New Messages

David worked to keep some people undated.  While there was no way he could know who all who would want to know, we appreciate his thoughtful efforts.

The first update was as follows:
September 17, 2009

Hi again,


Just left the hospital. Sherry is doing OK. She has some loss of motor ability. Could be a result of post op swelling or possibly tumor-related. Nevertheless, she will probably NOT be going home this weekend, but rather to rehab (things are very fluid at this point). Jess, Doug’s son will be flying in from Boston this evening to help Doug---excellent news.
When I spoke with some of you, I said that there was a strong possibility Sherry may have only 2 months to live. That is incorrect. As of the most current info. they are guessing at 2 months to 2 years. Pretty different. BUT, that can all change.

More later…..

Dave Gerber, DVM

Then on September 18th:

Hi all,


I am now in Anchorage and will try to get updates daily, if possible. I saw Sherry this morning and she seemed quite good. She will likely be staying at KMC for the immediate future. She is able to have visitors for short visits, and would welcome that. Flowers can be sent to the hospital.

Both Doug’s and Sherry’s sister are here as is Jess, Doug’s son from Boston who will be a GREAT help. He will stay until Tuesday.

Thanks and keep positive.

Dave Gerber, DVM

Then a message to David Gerber from Jes (our son) sent on September 19th and David forwarded on to his list:

-------- Original Message --------


Hi Dave,

Sherry celebrated her 64th birthday today. Her brother Rich gave her a the remastered Yellow Submarine CD and showed such emotion and caring that it was hard not to be touched by his hard-fought sentiment. My Dad gave her a chickadee birdhouse. He is going to hang it in the cedar tree.

We met with the oncologist around 5pm yesterday. He was a wealth of information and was very patient with everyone's questions. Regardless, I am counseling Sherry to seek a second opinion for treatment options, as well as "inoperable"

options. Just because the neurosurgeon at KMC can't do it doesn't mean that someone else can't. Excising as much of each tumor as possible seems to be the one thing that prolongs life in these cases the most.

I looked at the pathology report yesterday and it confirmed glioblastoma. She has 5 of them in the occipital-parietal lobe areas. All of this, plus her decreased motor function and age add up to a Recursive Partition Analysis score (used to bin patients into risk categories) that does not look overly positive.

However, there are a lot of clinical trials available that target many new pathways based upon what we have learned genetically about cancer tissue and treatment response.

I am trying to help my Dad get his head and heart around this new challenge. It is not easy for him. He can be very hard on himself over nothing. That is hard to see and even harder to convince him he's being an asshole about thinking that he's an asshole. Stubborn!

Tomorrow I will drag him kicking and screaming to Capone's to watch the 'Hawks play the 'niners. He needs to have balance in the upcoming months. Keep him in line Gerber!!!

Hope the fishing today was fantastic,

Jes

Jes then replied to David and the list with this warm hearted response:

Hello all,


I just want to apologize for some of my more colloquial language in the last email. Parts of that message were intended only for Gerber, who, along with myself, can easily relate to my Father on certain levels thanks to the old adage "It takes one to know one." Regardless, I guess the sentiment rings true and finding balance is never an easy thing, but even harder at times like this.

Yesterday was an absolutely wonderful day!

The morning began with Dad, Sherry, Aunt Cheryl and Uncle David and I holding hands while Cheryl said a prayer aloud. It began with the words to Amazing Grace. Truly a sweet, sweet sound.

They left to go back home to Bellingham and a short time later the Physical Therapy physician came in to give Sherry a few motor skills tests and to let her know that she would be moving to the Rehabilitation Center on campus today!

This is fantastic news as it seems like there is a lot of hope, as well as solid data, to support the idea that Sherry will be able to learn how to compensate for the partial-paralysis of the left side. In fact, in watching her get tested yesterday, I noticed a dramatic improvement in her ability to move and coordinate her left hand and foot that I hadn't seen when I first got here on Thursday.

All of this is very important as she will need all her strength, and some she never had before, to begin the journey that is before her. The treatments that I've read about for glioblastoma are long and constant and will require a resolve on her part, and those around her, to make every day a good day. I know this can be done.

After the PT doctor left my Dad, Sherry and I went for a stroll outside. It was the first time that Sherry has got to feel sun on her face in almost a week.

She soaked it in like a thirsty flower and bloomed right there and then. I left the two of them alone to watch the house-sparrows flit in and out of a quant little garden by the hospital. They share such a harmonious sense of the beauty in this world. I am truly blessed to have witnessed all of their hard work and devotion to making this community and this planet a more beautiful place.

Later, Sherry's sister came and gave her a prayer bracelet that was made for her at her church that morning. Sherry has always had this amazing ability to weave together a tapestry of reason and faith, of emotion and logic, and to make it create warmth, but to also make it look and feel like something divine. That balance of the human condition, as well as all of the support and love from this community will make this journey a bearable one. My Dad has started a blog called The Terrible/Wonderful. I'm sure he'll send out an announcement soon, but the title of the blog strikes such a chord with what they have embarked upon. I will leave it to my Father's poetic prose to describe the thoughts and feelings behind that title and hope that you all get a chance to read it.

Much love and hope,

Jes