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Derek has been slowly but steadily slowing down. He has not talked in a few days and really only communicates with very small nods and an occasional squeeze from his "good" hand. But in reality, he is weak everywhere. And he seems to be able to do less and less as each day passes.[...]
Hello All,
As some of you may have noticed in recent pictures of Derek, he is holding the Cross. This was given to him by parents of a friend of Angela's. I felt obligated to tell everyone that these pictures are not "staged". As anyone who has stopped over the last few weeks could tell you, he has freely chosen to figuratively and literally hold on to the Cross.[...]
Hello All,
Derek has been slowly (but more quickly than we would like) becoming more and more tired. His breathing has gradually been slowing. [...]
Things have changed so quickly this weekend. Derek's awake time has significantly dropped(we thought he slept a lot before), and when he is awake he no longer has the energy to talk much, if at all. His hand signals that he developed are less often and rare as well. Thankfully he is not in any pain.[...]
Sorry for the lack of updates. I have not been on the computer as much or for a long period of time the last few days.
So last Sunday Derek had about 86 ml of fluid removed from his head. He did not really benefit from removing that much fluid as he did in the past. Normally removing fluid would perk him up, but even removing way more than normal, he was just as tired.[...]
Derek has been pretty sleepy the last few weeks. Since about June 21st he has slept nearly 20+ hours of the day. Before that I was encouraging him to take naps mid day. We went in on Friday June 24th and Derek had another 12 ml of fluid removed. I think the pressure was getting high again. But this time his symptoms were different. It seems every time he has pressure built up the symptoms are slightly different. He seemed to have perked up after the fluid was removed. [...]
One thing we are noticing is Derek needs to take naps. I assume his brain is healing and needs the extra sleep.
He usually does well after a nap or a nights sleep. So we are encouraging him to take a nap during the day. It is very noticeable when he does not take a nap later in the day.[...]
Another successful trip to Pittsburgh. This was a vaccine only trip. So not much new for news. But Derek did well and we had a good time. Here are two pictures of our favorite diner that we like to go to when we go to Pittsburgh. They are starting to get to know us well.[...]
We recently went in for a check up with his oncologist and neurosurgeon. Derek had 12 more milliliters of brain fluid removed. Both doctors seem positive about the tumor but still wanted to tap a few more milliliters. I got the impression that they took more out because we were there and not because of any impending need. But as long as they can stay ahead of any major build up, I am ok with that. Besides fatigue, Derek has been doing pretty well. [...]
