07/25/2025
Hey guys, Lindsey here.
I'm really sorry that I haven't shared any updates on this page throughout the past few weeks. I was posting updates to the CaringBridge/GoFundMe but didn't have access to the RC page while we were at the hospital etc.
Tom is healing slowly but also very well. He is still extremely sore from all of the things his body went through. To summarize the past 2 weeks...
On Thursday, July 10th Tom underwent his first surgery. They were able to save his left eye but they did have to remove his cheekbone causing the eye to sit differently than it had before. While the cancer did not spread to his eye, it was found to have grown backwards. The neurologist stepped in once that was noticed and scraped the cancer off of the outer shell of his brain - the "dura" - and we are still awaiting the results from those tests. The neurologist was confident that he scraped enough off that when we get those results back, they will hopefully all be negative. It will take a bit longer for those samples to be process due to the complexity of the samples - extra staining, dying etc needs to take place.
During the first surgery, Tom was under anesthesia for 13 hours. Once it was found on the outer shell of his brain, they made the decision to focus on that area and have him come back at a later time to do the surgery on his neck/lymph nodes. Tom was able to come home Friday afternoon and we went back the following Tuesday for the neck surgery. While only 2 lymph nodes were in question, the doctor made the decision to remove ALL lymph nodes from the left side to err on the side of caution. Tom was discharged Wednesday(the 16th) afternoon and has been home recovering since then. He had his follow up appointment for his neck on Wednesday, the 23rd to have his stitches removed. During that appointment we were informed that the results came back from lymph nodes and they were NOT CANCEROUS!!! Very very good news. Obviously it was not ideal for Tom to have to go through the 2nd surgery but it was what needed to be done to make sure that the cancer gets the heck out of there!
Things he is experiencing now as a result of everything he has gone through.. He has very bad double vision because his left eye is no longer sitting in the same position. The double vision can be corrected down the road with physical therapy, further reconstruction, etc. He lost his sense of smell and a majority of his taste. The middle third of his face on the left side has permanent nerve damage - ie, he can't feel his teeth on that side. Obviously the biggest thing he is facing is adjusting to his new appearance. He has remained extremely positive throughout the entire ordeal but I think just about anybody would have a difficult time adjusting to their new appearance after looking a certain way their whole life.
He will start coming back to the shop in little spurts when he feels he is ready. I am telling him to take all the time he wants/needs! He will not be able to work on vehicles for now but he will be in the office when the time comes.
Once we get results back from the dura, I will update everyone. I really appreciate all of the love and support you guys have given us. It really does mean a lot. Now that we have gotten through the worst of it, we are remaining pretty private and kind of keeping to ourselves at home - taking the time to spend together as family after everything Tom has gone through.
