Friday, November 25, 2011

Update on Curt

For those who may not know, Curt has been fighting an aggressive form of brain cancer called Gliosarcoma (a type of Glioblastoma) for the past 19 months. He has gone through three surgeries, two kinds of radiation treatments and several rounds of chemotherapy, and by the grace of God he has had many precious months to spend with loved ones and friends.

Three weeks ago Curt began to experience stroke-like symptoms (left-sided weakness, speech difficulties) and was too weak to walk, so we called 911. At the ER they did a CT scan which did not show any signs of a stroke. He was released and we headed over to Kaiser Oncology where he was examined by his oncologist. He explained that the symptoms were being caused by edema (swelling) in the tissues of the brain surrounding the tumor, which then presses on small blood vessels, cutting off the circulation and causing the stroke-like effects. The doctor felt that chemotherapy was too strong for Curt to continue, and suggested that we call in Hospice to help with mobility and pain control, etc.

This morning Curt began to experience chest pain and shortness of breath. The Hospice nurses are monitoring his symptoms and keeping him comfortable. The chest pain is resolved but he still has labored breathing. Thankfully, the bad headaches that he was having are gone, as he has been taking steroids to reduce the swelling. Please pray for continued relief from the pain and for comfortable rest. Thank you so much for tirelessly standing by us through everything that has happened…your faithful prayer support has been so important to us. We are so grateful for our awesome Hope Chapel family!

God bless,
Patti