Megan Stork Martinez

All Is Well

2009-09-09T12:55:00.002-05:00

Megan just got out of her Dr. appointment and the Dr's are saying everything looks great!!! At the last appointment they saw a grey area that was not there last time, and they wanted to see her in 6 weeks. They suspected it was scar tissue from the radiation treatments, but wanted to keep an eye on her. Today they told her they are going to move her back to appointments every 3 months. Once she gets 2 or 3 of those behind her then she can go to 4 months. Her spirits are high and she is doing well. She has more energy now, but the girls keep her on her toes and running. Thanks for all your prayers, keep them coming.

Prayer & Support

2009-08-18T17:32:00.003-05:00

Megan has another MRI Scheduled for September 8th, and a review of the results on the 9th. She is a little tired these days. The kids are a lot to handle, and she gets tired very easy. Marion & Hannah try to pitch in when they can, and the kids like to spend time with Nani, but she is not there on most days. Marion has been working at the office doing daily work, so Megan has been on her own. If anyone feels moved to take the kids for a couple of hours please feel free to call her. Please pray for strength, and for a good outcome of her next MRI.

Joyful Hearts!!!

2009-08-03T11:36:00.003-05:00

Megan had a check up MRI a few weeks ago and the Dr. saw a new spot, and they are not quite sure what it is. It could have been there in the past, and they just missed it. It could also be scar tissue from the radiation treatments. The spot is in a different area than where her tumor was, but is in an area that received radiation. We are pretty sure it is just scar tissue, but we will be watching things close. The Dr told Megan to go home and relax and not to worry about it. He wants to see her in 8 weeks and they will look at again to see if there is any change.

On a fun note!!! Megan was told by her Radiation Dr. that she would most likely not get any hair back after radiation. Megan told her she was wrong, and that God was going to make sure it grew back. When Megan went in for her weekly treatment, and saw the Dr., she would tell Megan to be ready not to have hair. Megan would tell her, she is not receiving the words she is speaking over her. Megan told the Dr. when her hair grew back, she was going to come back, and show her what God did. When Megan went back to show her, she was blown away. She kept looking at it, and telling Megan she was so surprised she had hair coming back in. Not only is it coming back, there is an area that is coming in slower and a little thinner then the rest of her hair. The area that is coming in slower and shorter is in the shape of a heart. We all feel that this is a sign from God showing Megan how much He loves her and that he is in control.

All is Well

2009-05-14T13:14:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone..Marion here..I've had a lot of requests to update the blog a little more often..since Paul stays so busy, I thought I'd try to help him out! Just wanted to let everyone know that yesterday went well..and we were very relieved when we left the hospital! The doctor reassured Megan this had NOTHING to do with her tumor..and she needed to stop thinking about that for now..and just get on with living!! They did some blood work, and concluded that Megan is probably anemic! She needs to go to a regular doctor..for more blood work, and then possibly medication to treat it..or we thought we'd just start eating a lot more steak and spinach!! Megan says only if Paul is grilling! The doctor also thought that Megan had caught the virus that her girls have had, which caused her to run a low-grade fever for 3 days..and robbed her of all her energy! (the girls, and THEIR energy, are also a big reason for her fatigue!!...I know they can wear me out!!) But again, he reassured her this was not related to her tumor, or the radiation, which was great news for her.. and I think she felt way better when we left just knowing that! She even had a bit of an appetite, so I took her out for lunch! Thanks to everyone for their prayers, it means so much to us to know she is being lifted up to her Father by so many! I'll try to keep y'all updated a little more often, you know I like to chat!

Megan Needs Prayer

2009-05-13T11:44:00.002-05:00

Megan and Marion are at MD Anderson this morning. Megan has been experiencing fatigue, in a big way. She is finding it very hard to do just little tasks around the house. She did so well with the radiation, and did not get tired. She had very few side effects. They told us that she would get very tired about 3 weeks after the radiation treatments. It has been much longer then that, but we are praying this is normal, and that is all it is. Please help me by praying she gets her energy back and that all is fine!!

NO CHEMO!!!

2009-04-09T09:55:00.005-05:00

Megan had another MRI this week. Marion took her in on Tuesday then went back for more of the Cognitive Testing on Wednesday, and to meet with Megan's Dr's for a review of the MRI. They continue to do the Cognitive Testing and will monitor her scores. It seems that if there is something wrong it will show up in loss of memory and lack of function with her motor skills first. This will give them an indication something may be wrong and to jump into high gear. Megan did great, but was a little concerned because Marion and Megan stayed at Marcia's Tuesday night. They were up late, then had to get up early and be back at the hospital. She thought she may have scored a little lower just because she was tired. The MRI showed NO CHANGE!!! Yahooo!!! I didn't get to go so I did not get as much detail as I wanted, but bottom line is she did great. Radiation put the skids on things and we are believing for a total healing!!! The cavity where the tumor was had blood in it right after the surgery. Yesterday the results showed that the body had absorbed all the blood, and the cavity is now filled with spinal fluid. She has another MRI scheduled for 2 months down the road, and the testing will start all over. Dr. Lang took a look at the MRI and told Megan, "she is doing great!!" He is a great guy and gave Megan a hard time about her hair loss. She has a great relationship with Dr. Lang and likes him. Dr. Pudavalli said, "things look great, and its time for her to live again." He told Megan, "we have removed the tumor, treated the tumor, and now its time for her to go home, and be a mother to her children, and wife to her husband, and not worry about this thing any more. See you in two months!!" Thank God for His mighty hand, and for the Dr's he used to help Megan through this!! Thank all of you for praying. Please continue to pray for a total healing, and that her MRI in June looks even better.

Ring The Bell

2009-03-20T13:42:00.007-05:00

Megan rang out last Friday to signify her last day of treatment. The bell is rung by all who finish radiation at MD Anderson in Richmond. On the bell there is an inscription that reads:

Ring This Bell
Three Times Well
It's Toll To Clearly Say

My Treatments Done
This Course is Run
And, I Am On My Way!!

It was met with huge fan fair, with about 20 of Megan's closest friends and family in the waiting area. When Megan went in for her treatment, there were about 6 of us in the room. When she came out they were calling for crowd control. She is truly done, and on her way!! She did not feel many side effects during the treatment but since has been experiencing some fatigue and nausea. We need to continue to pray for her total healing and strength.

This Storm Is Just A Walk In The Rain

2009-03-11T13:22:00.000-05:00

This week Megan and I had a great trip to her treatment. We meet with the Dr. on Tuesdays, so I get to find out all the details. The Dr. and all the nurses said Megan is doing VERY VERY WELL!!! They all used very two or three times when they said how she was doing, and none of them heard the other. She has had NO! symptoms, other then the loss of a little hair. Her brother Jared said "Welcome to my world". Hair will grow back!!! Well for Megan anyway...sorry Jared... you can blame the Roberts side for that hair thing. We are very excited to hear the good news, and see that she is doing so well. She has experienced none of the side effects of getting sick and tired, weak, cranky.....wait....maybe that last one. She is the Megan we all know and love. She received a quilt from Aunt June with all of the names of people who have been on the blog writing to Megan. She took the names and embroidered them into the quilt. The quilt is a beautiful patch work and says "Megan we are pray for you" and all of your names are on it. Aunt June also sent a pen so people she meets on her journey can write on it. Lola is a friend that was going through the treatments at the same time as Megan. Lola writes " Think of this storm as only a walk in the rain". I love walking through the rain with my Megan!! This is the last week of her treatments. She will then have an MRI about every 8 weeks to keep an eye on things. They have a big bell in the waiting area that the people get to ring when they are done with there treatments. Megan rings the bell on Friday at about 11am. If you would like to be there you can call Marion and get info
(832-607-6937). Please keep praying for her. The prayers are working. She is doing VERY VERY WELL!!!

They Have The Same Hair or Lack Of

2009-02-26T09:17:00.000-06:00

This week was uneventful for grandpa. Nani watched the kids, and Grandma Elaine and I took Megan to her treatment. They met with the Dr. and all seems to be on track. Megan has started to lose some hair on the left side of her head. The Dr. said some of it might not come back, but we are not receiving that. We are praying it comes back the same if not thicker and curly. Megan is starting to feel a little bit of the fatigue that they say she would feel. We are praying for her to have strength, and keep her strong attitude. She met with Dr. Pudivalie yesterday. He ran the standard tests and said Megan looks great!!! He checked to see if there was any pressure behind her eyes, there was none. Her next MRI is on March 31st. They don't expect to see much change, but we are expecting the tumor to be gone. Lets keep praying for a total healing.

Better Look At Megan's Mask

2009-02-26T09:14:00.000-06:00

All Is Well

2009-02-18T16:44:00.000-06:00

Megan and I spent some time with the Dr. during her visit on Tuesday. The Dr. thought I was Megan's husband. This tells me two things. That I am still looking very young for my age. I told the Dr. when she was surprised that I was her father, "I am just very young looking and extremely handsome". She agreed!!! The second thing that it tells me is that the Dr. thinks Megan has some pretty low standards for men (sorry Felix). Oh well win some you lose some. Because I didn't have the girls with me this week, (Thanks Nani) I was able to push my way into all sorts of places. The young lady that helps Megan with her treatments was very surprised to see me walking in the back halls of the hospital like I owned the place. She was nice, but really did wonder who I thought I was just walking around the treatment center. After a little glad handing, and some Stork charm, she allowed me to go into the treatment vault. I am not sure that is what they call it, but that is a great name for it. Megan & I were taken down a long hall way into a room. They lay her on a table and fix a soft plastic fish net mask to her face, and then bolt it to a table. They then take a laser and align the radiation machine. They pressed a button and told me, "we need to leave now". As I continue to ask questions they cup their hands under my armpit and are pushing me back down the long hall. When I look up, I realize why they seem to be in such a hurry. The door at the end of the hallway is about a foot thick, and it's closing!! Once out of the room, I asked if I can stay and watch from the camera room. They politely, but firmly tell me NO!! "You must go back to the waiting area". A little more of the old Stork charm only produced another, but more stern NO!! "Now go so we can get our work done". I have a picture attached that shows the lasers used to aligning the machine as Megan is bolted to the table. It's not the best picture so I am working on getting a better photo. Please continue to pray for Megan, as the end of this week will mark the 1/2 way point of her treatment. The visit with the Dr. was fun. She asked Megan all kinds of questions, which Megan replied NO!! to most of them. Very few side effects if any have shown up. She has started to experience a little thinning of the hair, but that is about it. Please keep praying because it is working. I would also like you to pray for Brian O'Neill, and his wife Angie. They are friends through the blog & friends of my family. Brian is fighting a tumor also. You can visit his blog at aboneill.blogspot.com. Please do so and send his blog to all and anyone you know who will pray for him. We would like to have people all over the world pray for his total recovery.

Should Not See Any Side Effects

2009-02-07T16:40:00.000-06:00

This was Megan's first full week of treatments. The Dr. she met with on Tuesday said they don't expect to see much in the way of side effects from the radiation. Megan is young and has lots of energy. She is starting to feel a little bit of a burn on her scalp. She has been instructed to keep her head covered at all times when she is out side. They have also given her some cream to keep the scalp moist and help with the burn. She has not felt much in the way of fatigue, and the Dr.s don't expect her to. I think she looks great in a dew rag. The biker chick look does her well. Please continue to pray for Megan. I think I over heard the two little ones plotting to do grandpa harm next Tuesday. I am not sure because I can't understand a word they say. We are expecting God to do some great things. Please ask anyone you know to pray for her also.

Don't Let Her Fool You

2009-02-04T12:11:00.000-06:00

Treatment Has Begun

2009-02-04T10:17:00.000-06:00

Megan started radiation treatment on Monday. Marion took her and the girls for round one of the 6 weeks. She was told that Monday (the first day) would be the longest day due to getting everything set up. They were there for about 45 minutes. The process only takes 5 minutes, so she can get in and out in a short period of time. The reason it took a little longer on Monday is due to the initial set up process. They made more markings on the mask, and reviewed the plan as to how they are going to zap the rest of the tumor. The report on the latest MRI was that there was NO CHANGE!!! in the growth of the tumor. This is great news!! The treatment is a series of 5 different angles that the tumor is hit from. Megan is positioned on a table which moves. In addition to the table moving, the machine also moves to get just the right spot and angle of radiation beam to kill the remaining tumor cells. The radiation will tend to burn the scalp, so she is instructed to keep her head covered at all times, when she is out side. TUESDAY!!! Grandpa volunteered to take Megan to the hospital on Tuesdays. Tuesdays are my days off. Marion has agreed to watch the girls while I take Megan. We were informed that Tuesdays would be the day that Megan gets to meet with the Dr. He wants to meet to make sure all is going according to plan. This is great news because I like lots of detail, and there is nothing better than getting the information first hand. This Tuesday the wheels seemed to fall off the wagon. Marion had a Dr.s appointment so grandpa had to take the girls, and watch them in the VERY small waiting area. I figured what the heck, Megan will be in and out in 15 minutes, how much can go wrong in 15 minutes. Well all I can say is, more than you can ever imagine!!!! Not only was I not suppose to have teh girls, but I had them for over an hour. What went wrong? I thought the first day would be the longest. How did this happen?? Watching little girls is like trying to herd cats. A boy you can turn lose and not have to much to worry about. Girls are very needy, they need snacks & toys & bottles & diapers changed, and they love to bother other people in the waiting area. They fight like cats and dogs and can even get there fingers caught in doors when your not looking. They ran around that hospital like a bunch of wild Indians. They scream at each other, and its just lots of noise coming out. You really can't desifer much of what they are saying. They even had one old man circling his wagons. At least that's the look he had on his face. He finally got up, and walked out of the waiting room. If any of you would like to venture out and help with taking Megan to her treatments or watching the wild Indians please call Marion. I have retired at this point.

Just A Little Bit Punky

2009-01-30T10:44:00.000-06:00

Just A Little Punk

2009-01-30T10:03:00.000-06:00

Sorry it's been so long for an update... Megan has been sick for the past 3 days, but woke yesterday with NO fever!! Glory to God... I was going to post a picture of her new hair cut, but before I could get a good picture of her she cut it again. Seems the whole punk rock thing was just not her style. She went for the Demi Moore look and shaved it. I took this picture of her last night with my phone so its not the best, but I think she looks pretty cute with no makeup and no hair. The hospital called her yesterday with more great news. They have a program to help people with finances. The insurance will only cover a % of the bills plus they have a pretty sizable deductible. The deductible will be for 2008 and again in 2009 since the treatment was started in 08 so they have to pay the deductible twice. Megan and Felix filled out the paperwork for assistance. They worked closely with a lady in the business office that helped them with a huge packet of paperwork. When she called she was laughing and told Megan she has NEVER had anyone fill out the packet correctly. She said she has to call everyone and ask for more information. Except for Megan, she completed it correctly the first time and was approved to have all her bills covered for 2008 and 2009. They will not have to pay anything except for the emergency room at Oak Bend and the ambulance... God is so good.. Now if you are still feeling generous, you can make those non tax deductible donations. Just make your check payable to Paul Stork and send them on. God is great and keeps working on every aspect of this whole thing...Keep praying for Megan, she starts on Monday with her treatment. Thanks for all the support and prayers.

It's Been A Busy Week

2009-01-23T12:19:00.000-06:00

Megan has had one busy week. After the speech testing, she had to do the cognitive testing. She had the same test done before she had the surgery. They do all kinds of memorization, puzzles, and recall type tests. They set aside 3 hours for the test, but she finished in about 1.5 hours. One of the areas she felt she didn't do as well in was memorizing a series of numbers. They recite 10-12 numbers slowly, and then ask you to repeat them back in the same order. Some areas she did better and faster then before the surgery, but over all, she did VERY well. They will also use the information to measure her results against those with like tumors, in the same area, to determine if there are any similarity's. She also underwent a radiation simulation. This is where they prepare you for your treatments. They made a mold of her face and head out of a rubbery/plastic substance. The mold will serve two purposes. One, it will hold her head still during the treatment, secondly it will server as a target point. They will make markings on the mold so they will hit the same spot repeatedly. Treatment is scheduled to start on February 2nd, and will last for 6 weeks. She will go in to a satellite hospital that MD Anderson has in Richmond, just 25 minutes from the house. The process with take about 30 minutes, 5 days a week. The plan is to be able to do the treatment in the late afternoon. That way Jonathan can pick her up and take her while Marion stays with the girls. If they do not let us do the treatment in the late afternoons, Marion & Megan will have to load the girls, and take them in with them. Thank God it is only 6 weeks. After her treatment she will be monitored every 2-3 weeks to see if the tumor has stopped it's growth. We continue to pray that God just removes it. Megan has cut her hair, but I don't have any pictures just yet to show you. I have yet to see it myself, but Stevie & Brian Benoit at Emanuel, blessed her with the new dew. Brian headed up the project, and is a pretty groovy cat. I am told she had to throw back to an 80's rocker look, where the hair is long on one side, but short on the other. I can't think of anyone better than Brian to design the cut. Megan told me on Tuesday that her hair is getting long enough to hide the scar. She was getting some pretty ugly stairs from older people, and some accepting nods from the younger crowd. She figured it was time for a cut. Picture to follow. Please continue to pray for her total healing, and pass this site onto all you know will pray. Our goal is to have people all over the world praying for her total healing.

Megan Passes!!! NO SPEECH THERAPY!!!

2009-01-20T17:50:00.001-06:00

Megan and I spent most of the day at MD Anderson undergoing tests. We met with the speech therapy Dr. What they look for is Megan's ability to carry on a conversation. Megan has a VERY slight deficit in word recall, but if she can substitute a word, and carry on a conversation, they are OK with that. For example, if she can use brush instead of comb or pony instead of horse, that is fine. What the brain does from a very young age is establish pathways to words and word recall. When they remove a portion of the brain, it will disrupt a portion of some of the pathways. It is like going in, and turning all the files upside down. The word is still there, but it is not in the same place as it once was. She needs to find it, and develop a new pathway, to where the word is. They recommend that when she is with family and close friends that she stops, finds the word, and repeat it a few times, then carrys on the conversation. So if you are talking to her, and she can't find a word, stops and finds it, repeats it, then you are a close friend. If she talks with you, and you do not notice her searching for words, then you are not a friend.(LOL) What they where looking for in the testing today, is her ability to see an object, describe an object, say what it is used for, and what are some like items. All this is what the brain does in a millisecond. When the brain is disrupted, and the pathways are scrambled, Megan needs to establish a new pathway, and it takes a little longer to see things, as they are. Today she looked at a dart. She said it was an arrow, then stared at it, and thought for a second, and said dart. In another case she saw a rhinoceros and said hippopotamus then stared at it for a second and corrected her self. She looked at the Dr. and asked, who draws this stuff??? We all had a big laugh!!! This is what happens when she is reestablishing a new pathway. It all ended well, and she will not have to do any speech therapy. Praise God!! Please pray for her healing, and send this to anyone you know will pray for her. Our goal is to have people all over the world praying for a total healing. We love you all!!

Time Is Flying

2009-01-16T15:21:00.000-06:00

Megan is scheduled to go in for some testing, blood work & a briefing on Speech Therapy on January 20th. I don't think she will need any Speech Therapy, but the testing will tell us that. They have canceled her MRI that was scheduled for this week. She just had one a couple of weeks ago, and everything looked great. They will do more of the Cognitive Testing to make sure she is progressing as expected with her motor skills, and word recall. She will then see Dr. Puduvalli and review the plan and schedule for radiation treatments. She will do the treatments once a day Monday through Friday for 6 weeks. Great Grandma Elaine is coming in to sit with Megan and keep her company for a couple of weeks toward the end of her treatment. We are all looking forward to her visit. Please continue to pray for Megan. We are expecting her to go through her treatment with no side effects. Please send this site to anyone you know will pray. Our goal is to have people all over the world praying for our Megan.

Rest Easy!!!!

2009-01-14T15:58:00.000-06:00

Well I had dinner with Megan, Felix, and the girls last night. Marion prepared a wonderful dinner, and we all ate together. Megan is learning to rest, even when she does not feel tired. She says it is very hard to watch her mother do her house work when she feels good, but she is starting to understand that the healing process needs her to just rest, even if she feels like she can do the work it is better for her to rest. When the radiation starts she will need her strength. Isabel is walking all over the house now. She can get into anything, and I do mean fast. I think she is going to be a track star. She will squeal with delight at everyone she passes. Her older sister likes to pass real close. She seems to fall about every other time Alexandra brushes by her. Megan's hair is growing and she looks stronger every day. Keep praying for continued healing.

Resting Well But Not Enough

2009-01-12T06:39:00.000-06:00

Megan is doing much better. I think she would rest more, but she is tired of being penned up in the house. She feels great, but does get tired easily. I don't think she would ever admit that, however that is what I see. Felix and Janie (grandma & grandpa Martinez) take the girls on the weekends and that is a big help. They are wonderful people, and the girls LOVE to go with them. This gives both Megan & Marion rest, not to mention Felix. We are waiting to hear when Megan's radiation treatments will start. Please continue to pray for her and for her total healing.

Home Again Home Again!!!

2009-01-07T13:06:00.000-06:00

Megan was released yesterday afternoon and is home with her family once again!! YAHOOOO!!! Megan's fever spiked on Saturday night at about 10pm, and they drew blood. That was the last time she had a fever. Dr. Lang was not real sure as to what was causing the fever. My take on what he was saying is that they drew the blood on the tail end of all this going on, and it could be a number of things. What they do know it that she does not have an infection. She feels pretty good, and is happy to be home with the girls and Felix. Marion has her best friend home with her again, and I hope they will just enjoy the time they have together. Please pray for her continued healing!!

Still Unsure Of What Happened

2009-01-05T14:17:00.000-06:00

Well!!!! Megan is still in the hospital, but doing fine. She didn't run a fever yesterday or last night. Dr. Lang was in this morning and he said, in not so many words, they really don't know what it was that was causing the fever. His guess is that it was a reaction to one of her medications. Dr. Lang still has her on her anti seizure medication, but has substituted another brand. They started testing on the tail end of her being sick, and it could be a number of things that could have caused her to run a temperature. Infectious disease people checked and found nothing. Lang will leave no stone unturned. He will do an MRI today,and if all checks out to be OK then she will go home tomorrow. She is in good spirits, but does miss the girls. Thanks go out to Donna and Brandy!! They showed up this weekend and cleaned the house and put up all the Christmas decorations. UNBELIEVABLE!!! We were working on moving the date for radiation up so Megan would not have to wait until the end of January. I am thinking that with all that has transpired, we should leave it as is, so she can regain her strength. Please continue to pray for her. We need to pray for a normal MRI, and no infection on the brain. Please pass this on to all you know who will pray!!

No Clots

2009-01-04T10:40:00.000-06:00

We are beginning to narrow this thing down. The ultra sound showed that her legs are free of blood clots. Megan has been on an anti seizure medication called Dylantin (sp?)They think that is what has caused the splotches on her chest,arms & face. Now that they have taken her off of the stuff, the splotches are gone. One of the other side effects that will occur in some cases, is what is called Dylantin fever. They feel this is what Megan is experiencing. Megan has been off of the seizure medication since last Wednesday, but it is just going to take some time for it to flush from her system. They want to rule out everything, so last night they waited until her fever peaked again. At about 10:30 it hit 102.6 and they drew blood. It seems when the fever is high the cultures will show more of what is going on. After they took the blood and urine samples, they worked on reducing the fever. She had a pretty good night. We feel they are just waiting to confirm that it is the Dylantin fever, and they will release her to come home. We hope that will be tomorrow. Please continue to pray for her and her total healing.

Back At MD Anderson

2009-01-03T09:20:00.000-06:00

Megan was admitted last night back into MD Anderson. She has been running a fever for the past week, and we can't seem to get it under raps. The Dr. was in this morning and they are going to do an ultra sound on her legs. There is a chance she might have blood clots and that could cause the fever. I am glad she is there, and under the best of care. Please continue to pray for total healing.

On Her Way Home!!!

2008-12-31T18:34:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-31T11:12:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-30T14:33:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-29T07:19:00.001-06:00

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

2008-12-26T12:28:00.000-06:00

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.

2008-12-26T09:44:00.000-06:00

Christmas Went Well

2008-12-26T09:09:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-24T07:59:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-22T10:08:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-20T11:37:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-19T10:07:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-18T07:26:00.000-06:00

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!!!

2008-12-17T16:15:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-17T06:38:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-16T16:48:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-16T07:10:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-15T15:54:00.001-06:00

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

2008-12-15T10:20:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-14T18:53:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-14T10:07:00.000-06:00

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!!

2008-12-13T18:15:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-13T13:48:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-13T13:20:00.000-06:00

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!

2008-12-13T09:40:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-12T17:35:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-12T14:08:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-12T11:26:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-12T08:57:00.000-06:00

"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

2008-12-12T06:45:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-11T19:51:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-11T18:56:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-11T18:54:00.000-06:00

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!!!!

2008-12-11T18:20:00.000-06:00

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!!!

2008-12-11T18:00:00.001-06:00

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

2008-12-11T16:26:00.000-06:00

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!!!

2008-12-11T14:26:00.001-06:00

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!!

2008-12-11T13:09:00.000-06:00

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........!

2008-12-11T12:16:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-11T11:24:00.000-06:00

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.

2008-12-11T11:19:00.000-06:00

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.

2008-12-11T10:46:00.001-06:00

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

2008-12-11T06:57:00.001-06:00

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

2008-12-10T23:15:00.000-06:00

Today

2008-12-10T18:48:00.001-06:00

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

2008-12-09T22:44:00.001-06:00

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!!!!!!