Molly Update: Neurologist Appointment

Just got home from Molly's appointment with her neurologist.  She hasn't seen him since June of '07, which was soon after her symptoms from Chiari I Malformation first showed up.  So since then Molly has had one surgery with the elimination of all symptoms and another surgery which at this point hasn't helped.  The doctor has thrown 4 things at us...

1. To help with her "jolting" issue, which he thinks may be like mini-seizures, she is getting medication.  We'll see if it helps.

2. Molly is now taking a vitamin to help with thinking/memory issues byexpanding blood vessels in her brain.  I may swipe some of that for myself. :) I can't remember the name at the moment.

3. To help with sleep Molly got a sample pack of Ambien CR. We'll see how much that helps.

4. The doctor recommended a 15-20% wedge to elevate her head and upper body at night, since lying flat seems to create some of the sleep issues.

It's apparent that we are dealing with symptom alleviation rather than fixes.  We are guessing this is what life will be like for Molly now.  We are still looking into second opinions and possible re-exploratory surgery, but nothing major will be happening until at least after the holidays.

Lots-o-Links 12.2.08

Quick Molly Update: Molly has been doing a little better lately.  She is even starting to sleep on her own (without meds).  It's not every night, but it's getting better.  When she sleeps well her Chiari symptoms seem to be significantly better the next day.  When she sleeps poorly, her Chiari symtoms get all jacked up.  She still isn't sleeping deeply and consistently, but things are headed in a better direction.  We are going to her neurologist (not neurosurgeon) today to ask about the sleep issue.  Hopefully he will have some insights.  Thanks for your continued prayers for my wife and family.

Here's the Advent devotional my family is using (via). We are also using selections from the excellent Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas.

Karis Church's Theology Weekend audio featuring Bruce Ware is up

ESV SB for your mobile phone - $29

Dan Kimball has some missional misgivings

Mark Driscoll on The Mission and Vision of the Acts 29 Network. It's nice to follow Mark over the past few years and hear the the ways he's changed as well as how he hasn't changed.

Paste Magazine lists their top movies of 2008

Roger Ebert on the death of the film critic (via)

The New York Times: 100 Notable Books of 2008

Phriday is for Photos 11.14.08

Here's little Elijah near the beginning of the worst week of his life so far. Thank God his fever is gone and he is full of energy today. See the rest of my photography.

The End of an Era

Mayor of Pontiac, Illinois, Scott McCoy, will not be seeking a second term.

As a small-business owner, I am the business,” he said. “I have a lot of flexibility owning my own business, but with the massive time I’ve put in [as Mayor] with the very important and demanding situations this year, it has severely impacted my business. And I have an obligation to my employees and my family.

[...]

I’ve never considered myself a politician. And all I see are politicians working hard to keep their jobs instead of doing their jobs. So, I’ll give up my job in order to be aggressive and do my job. It’s not about me, it’s about Pontiac and saving this prison!

Read the entire article.  Scott, the perks of having my brother as Mayor (that were never realized, honestly) will be sorely missed.  Glad to see you focus on what's important in your life and for our hometown.

Lots-o-Links 11.12.08

Brief Molly Update: We are not going to Chicago tomorrow for Molly's spinal tap because of Elijah's ongoing sickness. Unsure whether the next step will be the spinal or second opinion. Stay tuned and thanks for praying. By the way, we will be looking into a handicapped tag for the van as navigating 1/2 a parking lot is quite a chore for her.  But we are grateful she is going to be able to start driving a little.

Looking forward to the ESV Study Bible going mobile soon. 

If you have no style or need something better, here are three steps to building your individual style. 

Learn to give and take criticism like a man.

Second Rate Snacks = Awesome.

Saralyn really likes Practical Theology for Women by Wendy Alsup.  We have copies (unless they are sold out) on our church book table.

Ed Stetzer: Simply Missional.

Tim Chester: Creating Communities of Grace.

Lots-o-Links 11.5.08

Quick Molly Update: Molly is about to lose it.  She is averaging somewhere around 3 hours of sleep a day or less for the last 6 weeks.  No joke.  She has maybe had two nights where she slept at least 6 hours.  She has had several nights where she didn't even doze off.  We thought it was the steroids taken in the first few weeks.  It's clear that it's so much more than that.  This morning was a breaking point.  She has gone from acting sluggish and tired to wanting to punch me in the face.  That's not all that uncommon, but it's much more than normal.  Let me explain how bad things are...

This morning we sat down to talk and she started to tear up.  I said what I always say when Molly cries, "You know, Jesus didn't cry" (my "Away in a Manger" reference).  Most of the time that makes her laugh and then we figure things out.  Not this time.  This time she barked back at me right away, "MAYBE JESUS DIDN'T CRY, BUT JESUS SLEPT!"  Touche. 

Links...

Lessons from a failed church plant (HT)

5 cool church tools

I know it's last minute, but if you are near Columbia, Missouri you need to check out Karis Church's Theology Weekend.  It's this weekend and the speaker is Bruce Ware.

Jonathan Dodson: Deacon Training I, Deacon Training II, Increase the community in missional communities, Wisdom for planters, especially bivocational

Speaking of missional communities, consider Alan Hirsch's four points: INCH

The art of thank you note writing

Election Night stuff...

I enjoyed Obama's speech last night. It gave me goosebumps. It was like a Disney moment. I watched a sea of people who had the Obama-shaped hole in their hearts filled and wondered what the next four years will look like.

I just hope that Obama doesn't continue in the direction of his voting record. It's remarkable to me and deeply ironic that our first African-American President will be our country's strongest defender of treating unborn babies as less than fully human.

And I'm sorry, but Michelle Obama's dress was awful. 

Did you see the CNN election night hologram? Pretty cool...

Anyone miss Dan Rather? Me too...

Molly & Chiari Update - Halloween '08

(I'm trying to write in a Halloween theme, so some terminology may be a bit creepy.  But beyond the fun it's really deadly serious. Molly asked me to put the graphic up to show how things are going.)

It's a scary Halloween for the McCoy family.  It started with a phone call at the stroke of midnight.  It was Dr. Frim.  Yes, we were expecting his late call.  But midnight is very late...scary late.

Dr. Frim was following up his nurse's phone call earlier.  The MRI's of Molly's skull and brains look good.  He can't find anything wrong.  That sounds like all treats, but it's really a trick.  Seeing nothing wrong when Molly has such evil symptoms means she is running out of options.  All Dr. Frim can do create a bloody mess by slicing open the back of her neck and fixing anatomical features to aid spinal fluid flow.  After that, it's a dead end.

Here's the plan.

1. Molly will have a spinal tap to see if her body's response to surgery has increased her spinal fluid pressure.  That could be the cause a lot of her problems.  I think won't reveal anything wrong, but it's still possible and is worth trying.

2. If #1 doesn't work, Molly will get a second opinion from a pediatric neurosurgeon at the University of Wisconsin in Madison (same place where she got the MRI). Dr. Frim respects the doc there and thinks he's a good, nearby option for trying to figure out what's wrong and what to do.  Problem is, Frim is the guy people go to when other options aren't as good.  When you start at the top there are few places to go...BUT DOWN.....MUHAHAHAAAAaaaa!

3. If #2 reveals something, we do what's necessary.  If it doesn't reveal anything, the last gasp will be to have Dr. Frim hack open the back of Molly's neck again and root around looking for anything that is not noticeable on the MRI but still a problem.  It's a re-exploration of the chiari hoping to find something.  He said about 1/2 of the time he finds something that fixes some or all of the problem, which means there's a 50% chance all that will happen is I do laundry for a lot longer.  That gives me the chills.

If the surgery reveals nothing and her symptoms don't get better, Dr. Frim basically said that we are out of options.  That's a frightening, but very real, possibility. We would then start looking at other things that may help symptoms, though those will probably not help all that much.

After the phone call Molly asked me if things might get bad enough where she would have to be in a wheelchair the rest of her life.  All I could do is tell her that I don't know.  This is as down as I've been in the 1 1/2 years we've been dealing with this stuff.  We are setting up spinal tap and second opinion appointments asap.  I'll keep you up to date.

Please pray for coming appointments and possible solutions.  Pray that we would be content with whatever God does.  Pray for opportunities to minister to others through all this.

Friends of Molly McCoy

After Molly's symptoms returned from Chiari I Malformation in July, we learned soon after that she would face a second brain surgery.  It was devastating to us, but the first surgery went so well and helped so much that we anticipated good things.  As you know, things haven't gone very well.  But that isn't the point of this post.

Before the second brain surgery was even scheduled we had some folks at our local elementary school (including the principal, office workers, and teachers) told us that they were planning a benefit for Molly.  Actually I'm not sure the word "benefit" was used, but they wanted to do some sort of fundraiser to help Molly and our family.  This was completely without provocation and without sharing of any family needs by Molly or me or the kids.  

Molly has invested much in the local schools and everyone there loves her.  Among other things she has served in the Parent Teacher Organization, heads up Market Day sales and distribution, has helped in every classroom of every kid in significant ways, and is the queen of giving scrumptious baked good for every single holiday to all the kids' teachers, the principal, the office workers, even the janitors!  Everyone there knows that Molly has no agenda but to love them and appreciate them and bless them and befriend them.  And now many of them have become good friends and chose to bless her right back.

After much work on their part they chose to start a "Friends of Molly McCoy" organization and develop a benefit dinner, which took place on October 23rd.  They initially hoped to get several hundred dollars to help with gas money and hotel and things like that. But this became bigger than anyone expected. 

It started with a few friends at the elementary school.  Then new people joined up to organize and pull off the event, including some church members and other school teachers and workers.  Danny's teacher served food at the dinner.  Elijah's teacher helped organize the whole event and served at it.  Jack's teacher helped serve food and even was going around the school days before with a jug for people to donate money.  Even a teacher of Sarah's who has been very sick with her first pregnancy was there to serve food.  PTO friends served and donated much.  Several moms of other students got involved, including the notorious Woodstock "Mommy Mafia."  Don't ask. 

Everything they needed in planning the event was donated. The local Lutheran church hosted the event for free.  The food was all donated, including delicious spaghetti from Papa Saverios in Huntley, IL.  The former PTO president had shirts created with Molly's photo printed on it with "Friends of Molly McCoy."  All of the workers at the dinner were given a shirt.  Our worship leader donated his time to play music during the dinner.  People came to set up, tear down, clean up, serve food, prepare dozens and dozens of "take out" orders for those who didn't have time to sit and eat.  The event was advertised in many ways including all schools involved passing out event fliers to all parents and putting fliers up around town.

And what all of these friends of Molly did was bring in hundreds of people at $10 a plate ($5 for kids) and a lot more money than anyone expected!  It was unbelievable.  And there was even a 50/50 raffle that one of the workers won.  She immediately gave her 1/2 back to us. We saw church members there, our soccer team , former coaches from baseball teams, people from Molly's gym, the McHenry County College basketball team (coach is the elementary school gym teacher), and many others from various areas of life.

Today the three key organizers of the benefit from the elementary school came by and gave us a check for well over anything any of us expected.  We are just blown away, and I think they are too.

Add to all this a few other things I don't want to fail to mention.  We have continued to get meals by church and community friends on a regular basis.  Joe Thorn's church provided three big coolers full of frozen meals and a bunch of money for food.  We have also received money prior to and after the surgery from church members, community friends, parents of church members, people we don't really know, and our mechanic.  We've had a couple of teachers pay to have our house cleaned, which is going to happen soon.  Elijah's soccer coach helped organize donations through the soccer league.  They collected much of it from team parents and a paint jug with Molly's name on it.  Again, unbelievable. 

We know we probably missed some things we could mention here.  This isn't so much our "thank you" to those involved, though we say THANK YOU!, and are trying to do that in person and through personal notes.  This post is a public expression of gratitude to God for what He has done.  He has shown his blessing and grace in remarkable ways these last several weeks.  And I want to end by saying that I have learned about how to be invested in a community of people through my wife more than anyone. Thanks for your faithfulness to me, our family, our community, and especially our God.  I love you.

Being Fully Invested as Parents

The High Calling has my new article online, "Are You Fully Invested?"  It's a reflection on Ephesians 5:15-16 and parenting.

Cubs & Sounds

My 5 year old, Daniel, colored a picture for kindergarten.  He was supposed to write a sentence about the picture.  Here's what he wrote...
Now at first glance it appears that Danny says "The Cubs are not in the World Series" followed by crying "Wah wah wah wahhhhhh."  But When I asked him about what he wrote he made that sound like on a game show when you pick the door with the goat behind it.  Like this.  Hilarious!  I'm not even sure where he came up with that.  But he sure does understand the Cubs!

Molly Update and Lots-o-Links 10.22.08

Quick update on Molly.  She is finishing up her third round of steroids tomorrow, so we hope that will have a good result.  But as of today she has had more numbness/tingling in her legs than ever before.  Her balance issues are dramatic.  She is sleeping a little better, but not nearly enough yet.  It's still very worrisome around here, but God is our refuge (we read and prayed Ps 52 with our kids this morning).

Links...

Kung-Fu Election.  "Huck-uh-beeee!"

Good Wendell Berry website that I wasn't aware of until a few weeks ago.  New Wendell Berry Poetry.  New Billy Collins poetry.  Poems for autumn.

JD Greear - Multi-Site vs Church Planting.  Bill Streger - Great Questions for Pastors. Jonathan Dodson - Redefining Evangelism.

Questions to ask before confronting.  Powlison on Friendship Counseling.

BibleArc.  Tom Schreiner taught me this at SBTS.  Could be a cool resource site. We'll see.

I have this ESV Study Bible.  Haven't used it enough to say too awful much (though I like what I've seen), but I do really dig the online version that is available for those who buy a hard copy.  Place for notes, highlighting text in different colors, and the full content of the study Bible.  I will use the online resource several times a week.  You should get one!  Westminster is a great place to buy books, especially ESV Bibles.

A Holy Longing: Beauty and the Gospel.

Total Church Conference audio is up.

Quick Update on Molly 10.16.08

Home from Molly's appointment.  It was about 9 hours of life for one appointment.  Wowwy.  No time to explain, so here's the dealio right quick.

Picked up the kids and headed out.  Stopped along the way to get some food.  Got to the University of Chicago Hospital on time.  Waiting room for 10 minutes, patient room for 1 1/2 hours (with 4 kids in there) before seeing Dr. Frim. 

Actually we saw a resident first, then Dr. Frim.  Lots of questions and a balance test, which Molly flunked big time.  Frim seemed a bit perplexed.  The three residents following his lead seemed bored, but they still laughed at my jokes so I think I made their night. :)

Dr. Frim thinks Molly is still struggling with some kind of chemical meningitis as a reaction to the foreign body (tube) he put in.  So yet another round of steroids is starting tomorrow and will last for the next 7 days.  Near the end of that other anti-inflammatories will begin. 

Dr. Frim changed Molly's nausea meds since that is a huge issue right now.  He feels quite sure it's directly tube related and will get better in the near future.  Also he is throwing a new insomnia medication at Molly hoping it will help her difficulty with sleep.  Her current one is helping a little, but not enough.  Still very tired.  Hope that will change now.  Of course Walgreens ran out (there's a sermon illustration there, don't miss it).  So I have to run to Wal-Mart in the morning to fill that prescription.

In the next couple of days we will be traveling to Madison, Wisconsin for another battery of MRI's.  Hopefully these will show if the spinal fluid flow is better, if there's swelling, etc.  Dr. Frim said Madison has good facilities there for the special MRI's Molly needs.  Wish we knew that last time around.  It will save a bunch of time and money to use Madison.  Plus Fuddruckers is on the way.  Woohoo! 

I asked Dr. Frim about what he thinks will happen at this point and he is still feeling that when some of the above issues are resolved a bit we will see improvement.  That remains to be seen, but let's pray to that end.  Because of the steroids we are still probably at least another couple of weeks away from knowing if the surgery was a success.  I'll update if/when something changes.

Thanks for the many encouraging notes on the blog, Facebook, Twitter, email, etc.  Appreciate all of you and your prayers so much as we struggle through this stuff.  God is proving His faithfulness again and again to us.

Headed to University of Chicago Hospital

Just wanted to give a heads up and ask for your prayers.  I talked with Dr. Frim's nurse this morning and they want Molly in their office late this afternoon.  Things with Molly are still very bad.  She essentially has all of her symptoms from before the surgery plus terrible nausea, increasing numbness, and more.  She is bedridden most of the time with short bursts of up time. 

We really need the Molly's neurosurgeon to figure out what's going on.  We need some answers and a bit of hope.  Please pray.

Molly Update 10.14.08

Sorry not to update you all more, but not much has changed.  Molly is laying down most of the day because sitting or standing makes her dizzy/nauseous. She doesn't seem to be getting better from the surgery, or at least she has hit a sticking point.  A few days ago we heard from the doctor and it seems that they are growing a bit more concerned with Molly's recovery...or lack of. 

Maybe one day soon Molly will wake up and feel much better, but as of today she has all her Chiari symptoms plus some symptoms the surgery, is not sleeping much (at one point slept 2 hours in 2 days), and is emotionally drained.

We assume we will be making a trip to the city this week for a meeting with Dr. Frim to try to figure out what's going on.  Should know today, we think.  It's going to be a miserable trip if Molly continues to feel nauseous even when stationary.  We may need a barf bag donation drive.

Needless to say we are growing more and more frustrated and concerned.  Last year was a breeze compared to this. We see no light at the end of the tunnel.  It feels like things won't get better.  But we also know every rose has its thorn (yeah, I just did that...though I really mean every thorn has its rose).  Honestly, God is really teaching us a lot through this stuff.  It's provided chances to teach our kids things that would be harder to grasp if it weren't for Molly's problems.  Their uncoached prayers have really encouraged us.  And we know that through all of this God is working good (Romans 8:28 has been a family devotion passage recently).

Thanks for your continued prayers.

I want to say one more thing.  Some folks at our local elementary school (Mary Endres) decided before the surgery to have a spaghetti dinner to help Molly and our family.  They are planning food for 300 people!  Molly has been very (!) active in our local elementary school since we moved to Woodstock.  And now all the work she has put in and the relationships she has made are resulting in a great blessing during a difficult time.  We love our local schools, teachers, and workers.  We are very thankful for them.

Molly & Chiari Update 10.8.08

Hey all.  Here's a brief Molly & Chiari update.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, read this.

Molly had surgery 1 1/2 weeks ago (Friday, 9.26...so 12 days post-op).  Her first two days in the hospital were unbelievably good.  She had energy, recovered quickly, and was happy.  So they sent her home.  Her last several days at home have been just miserable.  She lies down most of the time but isn't getting much sleep.  If she tries to stand up and do anything, or sit up and read or watch TV or whatever, she feels terribly nauseous and has to lie back down.  That makes her one very frustrated woman.  Add to that she has numbness in her feet and hands, regular headaches, and other symptoms of Chiari.  She also has some swelling near the incision.  Maybe the worst thing is that Molly has a strong appetite for foods that are difficult for me to find. :)

Molly and I have both talked to Dr. Frim's nurse a time or two, and have kept them abreast of how Molly is doing.  The accepted explanation is that when you put a foreign body into a human body stuff like this is how you feel for a while.  I told you while still at the hospital that this is what they thought would happen after she stopped taking steroids. 

Yesterday Molly woke up with some painful spots on her torso.  It's as if she feels like she has several bruises on her upper torso and arms.  Weird.  A call to the nurse led to Molly going to our local family doctor to seek a blood test to check for infection.  Our family doctor wanted to meet with Molly to check on her himself and gave us the "ok" on the incision (doesn't look infected from the incision point) and her vital signs.  He sent her to get a blood test and the results will be sent to Dr. Frim.

Dr. Frim called in another short round of steroids, including an initial big dose.  Molly took the big dose last night and will be taking more the next 2-3 days.  This morning she is feeling great!  Happy, chatty (too chatty), energized.  We know it's probably short lived once she stops taking them again, but it should help her recover a bit faster and at least feel better for a day or two.  I should also add that her torso pain is gone as of this morning. 

This has been a really difficult time for us.  We are all exhausted and concerned about whether or not Chiari symptoms will go away.  At least Molly's energy today gives me a chance to do some work on my church.  It's been very difficult to find time for that lately. For some context, here's my post 12 days post-op from last year's surgery.  Things were much, much better last time around. 

We appreciate all of you and your prayers for Molly.  Please keep praying.

Operation Restoring Hope

Blogging Molly's Chiari I Malformation brain surgery. Most recent updates top of each section.

Section one: Updates on Molly, surgery, hospital stay, & recovery. 
Section two: Updates on me, my experiences, reflections, & photos.

Essential Links

• Twitter -- Immediate brief updates. Links to camera phone photos.
• Centro Photos -- See what we see through camera phone photos.
• Artistic Photographs -- Best quality photos, but updated only occasionally.

Tuesday

2:35pm <> A couple of brief updates.  First, we must add because I don't think I've said it so far that the Hilton Our towels at home are exfoliating scrubs compared to them.  We almost took one to give to a pregnant mom as her baby's snuggle blanket.

Oh, how's Molly?  Good question.  Molly is exactly where her doc said she should be.  She is coming down off of the steriods and looking and feeling exhausted.  She's in bed a lot, resting, healing.  Me?  I'm doing dishes, cleaning, buying & making food, and searching for a little time to be a pastor. :)  God is taking care of my wife and the rest of us.  We are very blessed.

Sunday

8:21pm <> Molly is fast asleep, the kids are still up messing around.  I'm still keeping them home tomorrow.  There's just too much to be done and everything is too hectic to get them there in the morning.  We all need a break.

I picked up Molly's meds, including a steroid (strong anti-inflammatory).  It's the steroid that is probably to blame for Molly's pep.  It really helps.  Plus, it will really help her to beat Lance in next summer's Tour de France.  She beat me at arm wrestling earlier. 

Just so glad to be home with our kids, and even with our cat.  I'm strangely more affectionate toward Calvin post-surgery.

We are getting the feeling that Molly will have to wait a couple of weeks before really knowing how she will do with relief of chiari symptoms.  She has started having the "jolts" a little today, but nothing major.  But the doctor said even prior to today that she may regain some symptoms after the steroids taper off.  She will likely have some confusing days ahead for a couple of weeks because of the inflammation the foreign substance will cause.  At least that's how we understood the doc. 

So if we start talking about some symptoms, I guess the call is to not panic until a bit of time passes.  The jolt is the only thing we've seen so far, and it was there after the last surgery when all other symptoms were gone.  So no worries yet.

Now, as for things we forgot.  I failed to mention that when Dr. Frim put in the stent (tube) he attached it to the brain via what he called a "micro-stitch."  He said he's one of the few doctors who do that.  So let the stitch/sewing nicknames begin!  I like "Steve'o and Stitch." :) 

Molly also saw and talked to several nurses from last year.  Pretty cool.  We even talked to the one who so famously ran Molly into a private room when we needed one so much.  It's neat to see people who we remember and who remember us, but we told them we hope to NEVER see them again. 

I just want to add that au bon pain has a killer onion dill bagel.  Delicious. As we remember other stuff I'll add them here.

6:48pm <> We are home and I'm about to head out and get Molly's stuff from the Pharmacy.  Quick trip home and the kids are great (all but the part about going back to school a day early!).  I caught Molly organizing clothes in the boys' room!  Shameful.  I made her rest instead.  What a woman.  Too bad for you that there is only one of her...and she's mine!

Thanks everyone for praying.  We were talking on the way home about a note on the little things I missed mentioning along the way.  I'll try to get to that tonight or tomorrow.  I also want to update you on Molly's symptoms and what the next few days hold for her.  And then tomorrow my Music Monday post will be going up and the blog will go somewhat back to normal. 

Thanks to all my readers.  You have made the last couple of days more full for us through your prayers, comments, and encouragement.  And together we have seen God build a network of pray-ers around the world, who He has responded to with His favor. 

2:31pm <> Molly is in the process of finishing up here, then changing into her clothes, then I'll be bringing the van around and picking her up.  Could be home at 5-5:30pm-ish, depending on how fast the nurse gets stuff moving, Sunday traffic, and how long it takes to get the kids.  Can't wait to get home.

12:54pm <> GUESS WHO'S GOING HOME!!!  WOOHOO!!!  Dr. Frim and Dr. Ricky Wong just stopped in and they are sending Molly home.  Who's pumped?  We are, that's who!  Now I'm headed to the International House to see if I can get my money back for tonight.  Or maybe I'll postpone it and we can stay the night for our post-op appointment in a week and a half.  Or maybe they won't refund me and I'll just go home.  Whatever.  We are just so excited to be going home.  Should be a couple of hours or so before the orders go through. If possible I'll update right before we go. 

11:28am <> Molly finished a walk up and down the hallway, first with the nurse, then with me, then without holding on to anything.  Outstanding! Seriously, she's doing EXTREMELY well.  These signs are awesome.  And she hasn't had a single "jolt" (a chiari symptom that she had).  Really great news so far.

11:20am <> Just a bit ago Dr. Dey and Dr. Yassari came in to see Molly.  Dr. Dey doesn't read my blog, so I have lost all respect for her. :)  Ah, just kidding Dr. Dey!  You've been a real encouragement to us and have always provided info we've needed at the right time.

Dr. Yassari then talked briefly with Molly and was very impressed with her recovery.  He said her neck range-of-motion is outstanding for this soon after surgery.  I think his words were "better than good" movement.  Awesome.  Then Dr. Yassari said that she may go home TODAY!  Yes, you heard that right.  Maybe home 48 hours post-brain surgery!  We never even thought that was possible, but honestly Molly is way better now than at any point in the hospital from last year.  She's better now than after leaving on Monday and spending two days at home.  That's hard for us to believe, but it's true.  Thanks for praying!  Woohoo!

Now, it still may end up being tomorrow.  And if so that's just fine.  I've already paid for another night for me at the International House, so we're good.  I doubt I can get that prepaid $70 back. :(  Bottom line: we want everyone to be confident in doing what's best.  But we would obviously love to be home and be with our kids.

Saturday

2.10pm <> Mo lly is looking at a menu.  Good signs of another step in recovery. She has also said she feels much better after this surgery than the previous one.

12:12pm <> Molly is sleeping a ton.  Very happy about that.  Gonna get out, get some lunch, take some photos, check on housing for tonight, and who knows what else!

10:55am <> Dr. Frim and neurosurgery resident Dr. Yassari (I think he's in his 6th of 7 years of residency) just stopped by ICU.  Dr. Frim encouraged Molly to watch college football, which makes me think he said that for my sake.  Thanks Dr. Frim!  He said Molly will stay in ICU until tomorrow, which is longer than expected.  But it seems clear the reasoning is that very few surgeries are done on the weekend, so they probably won't need the room, and it's much more quiet and comfortable in ICU.  After a long night in the noisy Recovery unit, this is a nice way for Molly to get a lot of rest.

Dr. Yassari was talking about how he remembered Molly from last time and how he read my blog about the surgery.  I didn't know he even knew this existed, so that's pretty cool.  I just googled "Dr. Yassari" and my blog is the 3rd hit!  Awesome.  Honestly, we've really liked all the doctors Molly has seen at the University of Chicago: Frim, Yassari, Yamini (haven't seen him this time, yet), and some of the younger residents like Dr. Dey and a few others I whose names escape me.    

10:31am <> I love it! Molly won't shut up.  Geez girl, get some rest!  Love to see her awake and acting normal-ish.

She is still experiencing some numbness in her hands and feet.  It can take some time for symptoms to see much relief, especially since there will be significant swelling from the surgery.  But we'd love to say we haven't seen any old symptoms.  Pray that they will be banished!

9:45am <> Molly is in ICU now.  Going to see her.

9:15am <> I tried to give Molly as much chance to rest last night as possible while still being around regularly.  She still has the typical post-surgery exhaustion, but has some increasing pep.  I really think she is doing well compared to last time around.  I just talked to her on the phone an hour ago and she was sitting in a chair.  Very cool.

That said, she is STILL in Recovery.  Much of last night she was the only patient in Recovery.  Through the grapevine I heard that it wasn't because all the ICU beds were taken, but because there weren't enough ICU nurses to go around.  Well, there were enough to go around for every patient but one...Molly.  Which means Molly is tougher than all the sissies who need 24 hours of ICU.  They can have their TLC and Molly will just sit up in a chair 18 hours after surgery and act like nothing happened.  When the nurses ask Molly how much pain she's in, Molly says, "My feet are sore from jogging through the hallways?"  When the nurses ask if Molly needs more pain meds, Molly replies, "I've saved all the pills you gave me and built a full size replica of Wrigley Field with my eyes closed."  When the nurse asks Molly is she needs to lay down, Molly insists, "The brain surgery itself was so restful that I can't possibly sleep again already."  Yeah, you heard me.  Molly is tough. :)

I'll let you know when something changes.  Should be any time now.

Friday

5:24pm <> No news.  Molly is still listed at "Post-Op" and waiting for an ICU bed.  Haven't seen her since 4pm.

4:02pm <> I just left Recovery (post-op) where Molly was very groggy. She must have hounded the nurse until they let me in!  When I found out earlier that I probably wouldn't see her for a while, I decided to grab some food.  I got in only only three bites when I got paged back and sent to Recovery.  So lunch/dinner had to wait.

Molly is in a lot of pain, more than last time I think.  She has thrown up a couple of times, which was a big issue last time.  I think they've figured it out, though, through a different nausea medication.  Despite all this Molly is still full of life.  For example, the dude in the bed next to her had a post-surgery urge to take a dump.  Oh my, I've located the bog of eternal stench in the colon of U of Chicago surgical patient.  After the loud grunts and the first hints of fog Molly looked at me wide eyed and said, "Run!"  Even after brain surgery Molly is looking out for me.

Pray that an ICU bed would open up soon.

2:18pm <> Word is that Molly may be in recovery (post-op) for some time, just like last year.  There is even the possibility of staying the night there.  Reason?  ICU is completely full for the moment.  I'm not sure when I'll get to see her.

2:00pm <> Just got off the family waiting room phone with Dr. Frim.  Molly is waking up and all went well.  He said there was some scar tissue around the patch he put on last surgery as well as scar tissue that fused together the cerebellar tonsils of her brain.  He pulled apart the tonsils and cauterized them a bit so they wouldn't fuse together and close up the space again.  He also put in the stent, as mentioned before, in the 4th ventricle to aid spinal fluid flow.  Then he tried to make sure the space he created in the last surgery remain as open as possible as he closed things up.

We learned this morning that when brain surgery is done scar tissue is a very common problem.  The brain doesn't get exposed to air so when surgery happens a person's brain will start to scar as a defense.  Different people react with different levels of scarring.  Molly obviously had enough scarring to create new problems, and we hope this will be a significant remedy.  We also learned this morning that scarring can happen around a stent and cause it t o get clogged at some point.  We hope that would be a long time from now.

As best I can tell the signs are good for this surgery to have a very good effect.  The incision is going to be slightly longer, as Dr. Frim needed a little more space to explore a bit and make sure there wasn't something else he could do to help.  Thank you so much for praying!  We are very thankful for all of you.

12:57pm <> Wow!  I was just told by the receptionist in the family waiting room that the surgery nurse called and said the surgery is nearly over!  How do you finish a surgery that much faster than expected?  Maybe Dr. Frim just knew something that the other pre-op folks didn't know.  More as soon as I know more.

12:50pm <> Sorry for a later-than-expected first update.  Twitter has been a perfect place for most of my updates, so make sure you follow there.  There are lots of pics there already.

We stayed last night at the Chicago Hilton, 18th floor.  Beautiful place with a view of Lake Michigan, Navy Pier, Soldier Field, and the museums (Field, Science & Industry, Adler Planetarium).  I'll see if I had any photos turn out later on.  We watched a movie and tried to relax.  Difficult to do. 

We both woke up too early this morning, a bit restless.  Showers, some news on TV, no food or drink of course.  Checked out and paid cash thanks to some very faithful and loving church members.  Drove out and made it to the hospital in 15 minutes.  So easy and convenient!  Very thankful we stayed downtown. 

Showed up at the University of Chicago Hospital on time, to the family waiting room.  A little paperwork and then to pre-op.  Molly got into her gown, more paperwork, 3 tries at an IV thanks to Molly's veins, still more paperwork, a hit of something to relax Molly, a kiss and she was wheeled off.  If you haven't seen Molly choosing the stent for herself, it's funny.  It was all her idea too.

The surgery didn't officially start until 11:49am, a lot later than expected.  I heard the surgeon was unwilling to start until he beat his fastest time at Minesweeper.  Tall order.  Now, just waiting.  Should be about 3 hours, so 3pm or so.  I'm supposed to hear something at about 2 hours.

Sunday

2:25pm <> I paid for 2 nights in advance at the International House (not "Of Pancakes," but the place I slept last night).  I went and got the stuff out of my room and asked if they could give me money back for tonight.  I wasn't all that optimistic. Barbara, the nice lady behind the desk there, was so excited that my brain surgery wife is going home early that she didn't even make me pay the $30 for late check out.  Very cool. We'll get a check in the mail for reimbursement in a couple of weeks.

11:54am <> As I've been praying today for my church I've been thinking about how thankful I am for the folks I pastor.  They have been praying, supporting us, and doing what needs to be done while we are out of pocket.  I'm very thankful this morning for Jeff Temple who is preaching.  He's a good teacher and a good friend.  His family is also keeping our kids.  Jeff's wife Saralyn has been so sacrificial as she has had 7 kids (her 3 and our 4) to care for.  What a great family.  I'm also very thankful for good friends from Joe Thorn's church, Rob and Shannon, who are leading worship as our worship guy is away.  Thanks to all.

Saturday

12:06pm <> Put some new photos up on Flickr.

11:22am <> Just added some blue text highlights so you can more easily follow what's happening at a glance.

11:11am <> I forgot to mention something that happened at the Chicago Hilton on the morning of Molly's surgery.  It's not important, but it's funny and indelible. Our room had a beautiful view including a view across the courtyard of more of the Hilton building.  On Friday morning a lady in a room across the courtyard, curtains wide open, decided to parade around in her room in full view with nothing on.  Trust me when I say that I wish, I SOOOO wish, she was fully clothed or that the curtain was pulled.  Not good.  But it made for a moment of humor for Molly and me on a very stressful morning. Strangely, the event is worth recording for all to read. :) 

9:45am <> I know some of you will kick me in the teeth for this, but yeah, I slept in the van last night.  Well, not much.  I took 3-4 short naps during the night and it was very helpful.  I'm not that tired and I think can get through the day.  I'm hoping to get a room at the International House on campus tonight and tomorrow night, but they are supposed to be very busy as there are many events going on.  Pray I can get a room! 

Friday

5:30pm <> For some reason I can't get Twitterfox to work right now.  It's been useful only occasionally.  Mostly using the phone to post to Twitter, and my phone is charging at the moment.  But there isn't all that much to Twitter right now anyway.

5:24pm <> Ate a Greek pasta salad for lunch/dinner.  Really good with rotini, tomatoes, black olives, feta cheese.

Otherwise I'm beat.  Mental, physical, emotional exhaustion.  But the chocolate dipped shortbread cookie helped. :)

2:18pm <> Feeling relief after hearing that Molly is out of surgery. Hungry and looking for food after this update goes up. 

12:50pm <> After Molly went into surgery I returned to the family waiting room with Molly's stuff.  The receptionist said my brother came to see me.  Wasn't expecting that.  For those who remember last year, I have no desire to sit with someone during the surgery.  I like to be alone, praying, blogging, etc.  But, if he's here he's here.

Since he wasn't in the waiting room I had to look for him.  I needed to eat anyway so I headed for au bon pain.  He was sitting just outside.  He said that Dad warned him NOT to come and sit with me, but he chose to risk it since it was only for a few minutes.  Come to find out Scott was already in Chicago for the Illinois Municipal League convention...which is held at the Hilton!  How awesome is that?  He was staying 10 floors below us last night and none of us knew it.  I also found out Scott was probably eating and we walked right by him.  Pretty cool.

He and his wife will also be at the Hilton tonight and said I could crash there if need be.  Also pretty cool.  Good of Scott to stop by.  Nice to see a familiar face just as I was pulled away from my wife.  Thankful for my brother.

Prepping for Molly's Surgery

Hey all.  I think we are finally starting to relax.  If you don't know already, Molly's second Chiari I Malformation surgery is coming up Friday at 10am.  Right now we are spending a lot of time talking and processing what we are thinking and what's coming, and getting all the pre-surgery preparations for us and the kids finished up. 

I'm also still working on an upcoming sermon series, getting stuff finished up for this week's service (which I obviously won't be attending), and doing various other administrative and planning things. 

Here's the next few days...

Tonight: Getting gelato with Molly and the kiddos and relaxing.
Thursday: Kids have 1/2 day of school, home at about noon.  Spending a few hours with them: eating lunch, watching old family videos, having fun.  Dropping them off late afternoon-ish at friends' house in Crystal Lake, IL.  They will be keeping the kids until we return from the hospital.  After dropping off the kids we will be driving to Schaumburg, IL to eat at PF Changs.  Two church members gave us a gift card.  Woohoo!  Then we drive to the Chicago Hilton, which is quite expensive but only 15 minutes from the hospital.  It will help us a lot to have a great night sleep and not worry about traffic.
Friday: We get up early and make sure we don't get to the hospital late.  Need to be there at 9am for pre-op.  Molly has surgery at 10am, should be out of surgery in early afternoon.  Then to ICU for 24 hours or so.
Saturday: Sometime in the afternoon (24 hours after surgery) Molly will move to a regular room in neurosurgery recovery area. 
Sunday: A long recovery day.
Monday: Hopfully Molly's last day at the hospital.  Last year we were home by 3:30pm or so.  If all goes well, that's probably a best case scenario.  It may run into Tuesday.

Like last year I will be blogging the whole thing in one long post with the most current updates at the top.  I will probably put up that post tomorrow.  Last year it was titled "Operation Chiari Freedom."  I'm not sure what I will call this one.  Maybe "Operation Flex-i-Straw Insertion" or "Operation 'I Drink Your Milkshake'" or "Operation Chiari Smackdown." :)  I will also be Twittering feverishly. That's where I will have the most photos, give brief and immediate updates, etc. I may even send myself on "assignments."  What does that mean?  Stay tuned!

Thanks for praying.  Gonna be a long and painful weekend, but we have every confidence in the goodness and mercy of God.

Music Monday 9.22.08

Some good stuff on Amazon's music download specials including a nice Jazz album and Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Sale prices end today for these albums.

Black Cab Session with Fleet Foxes.  Wow, this is good...

My wife's surgery is Friday, so here's one for her.  Crank it up...

Molly's Surgery is Scheduled

Molly has confirmation of the date and time of her second Chiari I Malformation surgery: Friday, September 26th at 10am.  Yeah, that's a week from today.  We knew that date was possible earlier this week, but the nurse just made it official today.  So here we go with some details.

1. The surgery is the same but different.  It's the same incision, the same recovery time, the same post-surgery rules, the same doctor (Dr. David Frim), and the same hospital (University of Chicago).  The different part is what the doctor does once he's opened up the back of Molly's head.  Last time he created space for spinal fluid to flow.  This time he is going to add a stent, technically (I think this is right) a "fourth ventriculostomy stent."  It's putting a tube at the base of the brain in order to keep the pathway for fluid flow open.  It's a brain straw.  We've asked for the flexy one, but who knows.  So in comparison...the first surgery is making space at the back of the head and second surgery is making a pathway at the base of the brain.  Got it?  Good.

2. I will be live blogging/Twittering this thing.  Reformissionary/Twitter will have all the info you need to keep up, pray, panic, laugh, cry, throw up, or celebrate.  I'm there for you!  Last time all was focused on the blog and there were few pictures.  Pictures will be up all the time through Twitter this time. 

3. The kiddos are staying with church members in Crystal Lake, IL (20 minutes from here).  They are homeschoolers and really great friends.  Their kids are right in the range of ours, so it's perfect.  Our kids will miss school Friday and Monday, but I'm sure they will be heavily involved in homeschooling stuff.  They'll love it.

4. We are nervous.  Molly has been really emotional about all of this lately.  But it's not that we think something bad will happen.  God is good and we trust him fully with all that's to come, even if it's not what we hope for and expect.  We just know what's ahead for the next couple of weeks and none of it is all that fun...it wasn't last time.  We ask for you to pray, especially on the morning of surgery day.  We want this surgery to work and last a long time!  You have all helped us through to this point, and we appreciate you very much. 

Carlos Zambrano's No Hitter

Quick Update: GoatRiders of the Apocalypse linked to all and posted some of my photos.  Thanks guys!

I got a call on Sunday afternoon from Gary, a church attender and big Cubs fan.  He wanted to know if I wanted to make the trek to Milwaukee's Miller Park for the Monday afternoon Cubs game vs the hurricane Ike displaced Houston Astros.  They had just been scheduled on Saturday.  I had already considered it after reading a Cubs fan blog on the two game series.  After a bit of thinking I called Gary back and asked, why not Sunday night (that night)?  The main reason I thought about Sunday night was that I could take my two youngest who are Cubs/baseball fanatics.  They have seen a White Sox game live but not the Cubs. Gary agreed and we left 45 minutes later for the game.

We remarked before even leaving my driveway that we were so fortunate to be attending a game where Zambrano was slated to pitch.  We made the 90 minute trip to Miller Park and Cubs fans were seemingly in every car on the highway.  The parking guy commented as I shelled out $10, "Welcome to Wrigley North." 

We entered Miller Park, which had the roof on because of approaching rain, to see the Cubs during batting practice.  We found our seats, but went up next to the field to see them practice up close.  After a bit we ate (me: Italian sausage, hot pretzel and a Pepsi, boys: cheese pizza and a Pepsi) and sat down for the game in the upper deck almost right behind home plate.  It was actually a great view of the field.

Alfonso Soriano opened the game with a homer, leading us to the first of many fist pumps and screams for the evening.  Two innings in I noticed that Zambrano hadn't given up a hit, but that happens a lot early in a game.  In the third inning the Cubs threw down four more runs to take a 5-0 lead.  Zambrano came out and pitched a no-hit third and 4th inning.  I turned to Gary and my boys and mentioned the no-hitter in the works.  Gary and I both commented about how cool it would be if that would happen, neither of us really believing it would happen.  Too much game to play.  We decided not to take it too seriously until after the 6th inning.

After six innings we all looked at each other wide eyed, realizing that Zambrano was doing more than just having a good night.  This night could make history.  There was a cautious but noticeable buzz in the crowd as you would overhear people talking about a "no-hitter" again and again as they chatted about the game. 

The last three innings were intense.  Every strike led to loud cheers, high fives, and raised arms in triumph among most of the 23,441 fans (since nearly all were Cubs fans).  As the 6th inning ended I began Twittering the no-hitter.  After the 7th inning we started counting down how many outs were left.  I found myself almost crouching with every pitch, hands on my knees, eager but afraid to see the no-hitter broken.  The stadium was electrified.

Around the end of the 8th inning or so my phone rang.  It was my Dad.  He said, "Do you get the Cubs on your TV?"  He didn't and was listening to the radio.  I said, "Dad...I'm at the game!"  He already knew that after calling my house and was pulling my leg.  He said something like, "Bring it home!"  "I'll try Dad." 

As you can imagine, the 9th inning was very loud.  Several times the crowd started chanting "Big-Z!" or "Cubb-ies!"  My kids were shouting and screaming, Gary and I were giggling like kids at the entrance to Disney World.  We couldn't believe it was happening, but it was.  I grabbed my camera, which I had put away after the early innings, and started getting some last shots of Zambrano and the Cubs on the field to remember the night so that if he finished the job we could remember.  I also wanted to be ready so that if it did happen I could capture the celebration.

As we got to the last out, and the batter swung at the last pitch, the crowd went bonkers.  I was snapping photos and Gary hugged me so tight I had to stop taking them for a second.  Then I took many other photos of the on field celebration as well as high-fived everyone around me.  It was surreal.  No one left the park as we all cheered and watched the players slapping Zambrano on the head wildly.  Finally the Cubs began to leave the field and we all cheered very loud.  As Zambrano took several on-field interviews we stayed and cheered until he walked off.  Waving to the crowd he went down to the club house and we finally packed up and left.

We hit the john, and everyone walk talking to each other at the urinals.  Some drunkish looking guy looked at me and said, "Did that just happen?  Tell me that just happened!"  We started the long walk out of the stadium and everyone is talking, yelling, cheering, singing, high-fiving, waving signs, talking about winning the World Series, and more.  It was, again, surreal. 

We got outside and started toward the parking lot and a couple of guys were talking to my boys.  They talked about how they will remember this for their whole lives.  I called Molly and my Dad and told them about the experience of being there.  We hopped in the car and couldn't really move to get out of the packed parking lot.  A guy came up to our open window and started in on how historic this game was.  "Google it!  It's been 36 years man!"  He looked back at my kids in the van and started cheering and they cheered back.  Then he went in front of the car that was blocking my way into the line out of the parking lot and told them we needed to go first because "They are Cubs fans."  Well, that car was full of Cubs fans too, but I was happy to inch forward a bit.

We drove out, turned on the radio and listened to post-game.  The 2 hour trip home (added time for lots of bumper-to-bumper back toward Chicago) was full of conversation and laughing and realizing that we had seen something really, really special.  Gary and I talked to the boys about how important and historic this game was.  I'm so glad I was there, and I'm espeically thrilled my two boys were there.  Add to that the fact that Gary initiated the evening by calling me and paid our way into the game.  Should God give me a long life, this will be one of the stories I will never tire of telling.  Now...let's get to the World Series!

You can check out my game photos over at Flickr.  Feigenbaum has 218 photos!  Here are all of mine in a chronologically ordered Flickr slideshow...