#TumorTalk and the Gospel

My Favorite Family Photo

#TumorTalk is something that was coined by, you guessed it, my #GabGifted mother #DivaDawn shortly after my dad was diagnosed with his tumor. #TumorTalk is said when my dad says stuff that he maybe shouldn't, or that doesn't make a ton of sense, or might be a little bit made up.

My dad has been making things up for as long as I can remember, so we can't 100% blame this on the tumor.

Symptoms of the tumor manifest themselves in a few different ways. They're most prevalent when my dad gets caught off guard or becomes uncomfortable. In the event of a situation where my dad gets surprised, he, like all humans, experiences a rush of adrenaline. The catch is that the part of his brain that's supposed to be producing the adrenaline has a tumor on it and doesn't work. After this adrenaline rush, he get's sleepy and needs to take a nap, and if napping isn't an option at that moment, #TumorTalk ensues.

I guess I can shed a little bit of light on the tumor. Getting to blog about all of this for me is really therapeutic. I as a journalism minor, I enjoy writing, and I process things externally. Who would have thought that when I was learning to put pen to paper and articulate myself as a 5th grader in Mrs. Verhoff's class, that I would be using those same skills to blog about a tumor? I mean. God knew. And something else that's crazy to think about is that when I was learning these writing skills, that tumor had been growing inside of my dad's brain for over 30 years.

Matt and Dawn

Most doctors believe that he's had the tumor since birth. Whenever my dad forgets something, or says something out of context, he's been following up these incidences by saying "Sorry, I have a brain tumor." To which I almost always respond, "Dad, you've always had a brain tumor."

The type of tumor he has is a called a craniopharyngioma. When you google it, a you won't find a lot aside from the fact that it's a rare, benign, pituitary tumor. According to my mom--who is probably the most reliable source on these tumors without a PhD--there are only about 40-60 of these tumors diagnosed a year. A majority of these diagnoses are in children. This is one of the reasons why I'm keeping up this blog, to share what we've found with adults that might find themselves in the same situation as my dad is.

The procedure that pops will be having done is referred to by most as "minimally invasive brain surgery," which sounds absolutely ridiculous, but also as far as brain surgeries go, pretty ideal. The surgeon, Dr. Paul Gardner at UMPC will be doing an endoscopic procedure where they access the tumor via my dad's nose. Egyptian technology with 21st century poise.

My dad on a mission trip

The surgery is taking place on November 7th at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, exactly 3 months from the day he was diagnosed with the tumor. UMPC also happens to be 5 minutes away from the hospital that I was born in. My mom and dad also got their marriage license in Pittsburgh. The Maires love Pittsburgh. It's where we became us.

Matt and Dawn will be heading to Pittsburgh on the 4th, and I will be joining them with two of my mamas and Dawn's BFFS on the 6th. My grandfather and Aunt will also be present to support Team Maire. I cannot begin to express my gratitude for the people that have loved my family and I so well in this trial. Anyone that knows us knows that we are extremely close, and it's been very difficult for me to be a 4 hour drive away from my parents during this whole process. But. The peace that I've experienced in seeing all of the people in both geographical and emotional proximity love my mom and dad has blessed me so much. I love how God uses people to show us His love for us on earth.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. It is my privilege to boldly exercise my first amendment right on this blog to talk about my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If you find yourself reading this and you don't know him, I cannot express enough how necessary knowing him personally is. He is so real, and has made himself so evident to me in the middle of this trial.

Maires + Best Friend Kris Melvin

This world is a dark place, life is hard. Full of suffering, and trials, and God ultimately wants to deliver us as His most wonderful creation from this darkness. There is separation between God and man, and earthly suffering is a prime example of this separation. Anyone can see it. But God is rich in mercy, and although we deny Him and sin against Him every single day, identifies us as his own, and wants to bring us back to Him. This is why He sent us Jesus. Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Sprit. He walked the earth being fully man while being fully God. He lived the perfect, sinless life that no human ever could. He performed miracles, hung out with sinners, thieves, prostitutes. He touched the untouchables, and loved the unloveables. He LOVED them--really truly loved them. He preached a message of compassion, peace, and mercy on the least respected members of society. Jesus was crucified, dead, and three days later rose from the grave, claiming victory over death and satan forever. All who believe in him in repentance and faith get to claim this victory that Christ has won as their own. He doesn't promise at all to deliver us from earthly hardships and suffering, but he does promise to never leave us or forsake us, he promises to sustain us, and he promises to love us.

The love of God is so real friends, so tangible, so perfect, and so wildly different than any kind of love the world has to offer.

#MairesDoMacchuPichu

This is a love that my family and I have come to know even more deeply as a result of this trial. I've always told people that my dad is such a perfect example of the love that Christ has for me. When I was born, my dad dropped his everything to take care of me. He laid down his life. He was my age when this large-headed, short-armed, Maire-haired, mini-version of himself came into this world. Being a senior in college right now, this love that my dad had for this daughter of his he had yet to meet is impossible for me to begin to imagine, but I am so grateful for it. 

Although Christ knew that I would be me from the beginning of time, the selfless, undeserving love that he showed me on the cross is impossible for me to wrap my head around. The fact that he just decided to lavish it on this sinful mess of a person that I am is sometimes too much for me to handle. 

Aggie Ring Day

When I was little, I never ran away from my dad's love. I did the opposite. I ran into it, and now get to call my dad not only my father, but my best friend (I mean that for real. I'm not just saying that to be cute.), biggest supporter, and most inspiring role model. My Heavenly Father knows me and loves me so much more deeply and personally than my earthly one. As difficult as it is for me to believe that anyone out there could have a heart bigger than Matt Maire's, having experienced the love of God through a very real and personal relationship with Him has shown me that He's there, loves me, and claims me as his own. 

This is the God that Team Maire is trusting in through this process, because we know Him personally, see that He is good, and know He can be trusted. It is our ardent prayer and hope that our friends and family will trust Him alongside us.


-Team Maire's communication chair, only child, and resident Aggie, Emily K. Maire.

Love.