WE ARE HOME SAFELY as of about 30 minutes ago!!!  

John, Tracy and Joey are safely in San Antonio airport waiting for an evening flight to SeaTac.  We are among the lucky ones. We witnessed an incredible amount of water, devastation and suffering.

We all got new raincoats in Houston, compliments of the maid service at the hotel.

Rusty is feeling good...in his words "perfectly normal."  It was a blessing to have John and Tracy with us for Rusty's procedure.  Also a blessing to wake to a clear blue sky this morning along with a (relatively) dry path out of the city.  Thank you all for your prayers, concerns, messages and good energy during our Harvey experience.  We know we were so very fortunate.

We have been safely sheltered on the 4th floor of a Houston hotel in the Medical Center area ever since Rusty was discharged from MDAnderson after his radiosurgery on Friday.  He was required to stay in Houston for 24 hours in the event of post-op problems, and by the time the 24 hours was up it was too late to leave ahead of the storm.  John, Tracy and Joey are bunked up with us since both airports are closed due to flooded runways.  They were due to fly home on Saturday but flights were cancelled.

Do not know how much longer we will be here...roads are impassable.  We have power, water, and picnic food.

After being fitted with the "frame" and having an MRI of the brain, Rusty's two small brain tumors were zapped with Gamma rays for 72.1 minutes this morning...Gamma Knife perfexion radiosurgery. He did beautifully...was awake through part of the procedure and then fell asleep for part.  Ate a hearty lunch about 10 minutes out of the procedure, and his neuro-radiologist was pleased with his tolerance of the procedure.
 

We are to stay in Houston near the hospital for 24 hours in the event of problems, then we plan on heading north away from the flooding.  Since the storm is due to make landfall tonight, and is predicted to have 110 mph winds, we will not be staying in the RV, but have reserved a room in a local hotel.

Thanks for thoughts, good wishes, prayers and flippant comments! 😍

Thanks for all the concerned messages and queries about the hurricane!  We are in Houston...today Rusty had appointments in preparation for tomorrow morning's gamma knife surgery on the remaining brain tumor.

John, Tracy and Joey are here with us...they had planned to be here for the radiosurgery and to fly back to Washington state from IAH Saturday morning

We are now just all rolling with the punches....surgery is still scheduled, and since it's outpatient, we are thinking that we will hook up the trailer and head northwest as soon as possible after the surgery.  Whether or not John and family come with us depends on the weather and on the feasibility of flying back to WA.  All plans are tentative at this point.

Family and friends in Corpus are putting up our hurricane shutters and preparing the house for us.  We have a couple who house sit for us and care for our dogs when we are gone...they will stay at our house.  SO happy to have John, Tracy and Joey here to help and support.  We spent part of yesterday at the Houston Museum of Natural Science with 14 year old Joey who also loves the pool here at the RV park.

Greatgrandson Julian and his parents left or home on Tuesday...Jacob, who is in the Army, had to be back to work on Wed.  What a happy time we had with the baby!

Rusty's fifth and final radiation treatment was yesterday.  While we think the mass is only slightly (if any) smaller, his pain is practically non-existent now, so the doc believes that pressure on surrounding nerves has diminished.  Rusty feels good and, so far, he is not glowing green.

                          Traditional "RINGING OUT" at the completion of radiation treatments.

No further seizures since Monday - the medication seems to be working fine.

We saw the Pain Management team here at MD Anderson today.  The appointment was made for Rusty a couple of weeks ago when pain was significant.  At this point they patted him on the back and said to come back if and when pain becomes an issue.

The radiosurgery (Gamma Knife) on the small brain tumor will be here at the radiology center next Friday, August 25.  We'll have a Thursday appointment for measurements and preparation.  It is an outpatient procedure, and they only ask that we stay in Houston one overnight after the procedure in case of problems.

John, Tracy, Joey, Jacob, Jessica and baby Jude are due in at George Bush Intercontinental tomorrow morning at 7 AM!!  We will transport Jacob, Jess and Jude to Corpus Christi and John, Tracy and Joey will have a rental car.  Jacob and family return to Washington state on Tuesday and John, Tracy and Joey will return to Houston with us next week for the Gamma Knife procedure before leaving on Saturday, Aug. 26.  We have a photo session set up with Patricia to photograph the four generations of Rank men and I will get to see, hold, and smooch my first great-grandchild!

101 degrees in Houston today, with a heat index of 113.  Whew!

I'll post again next week after the radiosurgery - (along with pictures of baby Jude!)

Another first today...shortly after awakening this morning, Rusty had twitching and numbness in his face...it lasted only a couple of minutes, and he was conscious and able to talk,  but was scary enough to warrant a speedy truck trip into the MDAnderson ER.  CT scan, neurological team consult and observation of a second similiar episode, caused them to believe that the small tumor in Rusty's brain is causing "motor seizures".  That is the tumor scheduled for radiosurgery (Gamma knife) treatment next week.

He was put on an anticonvulsive drug, cautioned not to drive, and discharged at about 3 PM....but not before shocking the small, Asian, female neurologist who cautioned him not to drive.  He told her that not driving would be a great hardship since he is a race car driver.  She stared at him, incredulous, until the rest of the neuro team (males) started laughing, then she understood that it was humor...and Rusty grinned at her and said "gotcha!"

Treadmill time - stress control....

Second of five radiation treatments completed today, and the tumor already seems smaller and there is less pain. Rusty is spending the rest of today fiddling with our new RV television and I am logging hours at the pool with a good book... radical self care.  We have the weekend off and resume treatments Monday.

I am sorry that I cannot individually answer all your wonderful messages and responses to posts.  Please know that we are grateful for prayers, good wishes and support.  I will post again next week.

We started our marathon day at MDAnderson with the first of ten appointments at 6:15 AM.  The day included a CT scan of the neck tumor, visits with Melanoma specialists and radiation specialists as well as opthamology, cardiology, infusion and lab work.

Rusty's course over the next two weeks will include five days of radiation to the neck/shoulder area commencing on Thursday this week.  Tomorrow they will do "mapping " in preparation for this radiation.  I understand that mapping is a complex process which includes measurements, math, physics and medical technology to insure that the radiation is targeting the affected area and avoids critical structures in the area.  The actual radiation treatments will start Thursday.  The hope is to stop the tumor growth and hopefully shrink it.

Then, during the week of August 22 Rusty will undergo "Gamma Knife Radiosurgery" targeted to a very small (about 8mm) tumor in the brain.  Gamma Knife treatment is a single dose of precisely targeted radiation to a tumor.  Preparation is extensive and includes stabilizing the head in a frame that directs the radiation with pinpoint accuracy.

Immunotherapy infusions will continue every two weeks as before.  Until all the radiation is complete, he will discontinue the oral chemotherapy.

We're planning to stay in Houston through next Wednesday when he has the final radiation treatment to the shoulder/neck.  John, Tracy and Joey are coming to visit on August 19 for a week, so we'll wait till they get here to finalize plans for Gamma Knife week.

Since this new tumor has caused Rusty an increasing amount of pain, we are thrilled to be moving towards resolution!  As always, the intensity, quality, timeliness and level of care here at MDAnderson is incredible!

Quick update on the recent shoulder/neck tumor.  We saw Dr. Amaria, Rusty's primary Melanoma physician, today.  MRI and scans taken yesterday indicate that brain, chest, abdomen and pelvis tumors have greatly improved since last scans in May.  Because of that, and as long as he feels good,  they are going to keep Rusty on the clinical trial protocol and treat this new growth with radiation to shrink it or keep it from growing larger.  They are very optimistic about the decrease in the body tumors, and feel that "palliative" "local" radiation to he shoulder and neck is all that is needed now.

We are very happy with the results.  Will be back up here next week for regular visit.

Thanks to all for support, caring and love!