Help the Barbers Help Julie

Update on Julie-
Julie got out of surgery last night (11/21) around 6:00pm. She is such a trooper. She went into surgery asking about her cat and came back with the same concern. He is a good distraction for her. Nothing would make her happier than knowing that her friends and family are helping to cover the cost of O"Malley's surgery. She believes that they need each other. I do too.

Here is what we know…the doctors were able to remove half of the tumor because that was all he could get to safely. They have sent it off to pathology and we are hoping to have the results back on Monday.

She has a tough night. Her pain was intense while the doctors and nurses tried to determine the right mix that would take away her pain without making her so sleepy that the doctors couldn't wake her every other hour to examine her. Because they needed to open her spinal cord to get to the mass, it has affected the lower half of her body. She currently does not have any feeling from just above her belly button down. As you can imagine, this is very scary for Julie. The doctors are hopeful that she will regain what she has lost. There is no guarentee that she will get any of that feeling back. We wait….and pray....and wait.

She is right now having her 6th MRI to see what is going on in there. Julie will be in the hospital through next week. After the results come back, we will be able to make a plan to move forward. Julie may need to go to a rehab center before we go home. We will need to make our house handicap accessible so that Julie can come home with a wheelchair if needed.

There are a lot of "what if's" in front of us. We are going to try our best not to waste our energy on thinking about them. We are going to focus on the "what is" and take each day as it comes.

Thank you all for the amazing support and love that you have shown to our family. Julie is humbled by all of the messages and well wishes. If you have sent me a message and I haven't responded yet, please know that I have seen it, I appreciate it and I will respond. Sleep is not something that we get much of but I am hopeful for a better night tonight.

There is an uphill climb ahead of us both financially and spiritually but Julie is strong and has not lost her sense of humor. Please keep sending your prayers and good vibes in her direction. <3 Gratefully, Kate, Tom, T.J., Julie, Lily & Greta