Steve Owens Benefit Run

Oct 27, 2007 12:44AM I wanted to tell everyone a story about how God is still working hard. I ran into Dana Kirkland today. She told me how her grandson has been wearing one of the blue bracelets. She said that he went to play in his football game in Edmond this week and that the coach asked him about the bracelet. Her grandson told his coach about me and showed him the bracelet. When the coach read "God + Faith = Cure", he called the team together in a huddle, and the team prayed together for me and my family.

For those of you in doubt...God is in control of this, and He walks beside me daily. I have learned that fear is common among brain cancer patients, but it has no place in the heart and mind of Christians. This life is not mine...I gave it to God years ago when I accepted Jesus as my Savior. God promises that He will take care of me while I am here on earth.

Back in 1987, I was on active duty with the Army when I heard that my father had suffered a major heart attack and was clinging to life in the ICU at Mercy Hospital. The doctors were preparing to perform open heart surgery to save my dad's life. I had my mother contact the American Red Cross, who arranged for my immediate trip home. While in the airport in Atlanta, Georgia, I bought my dad a small statue of a child being held by a God's hand. Inscribed on the bottom the statue is, "See! I will not forget you...I have carved you on the palm of my hand. Isaiah 49:15" I delivered the statue to my dad in ICU when I arrived back in Oklahoma City. God watched over my dad as the doctors performed a triple bypass on his heart. Since that day, my Dad has kept the statue at his bedside.

Before I left for my surgery, my dad gave me back the statue, and told me that it brought him comfort when he needed it most. As soon as I was placed in ICU after surgery, Lori placed the statue at my bedside. Obviously, God watched over me and still does. My neighbor told me today that I must have an angel on my shoulder. I responded that I have an army of angels, but most importantly, God has me cradled in His arms.

Your Friend, and His Servant,
Steve

Oct 27, 2007 12:18AM It is so good to be home. Lori and I arrived back in Midwest City late on October 16th. Sorry it has taken so long for me to write. I received a really good report from doctors before I left M.D. Anderson. Post surgical tests confirmed that the surgeon was able to remove about 90% of my brain tumor. PRAISE THE LORD!!

This is great news because, as the doctors explained, studies show that with over 80% of the tumor being removed, the remaining cancer responds better to radiation and other treatments. The doctors said that my prognosis has definitely improved. I was instructed to locate a local radiation oncologist to administer my treatment in Oklahoma City. M.D. Anderson gave me the name of doctor at St. Anthony Hospital that definitely has the qualifications.

Lori and I met with this doctor on October 23rd, and we really liked him. He said that 15 to 20% of people with my cancer are "long term survivors", and that those people are young and otherwise healthy, they presented with a seizure, and they had successful resections of the majority of the tumor. The doctor said that I fit into this category completely. He was very impressed with the success of my surgery. I told him that God has already placed me in that category.

I return to St. Anthony for another MRI and CT scan to map my head for radiation therapy. I should start these treatments the following week, probably on November 6th. I will receive radiation Monday through Friday for about 6 weeks. I will then return to M.D. Anderson at the end of the year for another MRI and a meeting with my oncologist to see where I am at.

The doctors said that the major side effect of the radiation treatment will be extreme fatigue. They said the best way to counteract the fatigue is to exercise. With the doctors' blessing, I got back on the treadmill this week and have been walking/running for over 20 minutes almost every day. I try to run each time, and have made it running for as long as 5 minutes. I plan the make daily increases and improve my stamina.

Another side effect is hair loss. I told the doctors that I was okay with that. HA HA.

I want everyone to know that I am doing okay. I still have headaches constantly, but between the medications, ice packs, and exercise, I will survive. I still look pretty rough, although everyone I see tells me I look great.

I want to thank everyone who supported and/or participated in the golf tournament. I heard that it was a great day, and that everyone had a good time. I wish Lori and I could have been there.
I love you all very much, and I can't wait to see you.

Steve

Oct 12, 2007 7:37PM I just wanted to let everyone know how much I miss you and can't wait to see you again. I should probably warn you. Remember the movie "the Elephant Man?" I look and feel like that guy with a really bad sinus headache. My head feels like it's huge!! Brain swelling is not all its cracked up to be HA HA. Believe it or not, I can still do everything I did before the surgery. Walk, talk, probably even play the guitar if I had one with me. PRAISE THE LORD!

On Tuesday, I have plenty of appointments, where Lori and I will get a final pathology report on the tumor that was removed and we will discuss future treatment options with the neuro-oncologist. We still don't know if treatments will be here in Houston, or back home. I'm gonna pray for back home, if I can get the same thing there. I will not be asking to use the first oncologist I went to Midwest City, but I may be looking at using a new team from Integris.

On Tuesday, they will also put me through more neuro psychology testing to see if there are any changes in my cognitive abilities or personality. We are planning on heading out of Houston on Tuesday afternoon and stopping in Dallas for the night. We should be back in OKC on Wednesday the 17th.

A sincere thanks to everyone who participated in the Golf Tournament. Your support means so much to Lori and I. Although we could not be there in person, we were there in spirit. Thanks for the Love

(Steve)

Oct 12, 2007 10:16AM Hello everyone, sorry it's been a while since the last update. Steve is doing better everyday. He is still in a lot of pain and therefore taking plenty of pain medicine. Because of that he sleeps a lot. He is becoming more alert each day, but it's a chore to make him get up and walk around a little and even to eat. I know you are all anxious to hear from him, but he is just not up to e-mailing or talking on the phone much right now. I will keep encouraging him and I know soon he will be in touch with everyone.

We both wish we had been able to be at the golf tournament yesterday. We heard it was a wonderful time and a beautiful day. We are so sorry we missed it, but we greatly appreciate everyone coming out to support Steve.

We are so ready to come home and see everyone! We miss you all and look forward to seeing you all soon. Please keep us in your prayers.

Lori

Oct 6, 2007 9:31PM Hello everybody, just wanted to let everyone know that Steve is doing well today. They moved him out of the ICU to a regular room around 5:00pm today. We visited him for only about an hour. He is still very groggy and cannot stay awake. His right eye is swollen shut and of course his face and head are pretty swollen as well, but that's all normal according to the doc.

Steve said the doctor came this morning about 8:00 (before visiting hours) and then again this afternoon. Both times he said he was pleased with the results from last nights MRI. The results did confirm the 85%-90% removal and he said everything else looks really good. I will try to be at the hospital around 7:00 in the morning so maybe I can see the doc and hear for myself what he has to say.

Please continue to pray for Steve's recovery and I will update everyone tomorrow!

Lori

Oct 5, 2007 10:23PM Praise God!! Our prayers have been answered!!! Steve's surgery was successfully completed around 7:30 this evening. The neurosurgeon, Dr. Prabhu, said everything went well. He feels he was able to remove 85%-90% of the tumor. They will do an MRI tonight so he can verify that. The tumor was sent to pathology and the results should be available in 3-5 days. He doesn't expect them to show anything different than what we already know as far as the type and grade of the cancer.

He indicated that Steve was not very talkative during the awake portion of the surgery and they had a tough time getting him to work with them. He was also extremely combative when they initially woke him up. It took five people to hold him down. Luckily they were prepared for that, so no harm done (at least not to Steve).

I spoke to Steve briefly in ICU. He seemed to be doing well. He was in and out, but he was aware of everyone's presence and he knew who we all were. He will spend at least 24 hours there before being moved to a regular room. If all goes well, he should be released Tuesday or Wednesday.

Thank you all for your prayers, please don't stop! I will continue to update you all as often as I can, but the ICU nurse said if all is well I shouldn't expect to see the doctor before Monday.

Lori

Oct 5, 2007 12:27PM Just got an update from the surgical nurse. They got started about 8:49 with the surgery. They are just completing the opening of the skull, etc. They will begin the process of waking Steve up soon for the next part of the procedure. They told me to stick around the waiting room because they usually will call out here once the patient is awake so they can speak to their family members via telephone. Is that not the craziest thing you've ever heard! I will let you know when I talk to Steve or get the next update. Thank you all for your continued prayers!

Lori

Oct 3, 2007 9:14PM Hello to everyone. We had a busy day at M.D. Anderson today. It started with the nurse glueing six white "lifesavers" all over my bald head, circling them with permanent marker, and writing "yes" on the right side of my head. This procedure is done to make my skull one big GPS system to locate specific areas inside my brain. As you can imagine, this look may be almost normal for walking around the M.D. Anderson Brain and Spine Center, but it seems to draw confused stares everywhere else. I promptly visited the barber and beauty shop at MD to obtain a black bandanna, which covers a few of the lifesavers and makes me look a little more normal. HA HA (Don't worry, Lori preserved the moment with photographs.)

My next appointment involved being locked in a room with two neuro psychologists for a couple of hours. They administered all kinds of cognitive, memory, and motor skills tests that really gave me a headache. I guess I passed, because I was not admitted for "observation". Ha Ha. They said my results would be compared with other males, my age, and having my education level. After my surgery, I will be tested again and the results will be compared with my first test. This will allow the doctors to gauge my progress as I heal.

Lastly, I had the most sophisticated MRI that I have ever experienced. The following proves that God is still in control:

When they called my name, a male and a female approached me in the waiting room. The male asked where Lori was and said he would speak to her. I was told to go with the female to prepare for the MRI. The female nurse prepared me for the MRI and told me to wait in a room.

A few minutes later, the male that had spoken to Lori entered my room. He immediately sat down and said, "Okay Steve, lets pray." I thought this guy was the chaplain, and we prayed together for about 5 minutes. When we raised our heads, I read his name tag and saw that his name was Tim Evans and that he was the MRI technician.

Tim said that he had read my patient profile and saw that I both a police officer and a Baptist. He told me that his wife is a police officer and that they are Baptists. He said that God let him know that he could get away with opening with a prayer.

I spoke to Tim for quite a while before the MRI began. Tim explained that he wanted me to know that God works miracles at M.D. Anderson every day. He said that he sees my type of cancer very often, and he said that God will protect me. Tim said that God would surround me with believers who would provide me encouragement to seek strength in God. Tim said he knows this because he sees it daily.

Tim administered a two-hour long Functional MRI. This special MRI was conducted while I performed mental tasks, responding to stimuli. Tim explained that this mapping of the brain will provide a virtual model for the surgeon to use before and during surgery, enabling him to work around vital areas of the brain. Every blood vessel and nerve pathway in my brain has been located with this technology that was developed here at M.D. Anderson. WOW!!!

As I left, Tim said that he would find my family on Friday and would pray with them while they waited during my surgery. He thinks we can break his record of having 14 holding hands in prayer during surgery. He also gave me a book titled, "Who Loves You". This book was written by a man that was given only weeks to live but was HEALED BY OUR ALMIGHTY GOD!! Tim assured me that this book portrays a man whose faith in God and the doctors God led him to resulted in a miracle. (one of those kinds of miracles witnessed by Tim on a regular basis). I'm going to read this short book tonight before going to sleep.

I thank God for sending Tim to me.

I have my consult with the anesthesiologist at 8:00 in the morning tomorrow. I will let you know how that goes, and I should have an exact time for the surgery on Friday.

See you later, and God bless you!

Steve

Oct 1, 2007 8:32PM Hello from Houston again. I had my consultation appointment with Dr. Prabhu, the neurosurgeon, this morning. He was very nice to Lori and I, and he patiently explained the location of the tumor and the surgical procedure. He explained that the tumor is in a location that is right next to numerous blood vessels that supply the right side of my brain.

Dr. Prabhu explained that the surgery is challenging, but the tumor appears to have well defined edges, and is actually in a common location for this type of cancer. He explained that he is not that concerned about loss of speech, cognitive function, or personality changes. This because since I am right handed, most of those functions (about 90%) should be controlled by the left side of my brain, which will be unaffected by the surgery.

He said that he's not that concerned about any life threatening cardiac or other event because I am otherwise healthy and have a good history of handling anestisia well. Dr. Prabhu said that he feels the biggest risk of this surgery is that of a stroke that could affect the contol and function of the left side of my body. This is because of the number of blood vessels surrounding the tumor. He explained that there is about a 10-15% chance of a stroke during this procedure.

Dr. Prabhu was very encouraging and seemed hopeful about the procedure. He explained that research shows that if about 80% of the tumor can be removed, radiation and chemotherapy is much more effective on the remaining abnormal cells.

He explained that I would be awake during the removal of the tumor. This will allow him to assess my body's reaction to each and every thing he does to my brain. This part of the surgery will probably take about 4-6 hours, making the surgery last between 6-8 hours. He said it could take less, or it could take more. Dr. Prabhu said that if a stroke occurs during surgery, he will stop the stroke and assess the situation before moving on.

All in all, Lori and I were very impressed with Dr. Prabhu. He was very interested in my career and asked me numerous questions about busting drug dealers and law enforcement in general. On Wednesday I am scheduled for numerous tests, including a psychological evaluation...I hope this does not reveal any suprises (ha ha!) Surgery is still scheduled for Friday, October 5th. We will not know the exact time until the 4th.

I firmly believe that God is providing me with the best care possible, and I have faith that He will see me through this surgery. Remember us in your prayers, and may God bless you.

Steve

Sept 30, 2007 9:39AM Just wanted to let everyone know that we made it to Houston at about 7:00 p.m. We are right around the corner from M.D. Anderson at the Best Western. My first appointment is with Dr. Prabru, the Neurosurgeon, at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Keep praying for us, and I will let you know what the doctor says tomorrow.

Steve