I am thinking it has something to do with the site and not operator problems. Please continue to pray and send the blog to as many people as you know who will pray.

Megan's Back

Megan is improving by the hour it seems. Her word recall problem and sensitivity to noise is almost nonexistent. If any one can tell, it's only Megan. We had some family over the other night. We were all sitting around the table discussing the plan for Christmas Eve. We go to her Uncle Harry & Aunt Marcia's every year on Christmas Eve. This year will be no different. I told Megan I would be taking her home early so that the rest of the family can enjoy the evening, and she could rest. I explained that I didn't want her to get too tired. She looked at me and said " I am going home when I am ready to go home". Most of you that know me, know that I go to sleep at 9:30. I can be eating a meal and end up with my face in the plate. She looked at me and said "If you think for a minute that I don't know what you are up to think again". I was so looking forward to pulling few things over on her before she healed. Once again it was short lived. Megan is back, and doing well. Please continue to pray for her. We have to go through 6 weeks of radiation and it can make you very tired. Please pray that she has no side effects from the treatment. Merry Christmas to you all and Happy New Year!!

Megan's Miracle

Megan is getting stronger by the day. I asked her how she feels after the 2nd day that her medications have been cut back. She said she feels so much better. Megan has a feeling the steroids messed with her word recall & memory. Now that they have cut them back, she is doing much better. She said she does just as good as I do on my word recall. As I thought about it, she might need some help. I can't remember my shoes when I go to work. Today she had her staples removed. The Doctor's used approximately 90 staples to close her up. The ridge has gone flat and she should do just fine. Megan would like to get her radiation done ASAP, so we are looking into getting the date moved up from the end of January to the first week in January. Lenda Crawford brought a big pot roast and all the trimmings last week. She also brought by some salsa. I have tasted a lot of salsa over the years but this is very fresh and light. Enjoy!!

Lenda's Salsa

1 large can of whole tomatoes (drain half the juice)
1/2 a bunch of cilantro
1/2 med white or yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic
3 slices of pickled jalapeno pepper
3 T water
1 t salt
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t chili powder
sprinkle with fresh ground pepper

Mix in food processor or blender

Please continue to pray for Megan. Please send this blog to all you know will pray. We want people all over the world praying for her recovery.

Pal

Megan's Miracle

I spoke with Megan this morning and she is doing well. I asked her how she slept, she said "great!! these drugs are awesome" LOL. She didn't move a muscle all night. So far we have not seen any effects of cutting back on the steroids. No swelling that we can tell. She seems to be very excited that she will not have to do the Christmas shopping this year. Megan is amazed at the changes taking place with Isabel. Because Megan has not been around, she is being forced to come out of her shell. She is also working very hard at walking, and is into everything. Day and night she talks, one noise after another coming from both ends of that child. With the two girls at the house, keeping an eye on them is like herding cats. They are everywhere all at once. Megan's spirits are high and her attitude even better. She shared with me the miracle that God is pulling off is not for her, but for all of us. Some people think miracles are hard to dome by. Talking to Megan this morning was refreshing. God loves to cause the knee of the imposable to bend to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is nothing more then entertainment to Him and He loves to be entertained. Please continue to pray and send this blog to everyone you know who will pray. We can ad Peru to the growing list of countries that are praying for Megan. We continue to have support from everyone. Cassandra Teel brought her Chicken & Rice, and it was FABULOUS!! Marion makes this dish also, but Cassandra adds a secret ingredient.

Cassandra's Chicken & Rice

4-8 Chicken breasts placed in a backing dish.
Mix
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 4-5 oz jar of sliced mushrooms drained
1 pint of whipping cream
1 cup white wine

Pour mixture over chicken breasts, cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour for 4 breasts & 2 for 8 breasts.

Enjoy!!!

Megan's Meds

Today Megan will start to dial down the medication she is on for swelling. They think that it is part of the reason she is hypersensitive to noise. We need to pray that she does not have any effects. Sometimes when they cut the steroids back, it will cause the brain to swell, and effect her memory as well as her word recall. She is doing well and the Dr. said she can hold the babies. However, she needs to sit when she holds them, and be careful when picking them up. This is both good and bad. Isabel who became so attached to me for the first time, no longer wants anything to do with me. When I get close she starts to cry again. A short lived victory. I received an email this morning from a friend (Jo) that has people praying in Egypt. Add one more country to the list. Please continue to share this blog with others. We want people all over the world to pray. We have had some wonderful meals. Thanks go out to Sabrina who is in charge of the care calender. To keep every one interest in the blog, I am going to be posting a new recipe every day from people who are helping. The one for today is Lee's Cornbread. I have had the cornbread 2 times now. I can say it is the best I have ever had (sorry Mom). It is so good I can eat it as a meal all by itself. Enjoy!!!

LEE'S Cornbread!!!

Mix in a bowl, just moistening all ingredients:
1 can creamed corn (I use low sodium, but anything works)
1 package frozen corn (12 ounces, or any amount)
2 packages of Jiffy cornbread mix, dry
Milk or half-and half if dry (rarely needed)

Melt 2 to 4 tablespoons butter (2 is plenty, but if I am making it for company I will use 4 because more butter makes anything better. (butter on a boot makes it taste good, that's my insert) in an 8x8 baking pan (ore pie plate) place in a hot 350 degree oven to melt butter. Watch it carefully to make sure the butter doesn't burn.

Remove hot pan with melted butter from oven and pour cornbread batter into the pan. Top with shredded cheddar cheese (8 ounces, more or less), and Jalapenos (optional).

Bake until done - it can take 25 - 60 minutes, depending on the size of your baking dish. I bake it on the bottom shelf of the oven so the cheese doesn't get to brown, but the bottom does! Also, put tin foil over the top if the cheese starts to brown. You want the cheese melted, not hard.

You may also add twice as much corn and make this into more of a corn pudding.

Thanks Just Does Not Cut It

This morning I am almost over whelmed with joy. As I think through the process I am almost in shock with what has happened. First, thanks be to God for all of the people and events He put into motions. It starts with Dr. Justin Brown & wife Karen. He gathered the information about the tumor and made a call to Dr. Lang. Yesterday we met all day with Dr's and nurses. At each session they too, were blown away. Dr. after Dr. and nurse after nurse all confirmed that what Dr. Lang did was incredible. In the meeting with Dr. Lang he used the term that he cheated a little bit. I have always said, "if you aint cheatin you aint tryin". What the team at MD Anderson confirmed is that if we would have gone to just about any other hospital, or to any other Dr., they would have most likely said, it was in-operable. The tumor was so inter twined with the blood vessels that feed that side of the brain the risk of complications was very high. IN some places Dr. Lang had to leave tumor on the vessels to keep from harming them. The MD Anderson team was pretty impressed that Megan had close to 100% of her facilities after the surgery. The word recall will take a little work and time, but she will return to 100% over the next 6 months, in the mean time she will get by. An example of her getting by happened in the hospital. Felix was asking her if she wants some french toast. She had no idea what french toast was. When Felix tried to explain, and she could not process it, she said "just bring me some damn pancakes. LOL!! She is going to do fine!! Thanks to the countless that are helping with meals, childcare, house work, errands & food drivers. I can't find words to tell you how we feel and to know this too shall pass, your involvement makes it all so much more bearable. THANK YOU!!

Paul, Marion, Felix, Megan, Jared, Jonathan & Hannah

Great News!!!

Megan, Felix & I spent most of the day at MD Anderson. We found out that her hypersensitivity to noise is normal, and may be caused by the steroids. They are reducing the amount of steroids tomorrow. The Dr's put Megan through a number of tests, as well as question and answer interviews. In one session, they asked her to remember 3 things that they will ask her to repeat throughout the session. The three things were Car, Shirt and Orange. The first time they asked her she popped right back, Car, Shirt, Orange. They asked her to walk on her heals, then change to her tip toes, put one foot in front of the other. They asked her the name of the hospital, what month & year it is. The second time they asked her the three memory words, she was even quicker, Car, Shirt, Orange!!!! They asked her to shrug her shoulders, touch her nose, point at the ceiling, but only after you point at the door second and the floor first. She pulled it off with out a flaw. That one even confused me a little. They then asked her the 3 memory words. She thought for a while, smiled and thought. She is so competitive, she told us not to tell her. She then did something very interesting. She started to name them in reverse. Orange, then she thought for a bit, and said "T-shirt", instead of shirt, but could not remember the first word, Car. The brain is so amazing. She said "it was just gone". The Dr has prescribed a speech therapist to help her regain word recall. She can remember things it just takes her some time. They expect it to take about 6 month for her to recover totally, but she will recover. The pathology report came back with some pretty good news. The tumor is an Anaplastic Astrocytoma. This is a tumor that will be easily treated with radiation, so--- NO CHEMO!!!! Praise God!!! A brain tumor almost always stays in the brain and will not metastasize to any other part of the body. They are not sure why the brain produces a tumor. It could be a virus, an infection or exposure to something, but they just don't know. Individual people are effected in different ways, by different things, so they don't see many similarities, or commonality's between people who have a brain tumor. They have removed a large percentage of the tumor but there could be some single cells or a bundle of tumor cells that are scattered and left behind. The way they handle this is to hit it with radiation. MD Anderson has a satellite center that is about 20 minutes from the house. Megan will be able to go there. They will schedule her treatments 5 days a week, Monday through Friday, for 6 weeks starting in late January. They want her to have a few weeks to heal, and work on her word recall. They will then do a scan every 8-10 weeks to see how it is responding. once they are pretty sure the tumor is under control, they will move to once every 3 months. Radiation may cause slight changes in taste, smell & short-term memory loss. In short she may not taste so good no more, remember so good no more and she won't smell so good no more. :) Thanks to you all for your prayers. Keep praying and don't let up.

Home Alone

Megan had a much better night last night. Our understanding of her healing is growing daily. We made the decision last night that Megan should not be unattended for the next couple of weeks. I will confirm this with the Dr's today. The girls came to the big house yesterday afternoon. We played and took baths. Yes! I played with the girls. Sweet pea is still holding her ground, but I have the little one fooled, for the time being. She loves to sit with me, and demands ALL of my attention. If I put her down to play, she gets very upset. If I am talking to someone else, she puts her face directly in front of mine, and looks into my eyes. She is a close talker. She even took a few steps for Papa last night. Our home is crazy with kids running, screaming, laughing and lots of noise. Oh the joy! The morning for Megan was a little crazy. I think Felix is starting to understand what Megan goes through with the girls. The noise will make her uncomfortable, so we have reserved playing for when they come to our house. Please continue to pray for her. We are going to see a number of Dr's today and we should get the pathology report as well as a game plan for phase 2. Please continue to pray for her total healing, and send this to as many people as you know will pray. I would like people all over the world to be praying for her. We have people in India, Germany, Cambodia, Africa, New Jersey :) and I am sure many more. If I have missed a country, please keep us informed as to your location of prayer. Thanks to you all and God bless!!

Learning So Much

We are learning so much about Megan, and what she is going through. She has to be so careful not to stimulate the brain. Things like talking, watching TV, noise, kids screaming, talking on the phone, all cause her to be uncomfortable. It does not have to be that loud either and it still causes discomfort. We are so thankful for all the help that is pouring in. It allows her to have time to recover in quiet. The best thing for Megan at this point is to be up and walking around, but at the same time she needs to be quiet. The ranch is a great place for this. Dr. Lang said it will take a couple of months to get back to normal. He does not want her to just lie around the house. He said she needs to be up and walking, doing light work and moving. For the next couple of weeks we will give her as much quiet time as we can, but not allow her to sleep all day. None of that on the ranch. I wonder if she could mow, or if that would be too loud. Maybe some ear plugs or a scythe. Better check with the Doc. on that one. Thanks again for all that you are all doing!!

Home Again Home Again

What a great night it was at the Ranch. Big thanks to Marcia for picking up Felix & Megan down at MD Anderson. It can be nuts now there. Megan arrived late in the afternoon with much fan fair. The girls were apathetic toward the hair cut, just glad to see mom. Sweet pea wanted a closer look, but Isabel didn't even notice. Megan has a little swelling on the left side of her face, but other than that she looks great. We are waiting on the pathology report to have the Dr's decide on how to treat the remaining tumor. We are praying for the meeting Megan has on Wednesday. We should have the results by then. The Dr's think it is one of two types of a tumor. One responds well to radiation. By well, I mean the cells die. I will attempt to get the name of the tumor and post them. Please continue to pray during phase 2 of Megan's healing. Thanks to all of you for all you are doing. A special thanks to those of you who do not know Megan, and a friend just asked you to pray. Keep praying, one day you will meet her and understand why you were asked to pray.

Toss The Turban

Megan has tossed the turban and is on her way home!!! She will have to take it easy, but she is going to be much more comfortable at the house, then at the hospital. She will have to go back in on Wednesday for a consultation and a meeting with Dr. Lang and a few more Dr's. She is now entering phase 2 of the treatment where they will work on keeping the tumor cells at bay or allow God to make them melt away. The words " She is coming home" were sweet to my ears. Dad had to take a moment to gather himself, and give the good Lord a big high five!!

Homeward Bound

The Dr. just came by to see Megan. The results are in from the MRI, and Dr. Lang is one incredible guy!! He first thought they removed about 80% of the tumor. The MRI shows he removed 90 plus percent!!! Say a prayer of blessing for that man!!! He had her walk and did a couple of simple tests. He is sending her to the beauty shop in the hospital to have them wash and comb her hair, and then she can go home. Thank you God!!! The Dr. said he wants her to chew and use her jaw to help that side of her face and head to gain strength back. He also wants her to walk and be mobile, but no lifting of the children. She still has a long way to go to get back to her full strength. He also reiterated that visits should be short. She gets tired real fast, and Dr. Lang does not want that. He wants a long slow recovery. If she uses her brain too much it could cause swelling. If you come by the house please coordinate with Marion, as not to disturb Megan when she is resting. If you come by please keep the visit short and light. I would like to say again. Please send this blog to as many people that you know will pray. I would like to see people all over the world praying for Megan. I know that is why we are sing what we are seeing!! To God be the glory.

Tired Girl

Marion, Hannah, Jonathan & I all went to go see Megan & Felix today. We were able to smuggle all four of us into Megan's room at the same time. ICU will only permit 2 in her room at a time. They were pretty busy so we were able to pull it off. We had a nice visit with Megan. We stayed a little long (about two hours). I watched her answer questions and talk, laugh and joke. By the time we left, she was very tired and started to have a hard time finding words. Marion asked her what was in a little bag. She could not remember the name of the type of candy. She had to think about it for a second to remember (Hersheys Kiss). When she gets moved to a room and she can have guests, please keep your conversations light, and your stay short. This will help her to recover all that much faster. Please continue to pray for her. Send this blog to as many people as you know. My goal is to have people all over the world praying for her total healing. Thanks to you all for everything you are doing for the Stork/Martinez family.

Paul

Still In ICU

Good Morning!!! Megan is still in ICU, but doing VERY well. Dr. Lang has said she can move out of ICU, but the staff knows he is not in any hurry for her to leave. They are waiting on a room to open. They have removed all the IV's and monitors other then vitals. She is sitting up in a chair and talking to a few of her friends on her cell. She now remembers who the president is and it is getting harder to stump her on most questions. If she can't answer, she usually knows the answer, but she just needs to think it through. When she has to think it through, she smiles the entire time, and then will give you the answer. She is so competitive, a nurse asked her in the middle of the night where she was. Megan knew, but could not answer. She stayed awake trying to put all the files in order. 20 minutes later the nurse walked by and Megan grabbed her arm and simply said "MD Anderson!!!!". We are still hoping she will be able to come home in the next couple of days. Please continue to pray for her that her recovery is quick and a total healing is what God has in store for her.

The Food Drives Have Been Found!!

Rufus Guebara & family have agreed to help Megan and Felix with transporting the grub!! Thanks to them all!! The Guebara family is very close to us all. We have been like brothers and sisters for years. Megan is like one of their own. Thanks is not enough!!

Paul

Food Driver Wanted

Sabrina is looking for some volunteers to transport food from the Missouri City/ Sugar Land area to the Ranch. If you can help, it will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays only. Please log onto the calender or contact Sabrina if you are able to help. Thanks to you all for your help during this trying time. If you have never gone through this ( I have not) it is a big challenge.

Walking & Talking

Megan saw Dr. Lang today and he said the MRI looked great!!! We will have to wait until Monday to get more detail, but the first news is good. They have removed the drain tube from her brain, and stitched her up. She has been approved to be moved out of ICU. We are just waiting on a room to open. As soon as she gets moved, I will let you know and post her room number. Megan was able to walk today. I figure she will be able to be home doing the dishes in no time. She was also able to read some of the Blog. She was so overwhelmed by the number of people that love her, she had to stop reading and go rest. Thank you all for your encouraging words.

A Miracle!

Well, I saw my miracle last night and her name was Megan. I went in to see her with Paul and Marion last night about 8:30 p.m. and could hardly believe my eyes. Just 24 hours after her mega 10-hour brain surgery, Megan was sitting up in bed eating chicken nuggets, talking, laughing and even joking about the doctors and nurses who keep waking her up to ask her questions to test her memory! It was truly a wonderous site! You have crossed the first big hurdle on the road to a full recovery and you did it with your usual style & grace! Keep going baby girl, you are doing great! I love you, Aunt Jackie

Personal Care Calendar

To access Megan & Felix Martinez's personal Care Calendar site,

visit http://www.carecalendar.org/logon/10217

and enter the following

information in the appropriate spaces:

CALENDAR ID : 10217

SECURITY CODE : 1378

Help Has Arrived

First of all Megan is doing GREAT!!! The more she rests the better she will be. I called this afternoon to speak to Felix and she got on the phone. She is tired, but sounds great. Much more alert, however still finding it hard to find some words. She can see it in her head, but can't get the word to come out of her mouth. This is common, and will pass. We hope to see her moved from ICU tomorrow. She will have another MRI later today. We will wait with great anticipation on the news. A big thanks to Robert & Donna House and Jeff & Brandy Weishiemer for watching the babies and taking them to the Dr. The girls have been a little sick, and we don't want them to be when Megan gets home. We have had an overwhelming number of people offer help. Todd & Sabrina Farber have agreed to organize help for Megan & Felix(Thank you Frabers!!!). The next month will be a flurry of Dr. appointments, child care, cleaning, cooking etc. If you would like to sign up to help in any way please go to http://www.carecalendar.org/index.php and sign up. If you would like to send a get well wish, please send to 3107 Hopkins Rd. Beasley, TX 77417. Thanks to you all for continued prayer and support.

Paul

Way to go Megan!!!! I think I still owe you and Felix a drink so when you are up and running around again, which I know will be soon, I will meet you guys at Baker's Street Pub!
Heck - I just might buy you 2 drinks!
Paul - you can come too if you promise to behave!

Love you!

WE LOVE YOU

"MY LOVE" is doing AWESOME and looks SOOO BEAUTIFUL!!! I have to say that GOD as BLESSED me with an AMAZING wife. She wanted me to let everyone know that she appreciates all the prayers and that she Loves all of you. We serve an Awesome GOD with no limitations to what he can do in and for our life's. She is scheduled for a MRI today to see how much of the tumor is left. Just keep praying, and GOD will answer. I love you guys!!!!

Felix II

All Wrapped Up And Still Beautiful

As you can imagine Megan was wore out last night. When I went in to say goodnight, she could hardly hold her eyes open. She had a good night, but does have some swelling. The swelling is causing some problem. This morning when they asked her to to say "if and but", she had no problem. They then asked her if she knows what hospital she is in. She told them "if and but". This is normal for this to happen due to the swelling. Swelling is caused by using her brain. Just to open the eyes stimulates the brain, and they want as little stimulation as possible. They are asking that for the next couple of days people stay away, and do not visit her. Talking, thinking, seeing all stimulate the brain. After she is assigned a room, you can go to visit, but please keep your visits short and low key. The blood vessels that were entangled in the tumor need time to rebuild and strengthen. There are still lots of complications that could occur if she has too much swelling, so the best thing that people can do for the next couple of days is to pray, and let her have her rest. Once the swelling goes down, she will be in much safer territory. After she gets home we will have a day to visit at the Ranch. I am in the middle of planning a home coming party and will have finger food & drinks. If it is going to be hard for you to make it by the hospital after she gets to a room. You will be able to come by the Ranch. Watch the blog for more details.

Not So Wide Awake

Marion, Felix and I just finished having a conversation with Megan. She is awake and talking. She was complaining about having to be awake for 6 hours during the surgery. The Dr. said they would have never been able to finish if she was not able to stay awake. The tumor was intertwined with the blood vessels that feed that side of the brain. Dr. Ferson said that Dr. Lang was the man for the job, it was a mess in there. Dr. Brown said that Dr. Lang is able to suspend vessels and remove tissue at the same time, and that he was the man for the job. Dr. Brown said he is VERY pleased. The nurses asked us to stay out and let Megan rest. If she talks it stimulates the brain and can cause swelling. Genet and Hannah went in just to look at her, and she waved them into the room. She knows who they are and told them to come in and give her a kiss. Today is a good day in the Stork/Martinez family!!!

Dr's Detail

We just finished meeting with Dr. Lang. He was able to remove 80% of the tumor. At first glance it is a grade 2 tumor. He said technically all brain tumors are malignant but a low grade 2 is slow growing and we will attempt in the coming weeks to arrest it's development with radiation. Tomorrow they will do another MRI that will help us make some decisions on how to treat it and how much is left. We have a long road ahead of us but today we took a huge step to a healthy Megan. Keep praying!!

Paul

Megan
Sweet Pea and Isabella are doing great. We just told Sweet pea you just came out of surgery and she said Hooray......... The are doing great..... We are so proud of you keep up the great work...We will bring picture of the girls when we come....We love you...

Love
Donna

They are DONE!!!!

She has come through just fine. They are done with the surgery, and she is headed to ICU. Dr. Lang will be here between 7:00 & 7:30 to fill us in on the details. We will then move to ICU and take turns going to see Megan. I will post the details from the Dr. Keep praying!!

Paul

Look a little closer!!!

Marion just got off the phone with Dr. Brown. He is in St. Louis and he is answering questions for us. The protocol for sending out biopsy is to send them out, get info back. They then take a look at the info and make a decision. If the surgery is not worth moving on with, then they close her up. If it is something that they see will not be a waste of time, they continue on with removing the tumor. This part of the surgery is done under a microscope, to get as much of the tumor as they can. We are currently at the stage where they are using a microscope. The fact that she is still in there, and they are still removing tissue is a good sign. Keep praying for a benign mass.

Paul

Keep going girl!!! Just got our 4:00 update the next will be around 6:00. She has been in surgery for 9.5 hours now. They are still removing the tumor. He said yesterday that he is going to be very careful. He warned that the tumor may be close to some blood vessels that are critical, and he is not going to risk clipping one. They have called and schedule radiation for Dec. 17th. We all are in agreement that means that it is benign and that we are not going to need Kemo. Please email all the people you can and continue to pray for a benign biopsy. We are all in good spirits and the kids are playing games in the waiting room. They will not give us any information on the biopsy yet because the Dr. would like to be the person that shares the good news. Thanks for your prayers.

Paul

Still Working!!!

We just got another report on Megan. They are still working away. They have taken some small frozen samples of the tumor and sent them to the lab. We are waiting on the results. The results will tell us if they will continue to remove tissue or if they will stop and close her up. We are praying the the biopsy is benign. Please send this prayer request to as many people as you can to pray for a benign biopsy!!!

Spacial thanks to Jeff Mizeur. It seems if I need any help for anything I can turn around and bump into Jeff, and he is saying "what do you need me to do?" He is a great friend and I would love for all of you to pray a special prayer of blessing. He has a friend that works as a volunteer in the waiting room. Jeff called and she gave us special treatment today. He also is a partner in a new fajita concept in town. He called and catered lunch to my family in the waiting room at MD Anderson. We had people looking at us like hungry wolves. The people in the waiting room can't figure out who we are and why are we are getting all this special attention. Thanks Jeff!!

Hey, beautiful.

We serve an awesome God who is faithful to His own Word. I'd just like to remind Him that he said in Exodus 20:12 "Regard (treat with honor, due obedience, and courtesy) your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God gives you."

I don't know of many other people who have honored both their father and their mother as well as you have, darlin'. I have to believe that He will not only give you long life but also a life full of health.

Can't wait to see you again. Love and prayers to Felix, Alexandra, Isabel, and the rest of the family.

P.S. Ditto on the sushi........!

We just received our second update from the nurse. They are still working on Megan, mapping and removing the tumor. She is doing well. Vital signs are strong and things are moving along. They are taking a little longer then we thought it was going to take in the second part of the surgery, but they warned us that this might happen. Though they did the Functional MRI yesterday, and pinpointed the area of the brain she is using for different fictions, the technology is still not 100%. They have her awake for that very reason. They will open her up and touch electrodes to the area they want to remove. If she can't talk , think, more etc. , then they know they can't remove that area of the tumor. We told them to take as much time as they need. Please pray and ask all your friends and family to pray that the tumor is benign!!! Send out an email to all you know for that prayer!!

Megan Called

Megan is in the second stage of her surgery and doing well. They have the scull open and are working on removing the tumor. They just patched in a phone call to the waiting area and we got to speak to Megan. She sounds a little groggy, but is doing well.

Megan,

Ever since you were born you have been my little angel, God's angels have been protecting you ever since you were born. You are in good hands. I know if God was ever to bless me with a daughter I could only hope she would be exactly like you.
Your faith and courage is more than anyone I have ever been around, you inspire me and no one can light up a room like you are awesome, God is awesome,Praise the Lord!!

Love You very much see ya soon.



p.s. you better be ready for some sushi soon.

We have just received the first update. Megan is doing fine. They made the first incision at 7:12 but as of 10:00 they had not removed anything yet. Her vital signs are strong, and she is doing very well. They have asked Megan if they can film the procedure for a presentation of some sort. They said she was the prettiest patient they have had in some time. Thank God she takes after her mother. We hope to be able to get the footage, and post it on Megan's blog. Keep the encouragement coming.

Paul

The Big Day

Megan is in the prep room and about to go into surgery. She is strong and laughing and making jokes. The surgery will take 6 hours. Two hours to expose the brain, two hours to remove the tumor(she will be awake for this part of the procedure), and two hours to close her back up. Surgery starts at 7 am so she should be done at 1pm. Please continue to pray and send this blog address to all that you know will pray and send words of encouragement. Megan is going to need them in the next couple of weeks as she recovers. Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Paul

Today

I have a good friend by the name of Nathan Hurt. He has put together a blog for Megan. If you would like to post a note and encourage her please go to http://megan.storkschoice.com and drop her a line. I will post an update for Wed on the blog. I would like to say special thanks for all of you who have been praying, to those of you that have brought meals by the house and offered help with all that we are going through. First to Donna House for being here at 5:45 to be with my Grandchildren. Also to Nathan for the blog. To Harry Roberts for filling in for Jared, Felix and I at the stores, and to Dr. Justin Brown for pulling a few strings and getting us into the best Brain Center in the world with one of the top Dr's in the world. Also to the countless others that have been there for us. Words can't say what I am feeling. My Megan is a very special women. Those of you who know her will attest to that, but to her family she is so much more. She is my angel, and shines like one. I have called her my princess from the day she was born, and she has filled the roll. She has been a delight to all she knows, but even more so to her mother and I. Since she has taken her first steps to the day she walked across the stage at the graduation ceremony at U of H, she has been an inspiration to me. Today was another one of those days. She is stronger than any of us, and is facing this giant with stones of faith, determination, and knowledge that God is in control. She knows she is not facing it alone, but with Him by her side. I made a comment today that we were the only family that was walking through MD Anderson that was laughing and cutting up. I had to hush the Stork clan a number of times for fear we would be removed from the place by security for making too much noise in the halls and waiting areas. Megan was in the thick of it, laughing and just enjoying being with her family. Please keep us in your prayers that this joy will never leave our family. Megan is scheduled to be at the Hospital at 5:15 in the morning. She will be prepped and the surgery will start some time between 6 am and 6:30. Pray for angels to prep the room and for God himself to guide Dr. Lang's hands. Please go to the blog and encourage her.

Thanks

Megan

Today was a bright day in this battle. Megan had a long day of
testing. The Nuero Cognitive testing she had was administered by Dr.
Jeffrey Wefel. He said she was 100% and did not loose any of her
ability to process information, identify object or their names. He
put her through a question and answer test that took over an hour.
They are looking for any loss of processing function, change of
personality, loss of strength on her right side etc. The tumor will
affect a number of areas. The testing brings out the slightest
change. Some of the things they asked her to do was to repeat a
sequence of numbers, forwards and back wards. They asked her to name
as many words that start with the letter R as you can. Long story
short, she did great. As far as we can see, she has not lost any
ability to think and reason. They have placed markers on her head.
These markers will stay in place until after the surgery. They built
a map of her brain today with 3-D imagery. They will use this map
during surgery. The way I understand it, they will take the 3-D color
picture or model and super impose it over a live shot of her brain
during surgery. They will line up the markers from the map with the
live shots so the markers. Once the markers are lined up, it will
give them the precise line to cut and remove as much of the tumor as
they can without any damage to good brain matter. The Functional MRI
not only shows which part of the brain is being used, but how strong
they are. Megan did well!! The tech said the highest he as seen motor
nerves measure is at a 7. Megan's are at 9.14 which he said are off
the charts. The Functional MRI also will show the part of the brain
that is being used for different functions. They put her through the
similar test questions as the Nuero Cognitive test, but this time she
had to lay with her eyes closed and just think of the answers. The
brain uses blood that is high in oxygen to function. When she would
think of what they asked her, the part of the brain would call for a
higher concentration of blood. They then map that high concentration,
and it gives them a shot of what part of the brain she is using to
process that information. She was also asked to open and close her
hands. This too will show up as she thinks through the process and
uses the motor skill to open and close the hand. If a tumor invades a
part of the brain that is used for a specific function, like walking
and talking. The brain has the ability to transfer that brain
function to a different part of the brain. It would appear that Megan
has transferred a large % of function to a different part of the brain
away from the tumor. When I asked the Dr's what the chances are that
she would do this they said it was a long shot. She has done more
than they expected and the long shot that they spoke of, HAS BEEN
ACHIEVED!!! SHE HAS DONE WHAT WE EXPECTED. PRAISE THE LORD!!! SHE IS
SET FOR REMOVAL OF THE TUMOR!!!!!!