Let's start at the Beginning.....

After a few months of getting really bad migraines that affected her vision, Francis made an appointment with a Neurologist. Within 3 days she had an appointment to get an MRI done and the day after that, Oct. 27th, our family woke up to bad news.

The Neurologist had found a Brain Tumor. Details? There weren't any. They thought it might not be cancerous, they thought it was about the size of a golf ball, etc.

Thankfully Francis was able to get an appointment at The Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL very quickly. Tuesday, Nov. 3rd would be the day we all finally got some answers. After meeting with doctors on both Tuesday and Wednesday she met with her Neurosurgeon. He was both optimistic but cautious. He said the chance of the tumor NOT being cancerous is 95%. The tumor is bigger than a golf ball. It's also wrapped itself around some major blood vessels. Egore the Tumor is also sitting right on top of her "language center" and because of that, the surgery might have to be done while she is awake. Francis has to go back to The Mayo Clinic on November 17th for more tests and then the surgery will be November 30th.

How did Francis react to all of this news? Here is a direct quote off her facebook page....

" Major brain surgery...yucky, metal plates in your head...yucky, neuro icu after surgery...yucky, possibly having to be awake during major brain surgery...very yucky, a LONG and HAPPY life with my beautiful boys...PRICELESS and well worth it!"

We think the way she is dealing with this is nothing short of amazing. We were both able to spend some time with her this week and she is doing great. Better than us even. :) You won't find her crying or feeling sorry for herself. Instead you'll find Francis sewing Halloween costumes at midnight, snuggling with her boys and laughing with her husband.

We are at the beginning of a long hard road but we are all ready to go. Ready to get Egore the Tumor out of Francis' head and get her back healthy. We are all so grateful for the support and prayers that have already been sent our families way.

So what now? Well, we continue to pray and plan for the future. Francis and Robert thankfully have health insurance and the Mayo Clinic will accept it. But....brain surgery, even with insurance isn't going to be cheap. In addition to the huge hospital bill, there will be a ton of misc. expenses. Robert will have to miss alot of work and will have to stay in Jacksonville while Francis is in the hospital. Alot of you have asked how you can help and where you can donate. We will be having different fundraisers coming up. You can donate directly to an account set up in their name by clicking on the paypal link on the side of this blog or check back for upcoming dates and locations of fundraisers.



Again, we can't thank people enough for their support. It's been so nice to see how many people love our sister. Before Francis and Robert left for Jacksonville, one of her best friends Tori came and took photos of their family. We can't thank Tori enough for these beautiful photos. To see more photos and read her beautiful blog about Francis please click here.

Isn't this blog amazing? Well, it was created by our super talented family friend Lindsay (Horst) Nielson. Thank you again for such a great place to put updates about Francis.

Feel free to leave comments, I know that Francis will love reading them!

Love, Farris and Lois