We won this time, Mom...

Well, the IVs are out and I'm resting comfortably in my rehab room, reflecting on the events of a week ago....

When the surgeon showed me the scan of my brain, it was a sobering realization that I was now facing a life or death situation. The tumor was causing massive bleeding, with the hemorrhage doubling in size within a few hours to over 2 inches. The surgeon made it clear that this would be fatal unless he operated immediately and warned that even then it might still be fatal.

I thought about my brother Jerry who we lost at the age of 49 to a stroke. I'll never forget the devastation in my Mom and the family and I just couldn't imagine my brothers and family going through such suffering again. I said a prayer as I told the Doc I was ready to go under. "You do your best to beat this thing Doc and I'll do my best to come through the other side in good shape. He gave me a big thumbs up, knowing from his many years of neurosurgery that a fighting spirit was so crucial in such a critical situation.

Tonight, I'm so grateful to have survived such a storm, but more than anything being able to look up towards Heaven and say "We won this one, Mom. We still might have a big fight ahead, but this time we won...."