What a great adventure!
This last month has been a sea of changes. Susie officially finished her therapy sessions at St. David’s Neuro Rehab. She had started physical, speech and occupational therapy around 9 months ago, after experiencing a pontine stroke. Her St. David’s therapists … Read More »
As I look back on last year, I think about the obstacles Susie overcame and the ones we are still trying to get over/ around. The neurological obstacles associated with brain cancer and stroke have been very real. Core capabilities all of us tend … Read More »
Just before New Years, my father-in-law (Fred McCarthy) passed away. He was just shy of 95 years old. Fred and Susie’s mom (Leora) married almost twenty years ago. Our children have known him as their grandfather. Fred and Leora have … Read More »
In November, Susie had a cancer appointment at MD Anderson. The short synopsis is her tumor region is stable (no disease progression) and her pons brain stem stroke is resolving. She now moves to a 4 month interval for cancer follow-ups. … Read More »
Susie and I returned from her Neuro-Oncologist appointment today. It has been quite a whirlwind last four months. After three months of Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment, Susie had a brainstem stroke in April. She met with many doctors and has completed around three … Read More »
Susie and I had an Administrative Law Judge Hearing on the 19th of July. She applied back in 2008 for Social Security Disability. After chasing her claim for three years, we learned in 2011 that her claim was denied. The … Read More »
We’ve made it to the middle of May, which is no small feat considering Susie had a brain stem stroke two weeks ago. This last week was a few steps forward. Susie’s brother Doug was in town to help. We … Read More »
The last week and a half has been quite a roller-coaster. Susie was a bit bummed because she was not attending the Callahan Girls Weekend, where a bunch of her aunts, sisters, cousins, nieces and so on get together once … Read More »
Susie has completed four of eight weeks of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT). Middle of last week was quite hard for her. She did not want to continue. The treatment is not painful, but she feels very different after it. The … Read More »
Two weeks ago, Susie started Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) at St. David’s Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Center. Her treatments last two hours, are daily Monday through Friday and are scheduled for eight weeks. The chamber’s pressure is increased to two atmospheres … Read More »
It has been over a month since Susie started taking antispasmodics. We were hoping to see neurologic improvement, but her condition is largely unchanged. We met with her local Neuro-Oncologist this week for follow-up and to discuss next steps. First and … Read More »
The end of 2016 has been a bit of a roller-coaster. We started the last quarter on a bit of a high. Susie was doing better. She seemed to have more energy with the addition of Hydrocortisone (swimming twice a … Read More »
Just finished Susie’s cancer follow-up this week. Her neuro-oncologist was greatly pleased with how she has physically improved over the summer. She had been fighting fatigue and persistent ear infections over the last couple of years. Her condition had deteriorated … Read More »