| Author | Message | ||
     Prior |
I've been a very busy camper lately and have not had the appropriate amount of time to cruise Badweb. So, hopefully 2007 is a bit calmer! For those of you who know the name, here is the best Christmas present we could all have gotten: From Mitch, Matt's Dad: December 15, 2006 We have some great news ? we all received our Christmas present early with a cancer free MRI at Henry Ford Hospital yesterday. All of the hot spots are gone, and the large tumor on the back has been reduced to the size where they aren?t sure it is a tumor any longer as what is seen on the slides might be residual scar tissue from the intense radiation. Even if this is a tumor, it is on the run and the chemo is working? praise the Lord! We have once again won the battle and slew the beast! Matt is doing better then most in his condition. He is still has issues, but compared to most is doing great. He attended an all day session of testing at Mary Free Bed where his brain functionality was evaluated. It was determined that his brain is for the most part fit as a fiddle and with a minimum of vocational rehabilitation (mostly the vision issues) we would be able to go back to work as soon as the chemo is completed. Matt has had several outstanding doctors and nurses. Most of them appear with Matt on our photo website www.flickr.com/photos/team_matt_ware however, the doctor who has been the architect of our treatment plan and who is the head of the neuro-oncology department at Henry Ford Hospital, Dr Mikklesen, somehow has alluded the team Matt Ware camera? until now. Attached to this note is a photo of Dr. Mikklesen (on the left of Matt) and his new Fellow, Dr. (Roy) Torcuator. This photo was taken with Matt yesterday just after giving us the good news! At the end of the day, it isn?t about the ?stuff? in our lives, moreover, it is about perspective? easily said, hard to do! Try to look at the big picture of things, like the song says; live like your dying? choose to enjoy each day, spend quality time together, make good memories and spread the joy of the season! Merry Christmas to all, and may God richly bless you and yours with joy this holiday season! Mitch and family As always, please keep Matt and his family in your prayers, and let's all pray that the battle is won! Matt, love you brother. I wish all of you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a most blessed New Year! ------------ [EDIT - FB] from Mitch: October 31, 2006 Good morning everyone! I have some good news… yesterday we went to Detroit Henry Ford Hospital for a follow-up MRI and assessment. It appears that the radiation and chemo treatments are having a positive effect on the tumors. Several of the ‘hotspots’ from the last MRI are diminished significantly, while a few others seem to be gone altogether! The big tumor in the back is stable and that is good news! With that said, Matt continues to struggle with everyday life. Dr. Movsas the head of the Radiology department told Matt that he was so impressed with his tenacity and willingness to fight. He said that most people that have been through what Matt has been through would be either in bed or a wheel chair. In fact, many people cannot subject themselves to everything that Matt has. He went on to say that Matt was a hero to him. Inspite of the good news, Matt still has balance issues, cognitive issues, vision issues, and is battling depression. As tumors are shrunk, the balance issues and hopefully the cognitive issues will fix themselves. The vision issue is as a result of the stroke he had a year ago and we are told may or may not get better. The depression is as a result of the meds, a chemical imbalance, trauma to the body (surgery, meds etc), and psychological stuff as a result of going through all that he has for the past 2 ¾ years! The old saying is true... "life is precious". Quality of life is percious too! Each day is a unique piece of time, a 24 ‘lifetime’, and to be experienced and appreciated. Matt has had a rollecoaster of experieinces these past few weeks, months and years. More specifically, the past few weeks have been very difficult. As we went to Detroit early yesterday morning, even though it was not said, we all thought that we were going to get some bad news. Matt was having new issues, which usually means new tumors! When we heard that the MRI was much improved and the treatments were effective, it was a surprise and a huge relief. Which got me to thinking two things, you never know what is going to happen in things like this, you do your research, you advocate as best you can (we are getting very good at this part) and you make the best decisions you can! And you leave it in God’s hands. Secondly, you bask in the good news. We have had some rough weeks since we started chemo again a few weeks ago. This news was what we needed to lift our spirits. We are so very grateful to know what is going on up there! When you are used to fighting or at least having your war face on, it is hard to lay the sword down and allow the joy to come in. But is very necessary to do so, to renew and enjoy that moment in time. These moments are far and few between. The daily struggle goes on, walking, cognitive issues, vision issues, periods of profound sadness, but we know we are bringing the good fight and we are about to win this particular round with the 'beast'. So today is a very good day, and we wanted to share that with you! And, we want to thank you for praying and supporting us, as God has heard and answered your prayers! Mitch and family ------------ [EDIT-FB] from Mitch: September 24, 2006 Everyone, There is an old saying that 'stuff' just happens. If you are like most, you have had your fair share of 'stuff' lately. Well, sometimes really great 'stuff' happens too! As you know, we went to Detroit this past week and Matt had his follow-up MRI. An hour or so later they showed us the films and we could hardly believe our eyes... the big tumors were transparent and all but faded away!! Now that is some great stuff!! It means the radiation was very successful... beyond anyone's expectations. The next step in this battle is some very nasty chemotherapy (CPT 11 with Avastin) which will be administered here in Grand Rapids at a place we fondly refer to as 'chemoland'. Chemoland is a very comfortable, family room type setting with nice big recliners (for the patients), big windows looking out over the woods, and really nice people everywhere you turn. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that there are dozens of homemade cookies and such as well (ones waist-line is the last consideration when one begins chemo - ditto the Dads of those beginning chemo). I am not sure that there are many chemotherapy clinics around that are this non-clinical in appearance or bedside manner! Matt is doing so much better now, he is way ahead of the curve and way ahead of most in his situation. That is not to say that he doesn't have his challenges because he does. However, in the overall scheme of things, he is doing great. And, his future certainly looks better right now. It is almost safe to say that we definitely won this round. However we will have to wait a little longer to make that proclamation. We will have another MRI in 6 weeks, then I am sure we will declare total victory for this particular round with the beast. In the meantime, Matt's spirits are high and his outlook positive. He is talking about getting back to work, and putting more normalcies back into his life. That positive attitude is very important! He still has some issues to deal with like the loss of some of his eyesight (from the stroke nearly a year ago), as well as some short term memory challenges, but for the most part he is doing great! Attached is a recent photo of Matt taken on game day at Alma College where Matt's youngest brother Scotty attends school and plays football. The Alma College people are 'class' all the way (no pun intended). Every single experience we have had with the administration, faculty, staff, and coaches has been nothing less then wonderful. Head football Coach Jim Cole gave Matt the 'team ball' a week or so ago. Matt is so very proud of that. The ball was signed by the players (including Scotty of course). Coach Cole penned a very thoughtful inscription of encouragement to Matt. The ball is in Matt's house on permanent display! Several people in the administration at Alma (you know who you are J ) supported Team Matt Ware financially at the Relay For Life... and they had never met nor laid eyes on him. His story touched them and they opened their hearts being the loving compassionate people they are and felt led to make a contribution. So from all of these experiences, we think Alma is a great school and great fit for Scotty. We are thankful that they have embraced our entire family including Matt!! IF haven't done so in while, check out Matt's photo website. There are lots of new photos of the Kentwood Relay For life as well as recent photos of most of our new friends at Henry Ford Hospital; the radiation machine with Matt in it (very cool, if you like that sort of thing...); Matt and his college buddy Kevin attending Tiger games (they are a perfect 4 and 0 with Matt in attendance... hint, hint Mr. Leland); Matt having lunch with one of his mentors and world famous engineer, Professor Bell from Kettering University; the Alma College team ball presented to Matt; Alex Pryor and his buddies who motorcycled in from the West Coast just to say 'hi', and many more. When you go to the website linked below, you can click on the icons on the right hand side of the page, then click slideshow and sit back and relax. Or, you can just scroll through the photos and take in all of the fun and feel the joy! There is a provision to leave a note if you like on any given photo for Matt and others to enjoy. Very cool! Just go to Matt's photo page at... www.flickr.com/photos/team_matt_ware It is so very humbling to have so many praying for us! Prayer moves the hand of God. He hears and He answers. Sometimes we get the answer we hoped for, other times we do not. This journey will make an interesting book one day, in part, to chronicle how God continues to provide for us. When Matt needs money, it appears. When we need accommodations for hospital stays, they become available. When we get down and need something or someone to pick us up, someone does some unexpected act of kindness and our spirits are lifted! We know there are lots of people praying regularly for Matt and for us as a family. Thank you. Your prayers have once again been heard and answered. If we may be so bold, we ask that you would pray for us as parents... that we would be the best parents we can be, not only to Matt, but also to our other three boys that have been somewhat in Matt's shadow through all of this... Dan, Tim, and Scott. They are so supportive of their brother. They have been great with all the attention, time and energies we have all given to Matt's situation. However, they have individual lives and needs too. We work hard at being sensitive to that, and supportive of them. We strive to be there for them too, but sometimes that is not possible. Fortunately, they understand and are very gracious to their Mom and Dad. As always, thank you for your kind thoughts, prayers, as well as your emails and phone calls. Matt enjoys each and everyone! If you have any questions or just want to chat, drop us line or give us a call, we look forward to hearing from you! Have a great week, Mitch and family ------------ [EDIT-FB] from Mitch: August 27, 2006 Everyone - we ran into a bump in the road and are asking for your prayers. Matt has had some chest pains for the better part of the week. As you know, at this stage of the game we need to guard against blood clots, and pneumonia as they can very easily become fatal. He was assessed at Henry Ford last Thursday after his treatments but nothing definitive was discovered. As a precautionary measure, they put him on a prophylactic dose of antibiotics and sent home. Saturday afternoon Matt's symptoms returned, and upon examination at Blodgett he was admitted with pneumonia in both lungs. They told us that he will be there a couple of days. Then we will immediately return to Detroit (probably Monday morning) and begin the final week of radiation and chemo treatments. Upon completion, they will cease all treatments for the cancer for two full weeks. This should let everything settle down, and then do an MRI (at Henry Ford). They will read it immediately and give us the results. We are expecting to hear that the tumor has not grown and in fact is dying off very nicely. So, we are asking for your prayerful support once again as we go through yet another challenge! This journey has caused us to realize how one must depend on God and His grace to get through the day. In the midst of suffering there is a lot of peace to be found. We merely have to accept it and keep our perspective. That involves the other 's' word... surrender. When you are emotionally tired, it is sometimes hard to do that. Especially when you have the personality of the go-to person and you are accustom to quickly analyzing/sizing up the situation and then making things happen! Only God makes things happen in this particular arena. So those personality traits are counter productive sometimes, which causes us to call time-out and reassess our own perspective! Then you live on faith and give-up the need to fix this. Let God be god, and be what He would have you to be. And that is a loving father, mother, brother etc. We have to surrender to "Him who is greater then he who is in the world". This is so much bigger then us. Thankfully He has made a provision for us so that we can endure this fight. I cannot imagine going through this without our strong faith in God. Please know that Matt's spirits are high and he is up for the fight! When asked if he wants resuscitation should something go wrong, he smiles and yes I do! By the way, Matt is not afraid to die, he just chooses not to do so right now, and we are in total agreement with him! We have come to far and won to many battles to give in now :-) If you want to reach Matt, you can call him at Blodgett or after his release on his cell phone. I am sure he would to hear from his friends. And of course we are all available via our cell phones or email. We will publish an update in a couple of weeks as soon as we know something definative, or righ away of something else happens. Thank you so much for being on our support team! As always, Mitch and family (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 05, 2007) | ||
| Jon |
I'm very happy for you and yours ans of course for Matt. I give my hearty "Praise the Lord" along with you. Wow. That really is a miracle, isn't it? | ||
| Cyclonedon |
Great news!!! thanks for the update! | ||
| Chasespeed |
Wow, hopefully all will excuse the expression... But that is a helluva Christmas gift... It is comforting to know, that the holidays are treating people well... Matt, good luck, and continue the OUTSTANDING recovery... Chase | ||
| Prior |
 Dr. Mikklesen (on the left of Matt) and his new Fellow, Dr. (Roy) Torcuator. | ||
| Rocketman |
That's the first time I've ever seen anyone holding their brain, but hey if it works don't knock it! Great news and heart warming to hear. Rocket | ||
| Spiderman |
Awesome! | ||
| Reepicheep |
In my best "Cartman" voice.... "KickAss!" | ||
| Daves |
It is truly amazing what modern medicine can do! Great news! | ||
| Bomber |
Modern medicine and stubborness are hard to beat! Go, Matt, Go! thanks for the great news -- who sez miracles don't happen? | ||
| Pwnzor |
Excellent post, thank you for sharing. Thank God for the miracle.  | ||
| Blackbelt |
That is frigging GREAT news... | ||
| Diablobrian |
Outstanding! I know first hand what modern medicine is capable of, and I am still constantly amazed by the things they can do. A few years ago this was the stuff of science fiction. Go Matt! And Go medical team!  | ||
| Buellgirlie |
hip hop hooray! D | ||
| Blake |
Thanks for sharing the great news Alex! Wooohooo! | ||
| Oldog |
Thanks for sharing! Merry Christmas Alex, Matt and Family |
