It seemed to start as a cold ...

Our family has been home from Seattle for the holidays. We have been staying with our good friend Kelsey while we are visiting everyone in PA. Monday night, Stephanie came home and said she started feeling a cold coming on. We went to bed, and when she woke, she said she felt worse. I got her some toast and some tea, and she stayed in bed. Around lunchtime, she asked for some more food. My mom came down to visit us, and she, the kids and I went out to run some errands and get some lunch. We left Steph home to sleep and try and feel better.  The kids were a little rammy, so on our return to the house, I had them run 10 laps around it's perimeter. On Noah's 4th lap (Maeve's 3rd), Kelsey came out and said Steph was sitting up and crying in her bed.

I went upstairs and Steph up and walking around, though speaking gibberish. I tried to talk to her, but it agitated her. She could not walk right and was falling over as well. I didn't know what was wrong but knew she needed to go to the hospital. I eventually got her into the hall, sat her down at the steps and had her slide down on her bottom to get downstairs. She was screaming and talking gibberish the entire time and continued to do so once downstairs. I thought if I could get her to the car, I could get her to the hospital myself faster than calling an ambulance. However, that's when she had her first seizure. My mom was there, which I am grateful for, as she was the calm one. I called 911 while my mom comforted Steph and placed a pillow under her head. 

The ambulance arrived, and Steph was once again fighting us and screaming. It took 3 EMTs to get her on the stretcher and tied down. I grabbed some things from the house and followed the ambulance to the hospital. On the way, it stopped on the side of the road!  I was freaking out. They started again, and then pulled over on 322. I was losing it. They eventually told me the truck was having problems and a new one was on the way to continue Steph's journey.  Once they moved her to the new truck, we were again on our way. 

I made it to the hospital and waited in the ER waiting room for them to let me in the back ....  Once there, Steph was actually talking normally and was calm, but something was off. She still thought we lived in Romansville, forgot about Seattle and generally seemed to have lost all short term memory. I also found out from the nurses that she had had another seizure while in the ambulance.  The sent her back for a CT scan, as I started contacting family about what was going on. A little while later, the the doctor told me that the scan indicated swelling on the brain, but not being a neurologist, he could not draw any more conclusions, and recommended a transfer to the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania (HUP).  After a few hours, the transfer vehicle arrived and we were on the road again. I drove myself and found a place to park. Then another place to park, and then finally on the third try, I found the correct parking garage (one would think the hospital could afford better signage for parking :-). 

The previous hospital had given me the room to go to, so I headed there to find Steph already in her bed, fast asleep. An MRI had been scheduled for the next day and the neurologist had been given the CT scan for his review. I slept in her room in the ICU that night (Tuesday).

In the morning, I met her neurologist. He said the scan showed a lesion in the spot near where the pressure was indicated, but could not fully determine what it was without the MRI. Steph continued to stabilize, and they decided to am transfer her to the step-down unit after her MRI. 

We didn't get the results of the MRI until later that day. The doctor said she likely had a 3.5cm grade 2 glioma on the right side of her brain (a tumor the size of a golf ball). He said it was at the surface, making it easier to operate on. However, he could not say exactly why it is until a biopsy was done. 

Since we don't live in PA anymore, we had a decision to make: surgery here or in Seattle. Weighing the pros and cons, and the possible risk of another seizure mid-flight, we decided to have it here. 

So, now our trip to PA has been extended slightly, and we are spending our third night in the hospital, awaiting surgery tomorrow at 7am (Friday). We are told the prep time will be about 1 to 1.5 hours, and then the surgery another 2-6 hours. After that, she will have to come down from the anesthesia. So, the whole process could take most of the day tomorrow. We will then spend the night in the ICU again, then the step-down unit again for the 2nd night after surgery. At that point, it will be up to the docs and the physical therapists to decide when and where we will be discharged. 

The tumor will be sent to pathology once removed. It will take 5-10 days for us to know exactly what the tumor is and its makeup. That will also help the team of doctors determine further course of action. 

While all of the above happened, and wonderful group of friends and family have been praying and supporting us. Thank you all so very much. Thank you for watching our children while I watched out for their mother. Thank you for he kind words of love and tenderness. And thank God for His perfect timing, allowing us to be in PA with all of you during this difficult time. 

We love you deeply!

I will post more as we move through the surgery and into recovery.