Written by Keegan 5/13/23:  It’s been a challenging month since our last report on Laura, but it seems the efforts and decisions we’ve made so far were all worth it. Laura spent a little over a week in the hospital and was moved to a transition care unit at the UofM until May 1st. We brought her home May 1st so we could do another infusion on May 2nd down at Mayo. This time, however, Laura has been able to come home and stay home. It’s a sign that she’s moving in the right direction. She still requires hands-on care, but not nearly the level of just a month ago. With extra help from family and friends we’ve managed to find routines that work so she can continue her recovery path in the comfort of her own home. That alone has had a large impact on her mental state.

The real good news this week is that her tumor seems to be responding to the treatment. It collapsed after the operation and there hasn’t been any growth since. With those results our current plan is to continue our current course of action. She will continue to take pills every six weeks with infusion rounds every three weeks. I’ve also signed paperwork and made phone calls to get her registered for other tumor studies. Obviously, we hope that the current treatment plan works, but we’ve learned to have contingency plans in place in case they don’t. We have a few options in our back pocket now if that day arrives.

 

I am so excited to participate in the 2023 MN Brain Tumor 5K! Money raised from this event will be used for brain tumor research.

 

This walk is very important to me as I am walking with my family and friends for my niece Laura Walsh.

 

Today nearly 700,000 people in the United States are living with a primary brain tumor, and more than 69,000 others will be diagnosed this year. Brain tumors are often deadly, impact quality of life, and change everything for patients and their loved ones.

 

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