Randy, his brain & his family

Randy’s friend Lindsay, who is located in Raleigh, NC, is posting this on his and his family’s behalf.

Letter from his wife, Betsy 9/22/25 --

I won't bury the lead. Randy has a brain tumor.

He's in the hospital now, at Inova Fairfax. He is supposed to have surgery on Thursday but we don't know any details yet beyond that. It is quite possible that afterward he will need to have radiation and/chemo, but we won't know that until after they examine the tumor once they've removed it. I can't quite comprehend what recovery from brain surgery will be like.

For a few months he's had dizzy spells and olfactory hallucinations--smelling what seems like burning rubber--but they kind of came and went and we attributed the symptoms to side effects of medications he was taking. For the past 10 days or so he was having intermittent excruciating headaches, severe dizziness, and was so shaky he had to lean on the wall on his way to and from the bathroom.

Last Thursday he had an MRI, which we got the results of (via email) on Saturday night around 9pm. I texted them to a couple doctor friends for translation into English. One of my doctor friends asked if we were in the ER. I said no, we were at home, and he said go to the ER now.

So they admitted him Saturday night. On Sunday morning we saw the neurosurgeon, who showed us the image of the tumor on a screen and said he would try to remove it, or as much of it as he could. He said it's in a part of the brain that is easier to access than other parts. Randy also had a CT scan which did not show any signs of tumors anywhere else in his body.

That's what we know right now. So please don't ask me questions that I don't know the answer to yet. :)

He is already going a bit stir crazy in the hospital. I was with him throughout the night we got there until the next morning, because Niki was sleeping over at their cousin's house, fortuitously. Since then I've had to divide my time between Niki and Randy. So Randy would definitely appreciate some calls or possibly visits tomorrow and Wednesday. But please check in with him first before you come.

I have done CaringBridge things for my parents. I never anticipated creating one for my husband. While I have never been shy about asking for help when I need it, I am usually on the other side of this equation where I am coordinating or providing help for other people whose families are going through something. I have no idea how we're going to get through this.

Randy and I are both terrified about the money side of things. He has been keeping me afloat for several months as I've tried to rebuild my business. I haven't had a regular paycheck in a while and we don't have any financial reserves. He's been taking on a ton of freelance work to supplement our incomes but now we don't know what, if any of it, he'll be able to complete. I plan to continue working as best I can, but I'm still trying to ramp up my client roster. So this is a challenge. And just the thought of the medical bills makes me want to throw up.

I don't know what's going to happen now. I honestly don't know what we're going to need. I appreciate the love and support that my sister and a few friends have already shown while we were trying to figure out what was causing Randy's pain. Now we know!

Whatever happens next, we are thankful for your love and kindness.

—

Let’s do what we can to support Randy, Betsy, and their family. They give so much. It’s time to rally and show up to give back to them.