Sunday, January 13, 2008

The Latest

The neurosurgeon on call this weekend thinks Mike’s brain may be swelling again which is causing the delay in his recovery. He has increased the dose of steroids. They ran some blood tests and found that his sodium is low, so they are giving him some of that as well. The plan right now is to see how those two things help then they will probably run a CT scan on him in the morning. If Mike continues to not recover well, they may go ahead and do another surgery to debulk the tumor as much as possible. There are risks involved in this because the tumor has spread to both parts of his brain.

I finally got a written preliminary report. (The info I wrote about earlier just came from the doctor right after surgery.) They won’t call it a final report because they have sent tissue samples to Johns Hopkins for a more detailed reading. This is in addition to the sample they have sent to Duke. The preliminary diagnosis reads, “High grade malignant neoplasm, pending expert consultation.” The report does state that the tumor appears to be a glioblastoma.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Diane, Have never met you but I am Mike's orphan buddy. When I got his Christmas card, I new something was wrong because of no personal note that he usually writes.

My prayers go out to you always.

Betsy Lahay Mabee

Anonymous said...

Diane, I just got word about Mike and Joe and I are really concerned. Please let us know if we can do anything for you or Mike. Mike means a lot to me and I enjoyed working with him at RNE. He always seemed to take care of me when I was there and extended his great wisdom to me when I needed it. We will keep you, Mike and the family in our prayers. Stay strong and give it to the Lord. We send our love, Anna and Joe Harvley

Anonymous said...

Diane,
You and Mike are always in our prayers. You are so right in saying that God is the only one that can heal Mike but He does work through those that He gives special skills. So we are not only praying for you and Mike but for all of his doctors as well.
Your blog is a wonderful tool to keep us all up to date. Thank you for sharing.

Love
Susan Brant

Anonymous said...

Hi Diane, my name is Shannon Moss (Jernigan at Thornwell). Billy Kirby gave me a call to tell me of the news. I was one of the younger ones that looked up to Mike, Billy, Philip, and many more. He may not remember me, but I remember him & will continue to have you, Mike, and your family in my prayers. I am in the medical community in Asheville, NC. I was so very glad to hear that you are so very "pro-active" in Mike's care b/c you are right, sometimes things get "put off" to the staff's time frame. Kudos to you!! I've been in orthopaedics & we use CPM units to help prevent blood clots to our patients after surgery. I don't know if it would be something they would consider for him but thought I would throw it out there. My email is shadowshay@earthlink.net if you like but I know that you have a whole lot on your plate.
Take care & may our chains of prayers take some comfort to you & Mike.
Shannon Jernigan Moss

Anonymous said...

Hey Diane,
I just read your latest entry and I am praying more fervently than ever before.
Kathi Wagner

Tye said...

Dianne,
Just touching base with you. Wanted you to know that we are still praying for you. I sent you a message about someone that I know that is a 5year survivor of glioblastoma. I have spoken with him, I did not give him your names, but he indicated that he would be very happy to speak with you if you need his assistance in any way. His name is Chris Powers. His cell 422-9572 home 932-7059. Please let me know if we can do anything for you.
By His Stripes, We Are Healed
Tye Whitaker

nanette said...

I have been diligently checking your blog hoping for some good news. I have you , Mike and the girls in my prayers many times a day. I also put him on our prayer list at church. You stay behind the doctors and keep them up on any little change you see, some small bit of information could make a big difference. If you need anything let Claire know and some of us will do our best to take care of it. We'll stick with you. Prayers,faith, friends and family are what gets us through difficult times. Love, Nanette

Anonymous said...

Diane,
My name is John Trowbridge and I first met Mike when I was an ATO at USC. I was also a PE major and often looked to Mike for advice. I saw Mike's name on the prayer request list at Mt. Horeb UMC in Lexington but figured there must be another Mike Starnes. I should have known that there could be only one Mike Starnes. Mike, yourself and your entire family are in my prayers. May God give you strength and bless you all.

Richard Powers said...

Diane, My name is Richard Powers and I was at USC with Mike and I belong to a Master Life Group at my church and I will be asking them to pray for Mike and You. Remember you can do anything through Christ who strengths you.

Beth said...

Hi, Diane. Just wanted you to know that I am keeping up with you all through your blogs. Please know that you are on my prayer list daily. I would love to keep the girls some if you need me to. My Anna would love to have them over. Take care of yourself.

Love, Beth
Phil. 4:19

Jimmy C. said...

Hi Diane. Word of Mike's illness has spread around RV. I was saddened by the news. You have the right spirit. Prayer and faith CAN make a difference. I will keep you all in my prayers,a nd I will spread the word for others to do the same. Mike is very fortunate to have you. He has a great network, and I believe that will be a great blessing.

Keep your faith. Your blog is great. I will stay tuned.

Jimmy Crosby

Linda Rayl said...

Diane,

Please know the entire RNE family is praying for Mike and you!

Linda Rayl

Anonymous said...

Diane,

I am an ATO brother of Mike's. I did not know him well as he was in front of me at USC but I met him many times and will pray for you and your family. May God hold you in his arms.

Tony Helton

Anonymous said...

Diane, I just found out about Mike. We are keeping you both in our prayers. If there is anything that we can do for you please do not hesitate to ask. We haven't seen each other for a long time but we still think about you often. Have faith and hang in there. With all our love, Nayda & José Rivera.

Kim S in SC said...

Diane: Praying for you all. Read this today as I was praying for you and Mike. Gen. 18:14.
PS:I had your precious Ava in Sunday School (SVBC)yesterday!What a joy she was!
Kim Sanders

Anonymous said...

Diane, We just found out about Mike's illness and we are so concerned. Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you. If you need help with the children, Genny will be glad to assist in any way. We love you guys and are praying for you.

Jay gave us the blog info so we can stay in touch.

Love,
Genny & Ray Curtis

Anonymous said...

D- found this info on mayo clinc, thought i would forward to you. you may have looked around for some info, this is promising.
we are praying for Mike and for God to continue to send you strength and perseverance.
Much love to you all
Renee & BJ Kozlowski



http://www.mayoclinic.org/checkup-2007/second-chances-may.html

Anonymous said...

Hi Diane,
Mike will always be in our prayers. My name is Debbie Fielding and I sometimes take tickets at basketball games. My Mom, nell griffin has been a ticket seller for RNE for years. She just went through breast cancer last year. God always went ahead of her and lit the room up. He will do the same for Mike.
Debbie Fielding & Nell Griffin