Jeff gave us a big scare when we were on vacation at our cabin in Diamond Lake Washington. On 8/15 Sunday night Jeff had 3 seizures, he was transported by ambulance to a local hospital where they did a CT scan of his brain and found a subarachnoid hemmorhage (bleeding in his brain). The ER doctor then proceeded to tell me he needed to be helicoptered to Spokane’s Sacred Heart Medeical Center. That is only a 20 minute flight, and for me it was an hour drive to finally get to him. Initially they thought the bleeding was from an anurism, however after further testing it does not look like that is the case. Basically they don’t know why his brain had a bleed (could be from the chemo treatments), but thankfully the bleeding did not contiunue. The seizures and the bleeding do not seem to be related either.

Jeff was not himself for 4 days (mentally and of course physically too), and I truly thought I had lost my Jeff. Wednesday I flew the girls and our dog home, then turned around and flew back to Jeff the next morning so I could then stay with him at the hospital 24hours a day. On Thursday Jeff began to think clearer, and wasn’t hallucinating anymore, and when he remembered I still needed to find a job, I knew he was getting better!

The doctor did not want him traveling home for a week because when there is blood in the brain tissue it is very iritating and there was a risk of vasospasms. By Friday 8/20, I was able to help him to the restroom all by myself, as well as take him for walks down the hall. He is just very unstable and weak. Thankfully my friend Debbie (who is also an RN) flew out Sat night to help me fly Jeff home on Sunday morning. Jeff was such a trooper because we had to leave the hospital at 4am, fly to Portland, change planes, then fly to LA. Then Debbie and I took him to UCLA ER because I needed a doctor to tell me  it was safe for me to take care of him at home, which it was.

The plan is, we transfered all of his medical records to UCLA (from USC, because USC no longer has a neuro oncologist, and UCLA has a team of neuro oncologists). Jeff is doing physical therapy (with our good friend Andrea at out home), and is getting stronger everyday – he is truly amazing and I am so darn proud of him. I am just so thankful for all the the prayers (thank you thank you thank you), and answers to the prayer because I have him home and I have Jeff back. The Lord is so good and faithful.

XO Julie

Hi everyone – remember me?

Ok now that school is done I will be able to keep the posts updated more frequesntly so thank you for your continued support and checking up on Jeff.

Lots of changes have been happening. Last Friday I got the BEST news – I found out I am a registered nurse!!!!!!!!! Finally after 5 1/2 years I can actually sign my name “Julie Goodrich, RN”! So thankful the Lord helped me pass that test because it was brutal (5 hours).

After we found out the good news we were off to see the doctor because Jeff had been suffering from severe headaches and vision problems in his right eye (poor guy – totally hung in there while I was consumed with studying for my board exam- I felt so bad). I had been in touch with the doctor who kept prescribing different medication but unfortunately the pain meds either were not working or made him sick. So I finally told them I’m bringing him in because something is just not right. His eye was worse now and his symptoms were debilitating and not getting better.

He ended up being admitted on Friday 7/16 and he just got home on Wednesday 7/21. In a nut shell his right eye has damage to cranial nerve #3 which causes his eyelid to droop (stay closed actually), his pupil does not constrict, and his eye does not move to the left. The good news is all of the tests they ran at the hopsital were negative. They did another MRI (still no cancer growth-great news), a CT scan (no bleeding), and a lumbar puncture to check for cancer cells in his cerebral spinal fluid (also negative). The headaches have gone away with morphine and steriods which in itself is a huge blessing.

Now we are left with tough decisions because it seems that his eye problems are caused from the chemo. BUT the chemo is keeping him alive. No one can tell us if his eye will get better because his symptoms have not benn seen before and there isn’t any published literature on his specific side effects.

We did have a consult at UCLA to check with their extensive neuro-oncology team last Wed, they just want a boat load of his records which I need to gather now so we can see what their plan would be and compare it to USC’s plan.

Please pray for complete healing for Jeff. I know the Lord WILL help us through this because He is a faithful God and we continue to put our trust in Him and love Him.

Kayla and Natalie are doing great – we have such awesome daughters – they make our job so incredibly easy. Kayla decided on her own to take summer school for 8 weeks to get geometry out of the way so she can go to a higher math level which looks great for college. Natalie is doing excellent at beach volleybal. She has my height and Jeff’s athletic ability (thank goodness!), and loves doing puzzles.

As for me, I’m looking for a job. These days there are not many opportunities for new grads  because there are so many of us now. I know God will put me where He wants me, when He wants me there (although it would be great to be bringing in some money about now!)

Jeff and I just  want to thank you for caring and supporting us, knowing you are reading this truly helps Jeffs spirits.

XO Julie

Just a quick post. Today’s MRI results were great. No changes from last one and no new cancer. My doc thinks the headaches and dizziness are probably side effects from my chemo treatments. So we just move forward with treatment and if the headaches and/or dizziness get worse he said we can treat that too. So for now all is well and next chemo is this Thurs 7/1/10. Thanks again for all the calls and text messages with all your thoughts and prayers. PRAISE GOD! He is awesome! In His Love, Jeff

Thank you all so much for all the comments you all leave on this site. I do read them and they put a smile on my face every time. Julie is now studying hard for her state nursing exam coming in July and applying to many different hospitals too. She continues to pour herself into her studies, but somehow still manages to take care of all of us too. Shes amazing. I have been experiencing headaches and some balance problems for the last few weeks so we moved my MRI up. I was scheduled for the end of July but my doctors felt we should move it up due to the headaches and balance issues. So its tomorrow 6/28/10 at 10am with a follow up at 1pm same day. All my other treatments have gone well and we continue with chemo every other Thursday (next one this week 7/1/10). I should have MRI results tomorrow and I will post them as soon as I can. No matter what the results, Julie and I continue to trust God and know that He is in control of everything. While getting MRIs is always a little unnerving, I just give it all to Him and believe in His faithfulness.

Still in His hands, Jeff

SHE DID IT!!!!! Julie graduated on Monday night and gave the grad speech to over 1200 people. She knocked it out of the park and gave a great speech. She is so happy to be done with school after 5 years of hard work. You can already see it on her face, the weight has been lifted from her shoulders and she cant wait to begin the next chapter. Thank you to all who prayed for her, encouraged her, and supported her through her challenges that seemed to be endless as she continued and persevered through probably the toughest thing she has ever done.

I had an MRI and lab work done yesterday as well as a follow up with my oncologist. The MRI looked the same as my last one which is exactly what we pray for. No recurrence and no new cancer showing up somewhere else up there. Lab work also returned with good results and all my counts are staying strong. I will continue on this same chemo regemin indefinately if necessary as long as we continue to get these results. We continue to see Gods blessings on our life every day. The continued support of our family and friends is one of the many we see daily. Never put limits on what He can do because He has no limits. Pray for the miracle because the miracle is possible. In His hands, Jeff

Sorry for the long delay. Had a small prob with logging onto the website. Things are going very well since my last post. My last two MRI’s have been great with no signs of recurrence and most of the swelling gone. Chemo is going well every other Thursday. My body seems to be tolerating it well and usually after a few days I’m feeling better and ready to work. My next MRI will be soon, prob within the next two weeks. We have all adjusted to my new life of  chemo and lab work every other week. It just seems normal now. We will continue on this same chemo regimen as long as we continue to see positive results on my MRI’s. We are so blessed to be getting results like this. Once again God is carrying me through this and blessing me and my family every step of the way.

Julie will be graduating from nursing school next week! She has worked so hard for over 4 years and she has made us so proud. She was selected by her class to give the speech at graduation which is a huge honor.

In His love, Jeff

Greetings! The last few weeks have thrown a few challenges at us. About 2 weeks ago Julie got a call from her family in Arizona that her mom Linda was dying. Less than an hour later we had Julie on a plane to Arizona. She spent the night with her mom who has been battling alzheimers for years. Julie flew home the next day knowing the next phone call from AZ would probably be “the” call and it was. The next morning her sister called to let her know her mom had passed away. Even though the call was not a surprise it was still hard for her to hear the news. As if Julie doesn’t have enough on her plate, she took it all in stride continued in her studies and waited to hear from her family when the services would be held. One week later (last weekend) we all flew out to AZ for one night to attend the memorial services for Linda.  The day after we got home, I spiked a fever that didn’t want to go down. Julie not wanting to take any chances due to my compromised immune system, took me to the ER where we stayed till 3:30 am. After running labs on my blood,a chest x ray, and talking to my oncologist they released me. My fever is gone and I seem to be getting better just some congestion and a nagging cough. Julie however decided to get sick too cause she didn’t want to be the only one. My next chemo is scheduled for this week on Thursday and my oncologist wants to do an MRI on the same day. So Tuesday blood work and Thursday MRI and Chemo. I will be updating as soon as I feel up to it. As always thank you so much for all your prayers and support.

I continue to rely on God through these challenges and I still believe He will only give us what we can handle. In His love, Jeff

First off I must apologize for the long delay in a new update. We had an Internet problem (dead router) and it took a while to figure it out and then get it fixed. Quite a bit has happened since my last update so I will get right to it! I have now had 4 chemo treatments (every other Thursday) and all have gone well. A few minor side effects, but very bearable (mostly fatigue). My last MRI could not have had better results! Marked improvement around the tumor site and a very happy oncologist. The chemo appears to be working! PRAISE GOD!!!!!! I am off this week for chemo and my next treatment is Thursday 3/11/10. Every 2 weeks I get lab work done to check my white blood count and platelets. My last labs actually improved over the prior which is the opposite of what is expected. Another amazing blessing from God.

Its hard to believe another year has past! oh yea thats right, I’m another year older. This gettin old thing is rough. This years birthday was spent at the hospital getting a chemo treatment, but the nurses did bring me a small piece of carrot cake with a candle and sung happy birthday to me while I was there (pretty funny). Julie continues to study every waking minute and is doing well. She was chosen by her class to give the graduation speech (no surprise to me). A huge honor considering she joined this class late after having to drop out of her last class due to my diagnosis in January 2009. God continues to bless our family in ways that only He can. I am constantly reminded of His love, peace, and faithfulness. I am always amazed and humbled by your prayers and support. Please keep it up! Its working! He is answering them daily. In His love, Jeff

PRAISE GOD! what a great week. My first chemo treatment went well with almost no side effects, the MRI of my spine was clear of any cancer, my leg pain and numbness is almost completely gone, and my oncologist gave me the okay to go back to work which I did the day after I got the okay. I really could not ask for things to be any better. Our prayers are being answered every day. Julie is working so hard on her last semester of school and trying to balance everything else on top of that. She is amazing.

Things are pretty much back to our new normal. I will be getting my chemo treatments every other week and based on the first one it looks like I will be able to continue working through my treatments.

Thank you for following our story and for all your thoughts and prayers! We are truly blessed. In His hands, Jeff

I have been so busy with doctor appointments these last few weeks, I don’t know where to begin…. The results from the MRI of my back were negative for any structural problems. The results from the MRI of my brain were good. No signs of recurrence at this time. My oncologist ordered an MRI with contrast of my back just to rule out any issues there (the contrast highlights cancer). That MRI is scheduled for this coming Tuesday 1/19/10. I had my first chemo treatment yesterday 1/14/10. All things considered I think it went very well. I am feeling pretty good and very few side effects so far. A few days of rest and I plan to be good as new and maybe even back to work.

Thanks for all your prayers and encouraging emails and texts. They really do help! God continues to walk me through this time and I am constantly reminded of His faithfulness  to us. Glory to Him always! Jeff