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Life

Let’s Do This

Merry Christmas, everyone!

As you most likely saw on social media today, Amie is doing well. Her procedure ended last night and she was admitted to the ICU around 9PM Christmas Eve.

I arrived at the hospital just before 9AM this morning and stayed with her for awhile. We had some good laughs, caught up on the latest happenings around our house with our fur babies, and tied up some conversations that might have been lost pre-surgery.

Amie’s doctor came in just after 12PM to catch up and give us a more thorough report of her condition—that being stable. He did show us the BEFORE (left) and AFTER (right) of Amie’s CT for her brain.

The red highlight shows the tumor mass.

We asked about the pathology report for the tumor. Dr. Litvack, M.D. said that no one was staffed the night of the surgery, but they expect to have a report sooner than later. Their tumor board meetings occur on Mondays, but he was confident that the one in Amie was benign.

Amie was transferred out of the ICU earlier this evening. Based on her progress, Dr. Litvack, M.D. did say that she could be back home as early as this coming Friday. (Fingers crossed) She does have to focus heavily on OT and PT to make sure she can accomplish the most basic of tasks at home though.

As of now, Amie has a long road to recovery. We were informed that she will continue to have multiple MRIs scheduled over 2020, and we will be working closely with Dr. Litvack for years to come.

To end, I want to take this moment to thank Amie’s father, Bill, for calling her out for some of the motions she was having difficulty with on Sunday and he told her CALL YOUR DOCTOR. So, thank you, Bill, for going there and having your paternal instinct kick in!

Thanks, everyone.

Tim

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Life

Merry Christmas to All, & to All a Good Night!

Earlier this evening, at 6:41PM, I received the call from the Head Nurse in the OR. Amie’s doctor was just finishing up closing the incision.

Within the last 10 minutes, Dr. Litvack, M.D. called me personally and gave me an update on everything.

Amie was a champ, as we all know! Dr. Litvack, M.D. was able to get the ENTIRE tumor removed. Hooray! He mentioned it was somewhat “stuck” which resulted in him taking extra care. As a result, he predicts that her post-op PT will be more focused around her left leg rather than her arm.

Amie is currently coming off of her anesthesia slowly and will be transferred to the ICU tonight.

The only concern he mentioned was that she had a moderate amount of blood loss (600-700mL), but there was no need for a transfusion.

I will be visiting her Christmas morning and hope to be by her side for a good part of the day.

Much love to all and thank you for all of the support, prayers, and words of encouragement over the last few days.

Merry Christmas, one and all!

Tim

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Life

Mud you, Hippie!

Names could be updated later once I can confirm spelling, etc. of those who have been part of Amie’s stay at Swedish.

Hello all…

Amie is now in surgery and I will post again tonight once I get a call from Swedish.

The staff of Swedish—Cherry Hill has been nothing short of amazing. Caring for her bedside since she arrived at 2:30AM on Monday morning.

As we all know Amie, she’s made dozens of friends during her stay. All starting with Seneca, the front desk coordinator, at Swedish Emergency—Mill Creek and the EMT Transporters, Sonos, Angel, and Jeff, who rode with her in the ambulance down to Cherry Hill. Sonos even giving her a hug after they dropped her off and said she’s a badass.

Jemmie, Johannas, and May have been Amie’s nursing staff for the last couple days. I have witnessed that they’ve heard nonstop stories and chatter from her since she arrived. Surprised?!

Amie and Debbie enjoying a moment together.

Amie’s mom, Debbie, her sister, Robin, and I visited this morning before Amie’s surgery. We were joking as she was wheeled off to the OR that the Anesthesiologist is going to be the brief hero for the medical team when Amie’s actually quiet for 6 hours straight.

As a thank you to the staff and those who have cared for her, I picked up 2-dozen Frost donuts this morning to deliver. Thank you to anyone in the medical field with your professionalism and care, and humor at times, you provide to those who are in need.

Stay tuned for another post tonight!

Tim

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Life

Cancer Sucks

Hello Family & Friends—

Sorry that some of this news might be reaching you late, but Amie was diagnosed with a brain tumor last night after a CT in the ER. Over the last few months she noticed left sided weaknesses and an increase in headaches and trouble with balance while walking up and down stairs. Her PCP said it’s time to check it out. 

Upon initial assessment at Swedish Cherry Hill campus, the best option is to resect her tumor that is the size of a satsuma orange. The neurosurgeons believe that this is a meningioma tumor located within her skull, but not her brain. 

Her resection will take place tomorrow, Christmas Eve, and her first stop is recovery in the ICU.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers!

With much love!
Tim, Amie, Butch, Squeak, & Remi