Do we really only use 15% of our brains?

So my dad and mom just left to head to Milwaukee for a high end MRI that actually measures brain oxygen levels to see what parts of the brain control what and what the tumor is near.  I guess this will give them more info about just how aggressive they can be and this test is a luxury in that my dad still isn't really showing symptoms.

The last few days have been great, felt more like a family vacation than a sick visit.  My dad is the same old guy and you'd never guess anything was wrong.  I think this is just what my mom hoped for in being able to have some quality family time before surgery/treatment as, although we're hopeful, we don't know what the future may hold with some of the complication risks.  I'm careful now in how I describe this as a great friend busted me on perhaps being a little too pessimistic about things necessarily changing going forward :)  I suppose things will always be a little different, even with the best of outcomes, same as they were different after my mom's heart attack.  I guess holding everyday with the people you love as a little more precious isn't a bad thing though.

My niece Ella has been awesome on this trip.  She's our little comic relief and a large focus of everyone's attention which has been great.  She's my little shadow and for those of you who know me and kids, you can imagine how awful that must be for me.

My mom works at the hospital and she stopped by today and ran into my dad's surgeon's assistant.  Looks like there's a chance things might move a little slower than first thought.  He said my dad is in a really good place with not having complications.  Many people have seizures or other huge issues before discovering one of these, so treatment often has to be more rapid.  Guess they're taking the measure twice and cut once philosophy and when you're talking about brain tissue that's a good thing!  They're still weighing lots of options and the fact that there are so many we'll consider a blessing.  It could mean things take a little longer to get going though, so an Atlanta return prior to surgery isn't out of the question now.  Some of the recent news has also been more potentially positive (as much as you can tell with non-invasive tests, you still really don't know anything for sure until you get a biopsy), so that's helped personally with stress, sleep and some feeling of normalcy.  We'll know more on timing hopefully later today.

Stay tuned and thanks so much for everyone's love and prayers!