Kenny Update--October 24th

Kenny is doing very well after his surgery. He is in a regular room and we will probably be heading home tomorrow. He says he has no pain and is not on any pain meds. They also put tubes in his ears and his hearing is back to normal. We were actually able to talk in a normal voice at the foot of his bed and he was able to understand what we were saying. He is a little

pale, somewhat sleepy and has been able to follow conversations well.

The surgery was not as long as planned. The growth was not as large as was expected but it did test positive for cancer. They did not have to be as invasive into his brain as they were last time. The surgeons said that the skull and areas around the tumor look good but they are a little perplexed by the section of the tumor that did grow. I think everyone is interested in the biopsy results to determine what, how and why.

He has drank ½ of a boost, has played on his iPad for a few minutes and is taking a nap right now. He is looking forward to going home.

 

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--October 23rd

We are safe and sound in our hotel room after an early dinner and are starting to unwind. We had several interesting events after we arrived at the hotel but all is good.

First we have Jess’ car for the last several weeks as she was having some starting issues in Philadelphia before her return trip to Pensacola. We have run this car every way we could have imagined bu

t there have been zero issues until now. One of those “God things” that we drove straight from home to the hotel with no stops which is very unusual for us. Once we were given our room we got back into the car to park closer to our room and the car was doing the same thing that Jess had told us about – It would not start. So we decided to let it sit for 30 minutes as she had done to get it to restart, took our luggage and walked over to our room.

They are doing some maintenance on some of the rooms and the room we were given was for lack of a better word “disassembled”. There was a chair that was available so we parked Kenny as I walked back to the office to get another room. The clerk was very apologetic and gave me another room key. Before I move Kenny and Jo I checked the room and <Shocked expression here> it was also disassembled. Back to the office I went. Really I was starting to laugh at this point. I had great compassion on the clerk as he looked back up to see me walking back in. So before he handed me key #3 he wanted to let me know that he was going to check on the room before handing me the key. He was apologizing the entire time. So a couple of minutes passed and as he was walking back to the counter after checking on #3, I could tell that he looked a little worried. I guess room #3 had not had the maid thru it yet. Room #4 was the winner!

By this time 30 minutes had passed and the car would still not start. Luckily there is a Wendy’s (Kenny’s usual choice) next to the property so we were able to walk over for dinner. After dinner and an additional 58 minutes of letting the car sit – SUCCESS! The car started. *** Mike Fields alert – you have a car coming over to you for repair in a couple of days ***. I took the car over, filled the tank while it was still running got back over to the hotel. I was able to restart the car without any problem so yes this is still an intermittent issue.

I personally think that Jess’ car is attached to me and knows that she is coming back next weekend to swap cars. Just goes to show everyone that God does have a sense of humor. We are going to be calling it a very early night tonight. We will be at the hospital very early but Kenny will not be in surgery until mid-morning. I will post once he goes to recovery and we are able to see him. This is going to be a very long surgical procedure.

 

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--October 22nd

Tomorrow we will be traveling back to Ohio State University and the James Cancer Hospital for a scheduled biopsy on Wednesday. There are several last minute items that we are finishing up before we begin the next chapter in this journey.

Praises
Kenny has an excellent group of doctors and nurses in Indiana and Ohio that have been diligent in his treatment. There are no

boundaries that they will not cross to make sure that he is getting the best care possible and have every advantage in his cancer battle.

Prayer concerns
First and foremost is protection during the surgery.
That the pain and discomfort is at a minimum
The biopsy will show the correct diagnosis of the cancer.

 

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--October 21st

Kenny felt good enough this morning that we were able to attend Indian Creek for service.

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--October 19th

Today we are taking trip to OSU today for CT scan, blood work and pre-op meeting. Kenny's biopsy is scheduled for Wednesday morning!

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--October 16th

This is not the update that we wanted to give. Jo had taken Kenny to the Oncologist office this morning for him to receive a transfusion since his blood counts were rebounding so slowly. The MRI results are in and the tumor is mostly unchanged except for one section. Riley Children’s Hospital, IU Bloomington Proton Center and OSU have met on the results and we have a couple of options before us. The short answer is that Kenny will be scheduled for an additional biopsy at OSU so that the doctors can determine the composition of the growth area. Right now it is too early to determine the future direction of Kenny’s cancer treatment but there is additional chemo’s available. We will be back to a hurry up and wait mode over the next few weeks with surgery and test results.

Praises
Most of the tumor remained the same size

We have additional chemo options available for future treatment

Prayer concerns
The biopsy will lead to definite answers
An effective chemo treatment will be determined

Thank you everyone for your continued prayers!

 

~Ken and Jo~

Kenny Update--October 8th

We have few concrete answers to give right now so I am going to list the major items.

Cancer
There is no evidence to point to an improvement or worsening of Kenny’s condition. Kenny did show clinical improvement several months ago with the previous chemo treatment that he was on. This was prior to the tumor debulking procedure and proton therapy; however that also

showed a growth in tumor size. Due to the rare type Kenny has and the lack of enough statistical data on treatment effectiveness, the Oncologist and the group that has been meeting is recommending that Kenny continue the current chemo treatment for a few additional rounds. That is IF the tumor has not grown in size. The only effective way of telling if this cancer has been successfully treated is to discontinue treatment and watch him over a long period of time.

Tumor
The oncologist office is waiting for the official tumor measurement from 3 separate MRI’s. Pre-Proton treatment, Post-Proton treatment and today’s scan. Because the tumor is at the base of the skull, doing comparisons on 3 separate scans and there is so much in that area that needs to be examined; there was no initial preview given. Once the Oncologist and his team have had a chance to review the results they will be meeting with Jo and me.

Hearing
There is a build-up of fluid behind his ear drums and no sign of additional damage to his auditory nerve other than was already present. The doctors put him on a prescription to see if this will clear it up. The long term solution will be to have tubes put in his ears if the prescription does not do the trick. The ears are neither infected nor painful, he just cannot hear much.

Blood counts
Mostly were good. His protein counts are solid so his continued diet of boost drinks has not only stabilized his weight but has brought these counts back in the safe range for several weeks. His white cell counts are on the rise from last week. We will need to keep him away from crowds for a while longer. His red cell count is lower than they would like. He may need to do another transfusion soon if these numbers do not improve quickly.

Chemo
The latest round finished last Friday. Due to lower blood cell counts than they want at this point in the calendar Kenny will also be taking next week off of treatment.

Praises
The hearing loss is easily treatable
Kenny continues to be medically stable

Prayer concerns
The future cancer treatment is the correct path to take
Accurate tumor measurement
Patience and continued stamina for the family

Thank you one and all for your continued prayers!

 

~Ken and Jo~