Subject: Lesley Update - 7/27 Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 12:20:02 -0400 From: David Baldauf No news is good news. Lesley's condition has not seemed to change for several months now. According to the neurooncologist, her MRI taken on Tuesday shows no change over the one taken two months ago. He is very pleased. Her blood counts continue to be excellent. The doctor wonders whether she's actually taking the chemo since they are so good. So, we're now on Day 2 of Round 9 of the Temodar. We're also trying to reduce the steroid (Decadron) dosage from 12 mg/day down to 10 mg/day. If that works (i.e., no bad neurological changes), we'll lower it again in 2 weeks down to 8 mg/day. The aphasia continues to be the worst problem. If it's been getting worse, it's only by a little. Her left eye continues to bother her, especially in the morning. The normal routine is to take 2 extra strength Tylenol in the morning and then, about half the time, 2 more in the evening. She sometimes wears a patch, sometimes not. Her strength continues to be good (she's on the treadmill right now), but she sometimes wobbles a bit when she walks. Two days ago was the first anniversary of when we left on our vacation out West. We're also coming up on the one year point for her diagnosis. We did take a six day trip to NJ and PA. We left on the 19th and visited Six Flags NJ (aka Great Adventure), Dorney Park in Allentown, PA, Uncle Bill's 4th of July party, Aunt (sister) Kathy and Uncle John's, and almost countless dips in various swimming pools. Lesley did very well the entire trip. The only minor problem came from trudging up and down the hill at Dorney Park. Dorney Park has a lower part and an upper part and we didn't plan our visit very well. Lesley got a bit fatigued around lunch. The good news is that we got an excellent family picture taken (see http://www.davebaldauf.com/Trips/Dorney.htm ). The kids had a blast and are fast becoming roller coaster aficionados. For the rest of the summer, the kids will be in Boys and Girls Club camp except for 1) one week of soccer camp, and 2) if we take another trip (perhaps Washington, D.C. and Williamsburg) if Lesley is feeling good. We'll see, but my guess is we'll be able to go. So that's it for now. We hope summer is going well for all of you. I'll write in another month or sooner if something significant occurs. 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, started 9th round of Temodar 7/26/00 mailto:dbaldauf@alumni.brown.edu web site: http://www.davebaldauf.com