On Saturday, October 15th, Bob was getting ready for hunting season by building up ground blinds with his father in-law. He walked five miles, set up his blind, got lost in the woods, had pizza and beer with his father in-law and drove home.

Sunday morning, October 16th, Bob woke up and had a normal cup of coffee. Not long after, his wife Sherry noticed that his eyes were bulging and he was becoming increasingly confused. Bob told Sherry that he had been having terrible headaches for the last five days. Sherry immediately took him to the E.R. thinking that he was having a stroke. Upon arrival at the Emergency room, a CT scan and MRI were done right away. After multiple test results, it was discovered that Bob has a quarter-sized tumor located near the pineal gland, in the center of the brain. The tumor was putting pressure on his brain stem and spinal cord, and closed off the path for spinal fluid to flow into the spinal cord – causing a backup in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and a subsequent increase in pressure in the brain, causing the symptoms reported.

From there Bob was given a room in ICU and monitored carefully. Monday and Tuesday Bob remained the same and the goal was to control his pain. Throughout these two days Bob saw many neurological specialists to determine a plan. After meeting with multiple specialists, the family made a decision to transfer Bob to University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The plan was to transfer Bob Wednesday, October 19th. However, Tuesday afternoon didn’t go as planned. Bob became increasingly confused, not knowing where he was at and not recognizing his immediate family. When he became unresponsive, unable to wake up, just three hours after he was coherent, the neurosurgeon drilled a hole in his skull to insert a drain tube to allow the CSF to drain naturally and relieve pressure in the brain.

Once the drain was inserted, Bob began to wake up and over Tuesday night and Wednesday started to become less confused. Although Bob was becoming less confused, his double vision remained the same and headaches began to get worse. Due to Bob being a neuro-patient, the team was hesitant to give him medication for pain. The plan was still to transfer Bob and a bed became available at University of  Michigan Ann Arbor. The transfer was to take place sometime Wednesday night. By Thursday morning, the bed had been given away and the family was at another stand still.

Each day Bob’s headaches became increasingly worse and his confusion began to increase again. By Friday, Bob was restless, agitated, and unable to be calmed down. A repeat CT scan Saturday afternoon showed an increase in spinal fluid above the third ventricle. Additionally, a bleed was noticed in the tumor causing the tumor to increase in size. The neurosurgeon then placed an additional drain in Bob’s head to relieve more pressure. The surgeon met with the family regarding the CT results and stated that it was imperative the tumor be removed.

Monday, October 24th, Bob had brain surgery to remove the tumor. After 11.5 hours, the neurosurgeon came and told the family that the surgery had been successful.

Following the surgery, Bob was sedated, medically paralyzed, intubated, and given a feeding tube to allow his brain to heal under as little stimulus as possible. There were setbacks here and there following the surgery, such as a seizure, among others. After some time that felt like an eternity, the doctors began weaning Bob off the medications that kept him sedated and paralyzed. After more time he began to wake up. The doctors implemented a trach (tube coming out his throat) to allow him to breathe with assistance without being intubated, and also remain consciousness.

Bob was then moved out of ICU as he had become more stable and did not need constant monitoring by medical personnel.

After being in a step down room, Bob has been moved into McLaren's inpatient rehab. He is currently there, awake and alert when not sleeping. He is undergoing physical, occupational, and speech therapy to help him regain movement of his atrophied muscles, learn to walk again, and learn how to speak again. He has taken steps, small and frail as they may be, and has spoken words, weak but audible words - though he is still unable to speak completely yet. He is still himself though, although it is hard to tell, Bob is still Bob. We hope Bob will continue this forward momentum and continue making steps toward being himself physically and mentally.

We cannot begin to and will never stop thanking enough all those who have helped the Weiss family and supported them.