In early March, Jon suddenly lost his ability to speak. Jon was admitted into the VA Hospital under the assumption that he had suffered a stroke. Jon was transferred to DMC Receiving nuerology floor; Jon also has MS, and the doctors weren't sure if the spot on his brain was a lesion from MS, or something else. On March 25th, Jon had his first brain surgery to have the spot removed to be biopsied. Less than 2 weeks later, on April 4th, Jon' s brother, Michael, died tragically in a car accident. He was 37 years old. A few days later, Jon lost the complete use of the entire right side of the body. He was readmitted into the hospital where he would be diagnosed with brain cancer, and that the mass had already grown back since the surgery. Jon started radiation treatment on April 17th. He went every day, Monday thru Friday, for 30 days, and started Chemo that following Monday.
He has glioblastoma multiform, which is the most aggressive form of brain cancer. It is inside of his frontal lobe. There is no cure. Life expectancy for this type is less than 2 years. They don't have stages for brain cancer, they have grades; his is grade 4.
Jon completed his radiation and chemo on June 2nd. However, on June 14th, Jon had a grand mal seizure and was transported to McLaren macomb hospital where he has remained until today.
Jon and his wife are still waiting on the insurance to approve him for rehab, so he is currently residing on the neuro floor of the hospital until he is approved.
Jon has had a rough month so far; he has 3 major surgeries to remove blood clots from his arm, his neck, and his lungs. Jon also had a second brain surgery to relieve some pressure off of his frontal lobe after weeks of uncontrolled seizures.
The family is currently working towards getting social security disability started, as well as Jon's retirement paperwork finalized. Jon was the sole provider for the family, and his wife, Amanda, spends 10 hours a day with Jon at the hospital, and then takes care of their 15 year son and 4 year old daughter in the mornings and evenings.
If you know Jon, you love Jon. He is a gentle giant, a goofball, and a kid at heart that really loves Harry Potter and video games. Jon is a veteran of the Marine Corp., a good man, and a good Dad.
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