Subject: Lesley Update - 1/23 As you remember last time, Lesley had just been discharged from the hospital and was doing well with more stamina and no headaches. I'm happy to report that she continues to go headache free (only 2 Tylenol since December 30th!) and has not had to take any naps since January 1st! Not even during Round 2 of chemotherapy. We met with the neuro oncologist on January 4th. He was concerned that the gastrointestinal infection that Lesley had while in the hospital had not been cleared up yet (she had elevated white blood cell counts). So he dropped the one medicine she was taking for that and put her on another one. And postponed the chemotherapy until he was satisfied that the infection was taken care of. The neuro ophthalmologist appointment was interesting. They (there were 2 doctors) determined that there was significant impairment in Lesley's vision in her left eye. Specifically, she has a portion of her normal field of vision where she sees only darkness. They believe it's tumor-related and there's nothing they can do about it. Her right eye is perfect. They said if the vision in her right eye starts to deteriorate, to contact them immediately. There's a straightforward operation they can do to help save the vision, but they have to act quickly after symptoms start. On the 10th we went back in to see the neuro oncologist. Lesley's white blood cell counts were back to normal so the doctor gave the go-ahead for Round 2 to start on the 11th. He also wants to reduce her steroid dosage (Decadron) from 24 mgs/day to 16 mgs/day (where she was before the hospital stay). We're cutting back by 2 mgs/day per week (if you can parse that). He's not positive she'll be able to get back that low, but he wants to try. We're down to 20 mg/day currently. As far as the chemo, all 5 days (and subsequent days) were uneventful. No nausea, no fatigue, no nothin. Like rolling off a log. Even on busy days where we've been out almost all day she has plenty of energy. Up to bed at 9:00-9:30, up in the morning at 7:00 (with interruptions at midnight and 6 AM for medicine). We had a physical therapist come out 2 times to help Lesley with her balance. It wasn't real good when she came out of the hospital. After the second session the therapist said she didn't need any more sessions! She was strong and steady. I let her do everything around the house by herself except go up and down the big stairs. So, she's back to cleaning up! We've had a couple of visits with the speech therapist. Aphasia continues to be a problem, but Lesley hasn't lost her train of thought in a couple of weeks now. So she's actually improved since her hospital stay. We also met (all 4 of us) with the counselor, and had our 2nd "Kids Count Too!" session on Thursday night in the snow. Lesley came to that one as well. February 8th is our next scheduled neuro oncology appointment with the next round of chemo to start on the 9th. We also get an MRI done to see what's happening. February 9th is a neuro ophthalmology appointment. This all adds up to a very nice time of stability and Lesley feeling good. We're hoping it lasts a long time. Dave -- Dave Baldauf, h/o Lesley, gbm, dx/srg 8/99, rad 9/99, rad completed 10/99, debulk srg 10/99, bone flap removal srg due to infection 11/99, started Temodar 12/99 mailto:dbaldauf@ultranet.com