Here I will tell the whole story of what’s going on in my family’s life right now. Specifically, Sarah’s health issues. You may continue to follow this blog for future updates as they are available.
tl;dr – Sarah has a brain tumor and will need surgery very soon.
It all started Christmas Eve of 2015. Sarah had her first migraine while celebrating Christmas with our family. It was rough, but it was a singular event, and we didn’t think too much of it. I won’t go into every little detail, but I will give much of the story.
Fast forward to last summer, about 6 months later.
Sarah had an increasingly growing sensitivity to various foods, so we began treatment with a specialist (the same person treating me for Lyme) in hopes we could reduce or eliminate her fairly extreme (but not anaphylactic) reactions to many foods. Some of you may remember that we sold our house during this time and kept bouncing from home to home until we found the place we currently live. Some good friends opened their home for laundry purposes, since the place where we were staying did not have laundry facilities. The boys were playing outside with Sarah and our friend, while Sarah went inside to check the laundry and rest because she wasn’t feeling well. Eventually, our friend went in to check on Sarah and found her passed out on the ground. We now begin to more aggressively address the allergy issues because this and further episodes seemed directly tied to certain foods.
On Easter Sunday, 2017 while trying to sing for church, Sarah again was not feeling well. Instead of returning to the platform to sing the final songs, we decided to rest. Again, she was found by someone, this time passed out on the bathroom floor of the church. Thankfully, her father was visiting for Easter and he was able to take the boys home while I took Sarah to Hillcrest Hospital’s Emergency Room. They treated her for the pain and the allergies, got her stable, and released her, choosing not to do a CT scan at this time.
We went back to the allergy doctor a few weeks ago, and he was very concerned at the increasing frequency that she was having these episodes and told us to see a neurologist for further investigation. We began that process, but her appointment was not until August.
July 4, 2017
We had traveled to the north Chicago suburbs to celebrate Independence Day with my aunt, uncle, grandma, and family. Again, Sarah was not feeling well and chose to remain in bed all day while we celebrated outside. Her memory was very flaky at this point, especially short term memory, but we continued to put this off as either consumption or exposure to one of her allergies. However, it was becoming clear that her body was becoming more and more sensitive to these various things.
July 5, 2017
Down to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs play the Rays. This whole day was crazy, so I’ll skip to the important parts. While returning to his seat, Sarah’s dad missed a step and fell very hard, badly scraping up his arm and landing on his knee. After the game was over, it was clear he could not walk (we needed to take the train 20 minutes south back to our hotel), so I told Sarah to ride in an ambulance with him to the ER and I would return downtown with the boys to the hotel.
Sometime after they arrived in the ER and her father was being examined, Sarah again passed out, but this time also went into a full seizure. Fortunately, she was in a hospital, not on a train. They took her to another room and began running tests. The CT scan revealed a large tumor over her left frontal lobe and they admitted her to the hospital. My aunt and uncle traveled the hour drive back downtown to stay with my now sleeping boys so I could go back to the hospital to be with Sarah. I finally arrived around 1am (July 6th). I found her in ICU and was able to speak to the nurse about her condition. The doctor in the ER had called me earlier and told me she would need surgery and would be in the hospital for about a week. There wasn’t much I could do at this point, and I needed sleep, so I took my first Uber ride at 2:30am back to the hotel.
The next day, my dad drove the 2 hours back to the city to pick up my boys and Sarah’s injured dad, while I returned to the hospital. We spoke to the neurosurgeon who better explained the situation and also gave us the option of returning home to Cleveland for surgery. However, this would still depend on the results from the MRIs scheduled for later that day.
Friday morning, the doctor returned to give us all the results. In a nutshell, he said that it is a good-sized tumor, but as far as brain tumors go, this is the least scary. Once physical therapy cleared Sarah to leave, we began the journey home. We spend Friday night at my parent’s house in Indiana. Saturday, we said goodbye to our kids, leaving them with their grandparents while Sarah is treated.
I was making many phone calls on Friday to get Sarah set up with a neurosurgeon on Monday, July 10th, but have nothing confirmed yet. We have spoken to doctors at both UH and Cleveland Clinic, and hopefully Monday morning, we will hear back from one or both hospitals with an appointment.
When we know more, I will attempt to just continue updates via my blog here. That way, I don’t have to tell the whole story 100 times.
Please pray:
- We would get a quick appointment and surgery scheduled here in Cleveland
- Fast recovery after the surgery
- Our boys as they are away from us during this time (and my parents!)
- That the removal of this tumor would drastically improve Sarah’s quality of life.
Thanks friends! We love you all, and we know we are loved as well.
Praying for all of you…..
Praying for Sarah and your whole family 💕
Hard to grasp all this about dear Sarah. I am lifting her up in prayer with the specific requests you listed and for God’s Presence, peace and power as you face this trial. ❤
Praying!!
Do you know what kind of tumor it is, exactly?
angio meningioma
You don’t know me but I know Sarah from what used to be MOPS at Trinity. I am Greg Skouby’s mom. Ten years ago I had many symptoms leading up to a seizure. The diagnosis was meningioma. I had a wonderful surgeon at the Clinic named Dr. Barnett. At that time he was head of the Neurosurgery Department. My neurologist there is Dr. Stevens. Ten years later I am doing fine. I’ll be praying for Sarah and your family.
Thanks so much!
Hi David, your mom forwarded the blog. Will be praying for this entire situation!
Praying for your family David and Sarah.
Anything you need…let me know! Praying for Sarah, you and the boys!
I am deeply sorry for the pain that Sarah is going through. Art and I are praying for healing and recovery.
Thanks so much guys!
Hi David, My Dad just let me know what’s going on and I stalked Sarah’s FB page to find your blog. I will be praying for all of you and will continue to keep up with your blog for updates. Please give my love to Sarah and I will be keeping all of you in my thoughts and prayers…love you guys!
XOXO Jen Fuller (Doug’s daughter)
My prayers are with Sarah and the medical team that takes care of her. God’s great hands are taking care of her and you. Love to you all.
David, so sorry to hear about Sarah. She and the whole family will be in our prayers.
So sorry to hear about all of this. I will pray for all of you that God will be the light unto your path as you walk this unknown journey.
Earnestly praying for Sarah and for you, David. Please give Sarah my love and a big hug. Love you!💕
I am so sorry to hear about this my dear friends!! We are all praying for you and for all the factors surrounding this!!
Oh David! Thank you so much for sharing… we are praying for sweet Sarah and your beautiful family. You are all very close to our hearts. May the Lord of all grace direct your steps with wisdom and extend His mighty hand over the whole situation.
Love from the Hutts.
We haven’t talked for a long while, but David, you, your little ones, extended family and especially your sweet wife are very much in our prayers right now…He will bring you through, guiding the doctors and healing as only He can. Much love from the O’Sullivans!
Thanks for your prayers!
Diligently praying here in South Bend. May God’s healing hands be upon Sarah, and his comforting hands be upon you, the boys,and your parents.
David, our hearts are so heavy with this news. I had no idea about any of this. Please know how much we love you all and are praying for our Lord’s healing for Sarah. We will be praying for you and your family as you walk through these days with the Lord. I would love to hug Sarah in person – please do this for me. Much love and payers.
David, you don’t know me, but I grew up with Sarah in Michigan. Praying that God would touch her body, that He would guide every step during surgery and that all symptoms would cease and be DONE once the tumor is removed!!! Our God is a miracle worker! Stay strong!
Praying for Sarah and your family!
We will be praying for Sarah and your whole family. George and Jeanne Brittain
We will be praying for Sarah and your whole family!
Love and Prayers Always!
Your family is in Wes and my prayers. Please let us know if there is anything we can do. I’ll gladly take the boys for an afternoon or come help clean or anything.
We will be praying!
Praying for you all. My sister Sue had headaches, and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. That was over 20 years ago, and she’s still going strong. Remember that God wants Sarah to heal and return her to robust health.
We are praying for you, Sarah, and the entire family. I know she will make a full recovery and her testimony will help lead people to Jesus Christ!!! God bless you all!!!
We have been praying for Sarah and your family all week. Please know we will continue the prayers and are here if you need anything!! With love The Andrews family.
How is Sarah doing? Continuing to pray for you and your family.