Should Not See Any Side Effects

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

Treatment Has Begun

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

Just A Little Punk

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

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!!!

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!!