A Shocking Revelation

It all started about three weeks ago when Mom and Dad got home from their trip to BC. Dad's energy level wasn't what it usually is, and his sleep habits changed. He'd stay up till all hours of the night, and then sleep away the morning. He seemed to be going through a bit of a 'funk'. Mom tried not to worry about it, but as the weeks went on, he began to get worse. He was confusing things, not remembering things clearly, or at all. It was all very strange. So on Monday, Septemeber 1st, Mom tried calling a few friends and got ahold of Aunty Wendy, who used to be a nurse. Finally, she called Health Links to confirm what Aunty Wendy had said - that Dad should be taken to the ER. He went very reluctantly, but after a bunch of tests, chest x-rays, and a CT scan, they came to our place (Dana and Jared's) where the rest of us were gathered to celebrate Jared's birthday.

After some birthday cake, they broke the news to us. Dad has a brain tumor. Our initial reactions were ones of shock. How could this be? What does this mean? Is he going to be okay? None of our questions were answered that night. The only things Mom and Dad knew were that the tumor is located at the very front of Dad's brain (apparently the best place for it to be if surgery is needed), and that there were no spots in his chest, which is sometimes where these sorts of tumors originate. Dad was given a prescription for some very strong steroids to shrink the tumor and they were to return to the hospital on Wednesday for a second CT scan, with a follow-up appointment with a neurosurgeon at the end of the week.

Well, Wednesday rolled around and Dad spent most of the afternoon at the hospital undergoing another CT scan while Mom waited around. They figured they'd be done and could come home once the test was done, but instead, were asked to please stay to talk to the doctors before going home. The news was not good. The tumor is showing 'cancer-like characteristics', which we can only assume means it is a cancerous tumor. We will know more for sure once Mom and Dad meet with the neurosugeon on Friday.

It's all a little bit scary right now. Fear of the unknown is not a good thing, so we are all anxiously awaiting Friday's meeting so we can find out more about what exactly we are facing and how it will be treated. Please keep us all in your prayers over these next few days. Pray for healing in Dad's head, and strength for the family. We know that God's timing is not our own, and we have to trust that He knows what He's doing....but boy this sure feels like rotten timing with kids going back to school, Mom heading back to work....It's been stressful to say the least.

Anyway...we want to thank you in advance for your love and support during this time. Please check back on Friday, as I'll be updating as soon as I hear any news.

On behalf of the entire Folkerts family,
Dana