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!!!!!!