The Story

I realize some people who are viewing this blog may not know or understand what happened on May 4th.  Now that appointments are spaced out and I have a few minutes of down time (yay for Kaleb's nap time!), I thought I would share Tim's story.

On Wednesday, May 4th, Tim and his dad were working to cut down a dead pine tree on our property.  Tim was manning the chain saw, and his dad was on the tractor.  The tree was cut, and it fell exactly where they had intended; however, in the process of falling, a limb was caught on a nearby tree.  This limb snapped off, falling 20-30 feet, and hit Tim on his head/face.

Tim was knocked out for a minute or two, his lip and mouth were cut quite badly, and his front left tooth was missing.  The first responders (fire department) were on the scene in about five to ten minutes, followed by the ambulance.  By this point, Tim was awake and responding to questions (although, he doesn't remember any of it), and the paramedics took him to the local hospital.

While he was at the hospital he had a CT scan of his brain to make sure everything was okay.  The results showed no damage from the morning's accident, but it did reveal a mass in the space between his skull and brain.  Low and behold, God literally hit Tim over the head to reveal a more pressing issue.

The ER doctor who shared and explained the results is a member of the church we attend--he was such a blessing to us!  He recommended Tim have an MRI so more info about the mass could be revealed, and within about an hour Tim had the MRI.  We learned that it is something called a meningioma, a non-cancerous mass that slowly grows without rhyme or reason.

While he was in the ER, Tim saw a plastic surgeon and ended up getting 30-40 stitches in his lip and inside his mouth.  The plastic surgeon was a very talented man, as the limb created anything but a clean cut and left debris embedded in his lip.

As Tim was being discharged he ended up fainting/passing out, and it was decided that he would spend the night in the hospital as a precautionary measure.  Over the course of the night he became stronger on his feet and was slowly feeling a little bit better.

Our time post-hospital stay has been filled with appointments seeing the plastic surgeon (all of Tim's stitches were removed within 8 days of the accident), the dentist, an oral surgeon (he needs to have his root extracted and begin the process of getting a tooth implant), and a neurosurgeon.

There were definitely moments when we were afraid, but through everything, God proved Himself faithful.   I could go on and on about God's faithfulness, but here are a few examples:
-After discovering the mass, Tim needed an MRI, within an hour he was on his way to have an MRI.
-Tim's trauma to his face was quite extensive, and the plastic surgeon (recommended by the ER doctor) was able to come in a few hours later.
-Without the accident we would have no way of knowing about the mass, until symptoms began exhibiting themselves (headaches, loss of strength on his right side, seizures).  Who knows if Tim would have begun exhibiting symptoms, but without realizing their cause, how long they would have been ignored.

Exhaling

You know, I didn't realize it until after meeting with the neurosurgeon this morning, but it felt as though we have been holding our breath for the past six days.  It feels good to exhale.  :)

We met with Dr. Riley and Dr. Olson at Emory hospital in Atlanta around 11AM.  They reviewed Tim's CT and MRI results, and took time to answer our questions as well as provide an understandable explanation of Tim's meningioma.  They stated that Tim's tumor is large, but falls within the "normal" range when compared to the sizes of other meningioma tumors he has seen.  It was also reaffirmed that the tumor has a high probability of being non-cancerous.  There are three treatment options: radiation (Tim's tumor is a bit too large for this to be recommended), observation, and surgery.  Since Tim is not suffering from any symptoms at this time, and surgery brings about plenty of risks on its own, we are pursuing the observation route.

You may be thinking, "What?!  You are just going to let the tumor continue to grow?"  Meningioma tumors are very slow growing (Dr. Olson said they grow 1-2mm a year, at the most... sometimes they go for periods of time with almost no growth).  Right now the plan is for Tim to have another MRI in August, at which point we will meet with the neurosurgeon again so he can compare the May and August images.  He will be looking for any growth indicators, and depending on what he sees we will most likely continue with observation (which will mean an MRI in May 2012).  At some point it is possible Tim could begin exhibiting symptoms (ranging from loss of strength on the right side of his body to seizures), and if this happens we will pursue Plan B with the neurosurgeon.  God is in control.

Whew.  Exhaling.  Thank you, Lord!  :)

The immediate future will be filled with the removal of his remaining stitches and taking care of his missing tooth.  While his front left tooth broke off in the accident, the root was pushed further up into his mouth, and it will need to be extracted.  It is looking like he will be having an implant, which is a multi-month process between an oral surgeon and our family dentist.

Thankfully this blog has been short lived, but I will try to update it again in August (I believe the neurosurgeon appointment is on the 9th) in case you want to check in.  Words cannot begin to express our gratitude for your prayers, encouragement, and support.  While thank you seems insufficient, it is what I will close with... thank you, and all glory to God.

Erin :)

1+1=3

That's the way today started....with two appointments, and there was a third scheduled during the first one.  You should have seen the faces of the gals working at the dentist office.  SHOCK!! I'm still a little jacked-up with swelling, cream, and stitches and most people going there wouldn't look as bad as I do.  At the dentist, we found that my tooth broke, but left most of the root behind in the gum.  It's gotta go to prevent infection.  The dentist called the oral surgeon down the street and hooked us up with an appointment with him.  Our second stop today was to have half of the visible stitches removed.  The doc said the lip was healing nicely.  The rest supposedly come out on Friday.  After the visit with the plastic surgeon, we visited the oral surgeon who gave us hope that we would one day be able to replace the tooth.  He encouraged us to focus on my head first.  So that's where we are.  We go to the neurosurgeon on Tues morning (10:15) to see what awaits us. Also, please pray that I am able to sleep at night.  I don't want to lay in bed and think of all the possible things that could be or will go wrong.  I know who my Ultimate Doctor is and I know He's in control. 
Please continue to pray for us.
tg

Welcome

We plan to use this blog to keep you updated and share prayer requests.  God has been working through each moment, providentially revealing His plan for Tim's life.  Thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement.

The web address for this site is "Who Wood Have Thought" ...a play on words based on the circumstance that revealed the tumor.  Below are pictures of the tree limb that hit Tim's head/face (it may not look extremely large, but add to it the fact that it fell about 30 feet before hitting him).  We never would have thought the word menginioma would become part of our thoughts and vocabulary.

When you check for updates and have a moment, please feel free to leave a comment/note of encouragement for Tim.  Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!