A note from my Mom, Sandy

Little did Bob and I know that as we were beginning to think that life was just about perfect, all kids in college doing very well, Bob enjoying his job, Lindsey engaged with only one year left in school, that our life was about to change.

For those who have known our family for awhile, you'll remember that in November 1998, Lindsey, our oldest was diagnosed with a brain tumor. One that brought on sympstons of lethargy in the right side causing her writing to be slow and her competitive soccer skills to become clumsey. After a short time of observing Lindsey, a call was made to the dr. Lindsey at the time showed no typical signs of a brain tumor (which usually consists of headaches, nausea, and seizures.) We fought that fight and won... but only after 3 long years of treatment which left Lindsey partially disabled on the right side and cognitive skills were hampered. Lindsey has an incredible story to tell... I will leave that up to her.

Life was going pretty good for Lindsey as she was approaching her last year of school and she recently became engaged. Plans are underway for a May 2011 wedding.

Then, in January 2010 a series of events began. First, Lindsey expressed frustration because she was having difficulty following instructions provided by the professor. Something as simple as writing down a phone number could not be accomplished without several repeats. The second event occurred 2 weeks later when reading from a kindergarten book during a substitute teaching job, could not be done without placing the book directly in front of her eyes. Even then, the words did not flow smoothly. The same week, a car accident resulting in tagging the mirror of a parked car. One week later, another accident.... turned the corner and did not see the parked delivery vehicle on the right. Vision on the right side was blurry. A recent trip to the optometrist reported that vision was fine. You get the gist... things were occurring that had not occurred before. We called the neurologist and within a couple of days an MRI and EEG was scheduled. The results are showing that the tumor had returned. This time in a different place, and it's not looking so pretty. Rather than being well-defined, like the last one, this one looks more like a spider web.

Next steps... another MRI on 2-15; appt with the dr.on 2-16 to discuss next steps.

Many people ask how Lindsey is doing. Her emotions range from being extremely angry.... she's been through this and thought that since she made it past the 10 year mark without any signs of returning, that she was home free, to extreme sadness, to out right fear. She knows that what she is dealing with is bad. The fight will be hard. The likelihood that this will be a life-long fight is very probable.

So... we wait... and we get ready for the fight. The family is together this weekend and we're preparing. The bedroom is being refreshed with new paint... in any color Lindsey wants. New bedspreads are purchased and friends of siblings are coming over to bake and paint some art-work for the room. Todd's buddies (Adam and Michael Hill.... who is currently undergoing treatment for stage IV lymphoma) helped paint Lindsey's room. While there was a time in my life where I would of never let anyone but a professional (or Bob) paint the walls in my house, I find myself cherishing the imperfections. This was an act of love, an act of caring, and they did a beautiful job. Our friends are busy praying. Many have dropped off cards, food, a tiger stuffed animal, sent flowers, etc. We are blessed and we appreciate the many acts of kindness and support.

As we go through this, I'm reminding myself that God is good and to look for his goodness daily. That is very difficult to do when you see the fear in your childs eyes that I saw in Lindsey this week. Yesterday the goodness was seeing the love shown between Lindsey, Todd and Hannah. Today the goodness was seeing Todd and his friends come together to paint Lindsey's room. It was also seeing my sister, my neices (Kelsie, Megan, and Erin) and my friend Vicki make time to help Lindsey shop for new bedroom items and join us for dinner.

He is there and He will help us get through this. Please pray for Lindsey.