THAT AWFUL DAY

December 8, 2011
SAD NEWS
Dear Friends and Family,
Please forgive this group e-mail.
I was in New York to celebrate my sister Stella’s birthday over the weekend. When Neal picked me up at the airport Monday night, he was very unsteady on his feet. I called him several times when I was in New York and he couldn’t think of words to express what he was saying. We just laughed it off and blamed it on him not having his morning coffee. Yesterday, his symptoms became decidedly worse – dragging his feet and couldn’t call up words that he uses every day. I thought he’d had a TIA and we spent the morning at the Naval hospital where they did a Cat-Scan and MRI of his brain The Cat-Scan showed an area of swelling in his brain, probably fluid. The doctor prescribed prednisone for the swelling and said his symptoms should abate for about seven days. The MRI was inconclusive. They will have to do a biopsy to determine the type of cancer he has. The doctor said he had seven small lesions and one large one in the frontal region. We have an appointment with the neurosurgeon tomorrow morning at 9:45. Neal says he’s not sad or mad – he’s at peace. The only symptoms he has is not being to call up words and being unsteady on his feet. Other than that, he is the same Neal you all know and love. I know you’ll be praying for us.


By Wednesday morning, he was dragging his feet and couldn’t work the remote.