Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! My recovery continues to improve daily and the visits yesterday lifted my spirits even more than I expected. It is so nice to be feeling like myself again so soon and in time for today. This day has so much meaning to me and to think about how much I have to be thankful for. We are so blessed and to have this day to be together as a family. Julie is doing great in school and will finish her 3rd semester on 12/16/09. She has been amazing through this and somehow managed to care for me and ace all of her tests and assignments. Kayla and Nat have been helping out so much around the house and have been such a blessing to Julie and I through this. In His love, Jeff

Hello friends, I just finished reading your latest emails and comments and it warms my heart and puts a smile on my face to hear from you and to know that you are following my story. Recovery is going well at home and my first post op visit is today at 4pm. As I have said before with all the support I have from all of you, it makes this all seem pretty easy. I can’t even begin to explain how much it helps for me and my family to know that all of you are so willing to help that all our needs during this time are taking care of. I went into this knowing that God would only give me what I could handle and He was faithful to that as always.

In His love, Jeff

I have him home!!! 

THANK YOU for all of your prayers! Jeff is doing well and we are thankful this recovery is going better than the last one.  To give you a summary of the last 4 days, Jeff and I arrived at the hospital at 6am (Wed)but he actually didn’t have surgery until close to 2pm…lots of waiting in pre-op.  However I am thankful the anesthesiologist gave him enough medication before they wheeled him down the hall for surgery that he doesn’t remember going to the OR.  Then I took a sigh of relief that he wasn’t worried anymore, just sleeping away while the surgeons did their work.  Once I was able to see him at 7pm he said “I’m OK” and I was just so thankful that God took such good care of him and protected Jeff from any neurologic damage. The night was long, however the pain medication worked this time and his pain was managable.  The next morning he was doing laps in the hall! Thurs night we got a bit more sleep, then we were home at 11am on Friday. He looks really good, hardly any swelling this time, and there truly does not seem to be any complications from the surgery.

The surgeon did place chemo waifers in the cavity in his brain that will dissolve in 4-6 weeks. The long term plan is for him to rest for a month, then begin IV chemo, which means we will go to USC for 1/2 a day every two weeks.  Probably for a long time.

Kayla and Natlaie took great care of Jeff this morning since I had to begin my medical/surgical rotation for school at 6:30am. 

Anyway I want to get back to Jeff but wanted to let you know we are doing well and so very relieved this one is behind us. Thank you thank you thank you for your continued support and love…you really do lift our spirits.

Jeff was really sweet on our way home from the hospital, he said ”You know what, I think God just wanted us to spend more quality time together again” Sounds really good to me:)

Julie

Throughout the day I will be posting updates regarding Jeff’s surgery. Julie will be relaying these as soon as she can. Thank you for keeping Jeff and the Goodrich family in your prayers!

11/19 – 10:00 am – Although last night was long, Jeff did well (he is such a stud again!) and pain is at a tolerable level. He is very weak but moving out of the ICU today and home tomorrow.

7:05 pm – He’s out and all went well.

6:40 pm – Jeff was taken into the OR at 145. It is about a 5 hour surgery. Will update when I know more.

1:15 pm – Surgery was delayed due to preceeding surgery. Jeff’s surgery will start at 2:00 pm.

Well all the prep is done. I completed my pre op work today and I will be returning to USC Univ Hosp on Wed 11/18/09 for my surgery at 11am. It all seems a little strange to be doing this all over, but with the gift of time to plan this one, it has put me at ease. Julie and I have the details worked out and it almost seems like I’m going in for out-patient brain surgery. If all goes as planned, I should be back home by Friday 11/20/09 (just like last time. 2 days after surgery). Its great knowing so many people are praying for us already and all the planning is done. Now I can just focus recovery and let the rest fall into place. We will keep this site as updated as we can during the next few weeks. Thank you all so much, Jeff

hello my friends, unfortunately i do not have the best news to report. I had my follow up apointment with my nuero surgeon and nuero oncologist today to review the results from my last MRI. The bad news is I have another tumor in my brain, the good news is its in the same location as last time which is good. With all the headaches i have been having the last few weeks we are not that surprised at the findings. I will most likely be having surgery next week to remove the tumor which is similar to the last one. Julie and I are ready to face this next battle. I will probably only be in the hospital for 3 or 4 days this time and I feel this time will be easier since I know what to expect. God will only give us what we can handle and knowing that makes this seem doable. As we get the details in place I will update. Meanwhile Julie is still up to her eyeballs with school work and studying so please keep the phone calls to her to a minimum and please forgive her for any late responses to text and e-mails she simply doesnt have much time on her hands. Thank you for all the prayers and support. Jeff

Hi Friends, just a quick update to keep everyone in the loop. Tomorrow (11/6/09) I am scheduled for my MRI. I will get the results of the MRI and get my next chemo schedule on Monday (11/9/09). All things considered things are going really good. Yesterday I had the privilege of going to Children’s Hospital LA and talking to some of the kids there who have cancer. Of course I left there feeling more blessed than ever after meeting some of these amazing kids and the staff that works with them. As always thanks for keeping in touch and following our story. Jeff