[ Mauro (left) performs at a recent Capoeira event]

Thank you SO MUCH to all of you who generously donated to Mauro's fund...I sent them a check for $605.00 yesterday! You guys rock! I will continue to collect ongoing donations and will periodically send them a check.

Here is the last update I received from Rebecca:

"...surgery is scheduled for Friday, Oct 5th...and we are having a blessing way/gathering for him on Thursday, Oct. 4th.

...we had hoped that the majority of the tumor was on the outside of the brain, just connected to the top. After seeing the MRI, that is not true. It is growing inside the right temporal lobe of his brain. They will need to open his brain to remove some of the tumor. They will not be able to remove all of the tumor because of the size- if they were to do that they would have to remove about 1/2 of the right side of his brain, and he would lose many abilities and functions. They are going to remove just enough to get rid of the pressure the tumor is putting on the brain, and anything more that they can safely remove. We talked about malignancy and benign- but in the brain it is a little different, something is considered benign when is can be taken fully out and won't grow back. So in his case, it is considered a malignant brain tumor- because they can not take all of it out and it will grow back. They consider it to be slow growing- meaning that maybe in a decade or two, he will have to have another surgery to reduce the size of the tumor again. When they go in for surgery they will check to see if it has cancerous cells or not- which could warrant radiation treatment. This is not really the answer we had wanted when we went in, but what else are we to do? The neurosugeon we have in considered to be one of the top in the nation. He was second in line to operate on President Kennedy when he was shot. there is a 2-3% chance of complications with the surgery. He should be out of the hospital in 2-4 days, as long as no complications..."

We are praising the Lord that this is the prognosis...even though he will still be dealing with a lot after the surgery, at least he still has a lot of LIFE left to live! God is good. Prayer is still desperately needed on Friday when he heads to surgery...for God to guide the surgeon's hands...and for God's miraculous healing power. When I hear back from her, I will post updates to this post (not a new post). Thanks again for your support and prayers!

UPDATE as of 10/9/07: Here is the email Rebecca sent me this week:

...the surgeon was able to remove all of the visible tumor. this does not mean the whole tumor- there is still more inside parts of the brain, and cells and cell growth also in the brain. it is considered a primary growth brain tumor- it is considered a cancerous tumor. the part that was removed from his brain has been sent to pathology and we should have the results in regards to the type of cancerous cells, and estimates of how fast or slow they replicate on monday. mauro is recovering well- we were transferred out of ICU yesterday and are now on the Neurological floor. the neurologists say he is neurologically sound- meaning- he knows who he is, where he is, what is going on. he is moving all limbs and even walked a little today down the hallway. his memory seems to be fine. we are hoping for a full recovery. it is unsure on what measures if any will need to be taken in regards to the cancerous cells. First and foremost he needs to heal from this surgery. Then we can take on the next obstacle in front of us if needed.

thank you so much for all of your prayers, kindness, love, support & energy. We KNOW this is what has gotten us thru this.

much peace, love, health & knowledge to you, your family, friends & all your blog readers.

rebecca