A Tale of the Year that Was...
I found this a very appropriate time for this particular blog....being that on August 26, 2008....which has now been more than a year....I was diagnosed with a nonmalignant brain tumor...called a Meningioma.
Before I go any further....I will be using a lot of abbreviations here...so I will clue you in on them.
M - Meningioma
BT - Brain Tumor
NS - Neurosurgeon
PCP - Primary Care Physician
MM - Meningioma Mommas
ICU - Intensive Care Unit
RA - Rheumatoid Arthritis
PT & OT - Physical and occupational therapy
I hope this will give you a sense...of what my last year has been like. I had my MRI on the morning of August 26, 2008....under general anesthesia....as has been mentioned in my previous blog....that I am definitely claustrophobic! YIKES!
Anyway.....on September 8, 2008...I had my craniotomy for the removal of my M...which was located in the right frontal lobe...about the size of a golf ball. It measured 2.5 x 2.3 x 2.6 cm.
My NS was the greatest. I already knew he had a great reputation....besides that he was a HUNK! : ) Every time I saw him....he was always smiling. You would be smiling too....if you did these kinds of surgeries. They are very costly. He always made me feel special and not like I was ever bothering him.
Anyway...in the recovery room...they told me everything went very well...and that they got the BT out in one piece. I asked and the tail too? You see...M's generally have a tail attached....having to do with being attached to the meninges.
I forgot to mention that on the MRI it actually looked like a comet with the tail...because with the contrast...it reminded me of a full moon.
Anyway....they take me to the ICU. I was actually there for 2 1/2 days. I was feeling pretty good...considering my head has just been drilled open. BTW....they used a Midas drill. Do you suppose that maybe they could have struck gold in there? lol They insisted on giving me something for pain...I really didn't want anything...because pretty much everything makes me sick to my stomach. Let's just say....that I was given some really potent stuff.
They brought a bowl of oatmeal....which I happen to really like. I remember this so well....my Mom was there too...so I know it happened. I started to eat the oatmeal...but I was so out of it...that my head kept bobbing almost right in the middle of the bowl. I would take a little and it would go dropping again. It must have been a sight!!
I really didn't have much of an appetite...while I was there because of nausea.
My CNA's and nurses took great care of me. I had them in there pretty much round the clock. They were all pretty much male...and really nice to visit with.
That same afternoon....the OT & PT's are there...to make sure you can move your toes and doing some range of motion. They were so impressed...with how mobile I was. You see....I also battle with RA....and I know the importance of moving. I do range of motion....every day...at least twice a day. So they decided....that I did not need PT after I was released.
In fact...my NS was surprised...when I asked him if I could exercise? He said...that he really wanted me going for short walks...as this stimulates the brain. Really any kind of physical activity will do that.
He pretty much had the attitude...of that I knew what I could or could not handle...that included after I was released as well.
Well....when I was moved to my next room....guess what? I walked there with the PT's and we were really going. They were really impressed. They said....they couldn't believe that I just had brain surgery. Of course, they had to give me grief about my bad hair cut.
I was released the following day on September 10th. I was going to be off work for just a week....but my NS changed that and said....that better be 2 weeks instead. It still was too soon. I went back full time...after 2 weeks and landed in the ER....because I was having trouble walking and it really scared me. I had...some trouble with my legs about a week before...and had to have my NS paged. Thank goodness....I got him. He stayed on the phone with me...until he knew I was okay. Mom was there too...and I'm sure it kinda scared her too. I had just come up from the laundry room....was putting clothes away and WHAM....my legs felt like they were going to go out from under me.
I knew....I wasn't supposed to vacuum, shovel snow, load the dishwasher because all that entailed bending over. I certainly didn't think...just washing clothes would be such a big deal. WRONG! It was a wake up call.
I work in the medical records department...so there was no filing charts for 3 months. I could still do my primary job...which is a scanner.....that's how I got my name Scanlady. HA!
So....the last year has been a series of ups and downs....highs and lows. It seems to be all finally coming together.....just like inside my head...which is also growing together....where the BT was.
I joined a support group called Meningioma Mommas....just one day before my 49th birthday on January 8th. I felt....I had to do something. I just was not dealing with all of this very well.
I thought it was really awesome...to be involved with a support group...with the same type of BT that I had. I have learned so much from these ladies and gents. We also have Poppas too. There are some that have gone through far worse things....than I did.
I was really clueless about the M thing. I didn't realize it was a BT....because it did not invade my brain. Now...to find out that M's are the most primary BT's...but sadly...the least acknowledged.
We actually have a cause on Facebook...called "Mad About Meningiomas" and yes...we are!
I definitely am a different person...from this whole experience. I have always been pro-active when it comes to my health. I asked for the initial CT in the first place....which my former PCP...yes I said former...really didn't believe they would find any thing. Boy...was he wrong!
I've made some big changes in my life....one of which was finding a new PCP...which I really like and he has helped me through so much. He also has a great sense of humor...so we get along great. I was diagnosed with a low functioning thyroid...which I had suspected for years...because it runs in our family. He also for now...has me off my blood pressure meds...because he feels that the BT might have had something to do with that all along. After all "Mini" that's what I named my BT...had been there for at least 20 years.
I started a journal...at the suggestion of one of my MM's. It has really been a blessing to me....personally to be able to get my thoughts and feelings out...and be able to move forward.
I had periods where I was afraid to stay alone at night. Because my BT was located in the frontal lobe....we tend to be emotional people. When I found this out....I could really start to deal with it and it didn't scare me anymore.
Anyway...my crani-versary...which one of my fellow support group members...named it...will be on September 8, 2009. It will be my 1st second chance crani-versary.
In the words of John Waite....the song entitled "I Ain't Missing You"
"I ain't missing you, since you've been gone away" That means you "Mini"!!!!
I have so much to be grateful for and the most wonderful thing that has happened this past year was finding great support....when I needed it the most.
I have made some really super friends....that I hope to have for years and years.
I will close with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson.
"What lies behind us & what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us"
Thanks for allowing me to share my whirlwind year that was.
Brenda : )
Before I go any further....I will be using a lot of abbreviations here...so I will clue you in on them.
M - Meningioma
BT - Brain Tumor
NS - Neurosurgeon
PCP - Primary Care Physician
MM - Meningioma Mommas
ICU - Intensive Care Unit
RA - Rheumatoid Arthritis
PT & OT - Physical and occupational therapy
I hope this will give you a sense...of what my last year has been like. I had my MRI on the morning of August 26, 2008....under general anesthesia....as has been mentioned in my previous blog....that I am definitely claustrophobic! YIKES!
Anyway.....on September 8, 2008...I had my craniotomy for the removal of my M...which was located in the right frontal lobe...about the size of a golf ball. It measured 2.5 x 2.3 x 2.6 cm.
My NS was the greatest. I already knew he had a great reputation....besides that he was a HUNK! : ) Every time I saw him....he was always smiling. You would be smiling too....if you did these kinds of surgeries. They are very costly. He always made me feel special and not like I was ever bothering him.
Anyway...in the recovery room...they told me everything went very well...and that they got the BT out in one piece. I asked and the tail too? You see...M's generally have a tail attached....having to do with being attached to the meninges.
I forgot to mention that on the MRI it actually looked like a comet with the tail...because with the contrast...it reminded me of a full moon.
Anyway....they take me to the ICU. I was actually there for 2 1/2 days. I was feeling pretty good...considering my head has just been drilled open. BTW....they used a Midas drill. Do you suppose that maybe they could have struck gold in there? lol They insisted on giving me something for pain...I really didn't want anything...because pretty much everything makes me sick to my stomach. Let's just say....that I was given some really potent stuff.
They brought a bowl of oatmeal....which I happen to really like. I remember this so well....my Mom was there too...so I know it happened. I started to eat the oatmeal...but I was so out of it...that my head kept bobbing almost right in the middle of the bowl. I would take a little and it would go dropping again. It must have been a sight!!
I really didn't have much of an appetite...while I was there because of nausea.
My CNA's and nurses took great care of me. I had them in there pretty much round the clock. They were all pretty much male...and really nice to visit with.
That same afternoon....the OT & PT's are there...to make sure you can move your toes and doing some range of motion. They were so impressed...with how mobile I was. You see....I also battle with RA....and I know the importance of moving. I do range of motion....every day...at least twice a day. So they decided....that I did not need PT after I was released.
In fact...my NS was surprised...when I asked him if I could exercise? He said...that he really wanted me going for short walks...as this stimulates the brain. Really any kind of physical activity will do that.
He pretty much had the attitude...of that I knew what I could or could not handle...that included after I was released as well.
Well....when I was moved to my next room....guess what? I walked there with the PT's and we were really going. They were really impressed. They said....they couldn't believe that I just had brain surgery. Of course, they had to give me grief about my bad hair cut.
I was released the following day on September 10th. I was going to be off work for just a week....but my NS changed that and said....that better be 2 weeks instead. It still was too soon. I went back full time...after 2 weeks and landed in the ER....because I was having trouble walking and it really scared me. I had...some trouble with my legs about a week before...and had to have my NS paged. Thank goodness....I got him. He stayed on the phone with me...until he knew I was okay. Mom was there too...and I'm sure it kinda scared her too. I had just come up from the laundry room....was putting clothes away and WHAM....my legs felt like they were going to go out from under me.
I knew....I wasn't supposed to vacuum, shovel snow, load the dishwasher because all that entailed bending over. I certainly didn't think...just washing clothes would be such a big deal. WRONG! It was a wake up call.
I work in the medical records department...so there was no filing charts for 3 months. I could still do my primary job...which is a scanner.....that's how I got my name Scanlady. HA!
So....the last year has been a series of ups and downs....highs and lows. It seems to be all finally coming together.....just like inside my head...which is also growing together....where the BT was.
I joined a support group called Meningioma Mommas....just one day before my 49th birthday on January 8th. I felt....I had to do something. I just was not dealing with all of this very well.
I thought it was really awesome...to be involved with a support group...with the same type of BT that I had. I have learned so much from these ladies and gents. We also have Poppas too. There are some that have gone through far worse things....than I did.
I was really clueless about the M thing. I didn't realize it was a BT....because it did not invade my brain. Now...to find out that M's are the most primary BT's...but sadly...the least acknowledged.
We actually have a cause on Facebook...called "Mad About Meningiomas" and yes...we are!
I definitely am a different person...from this whole experience. I have always been pro-active when it comes to my health. I asked for the initial CT in the first place....which my former PCP...yes I said former...really didn't believe they would find any thing. Boy...was he wrong!
I've made some big changes in my life....one of which was finding a new PCP...which I really like and he has helped me through so much. He also has a great sense of humor...so we get along great. I was diagnosed with a low functioning thyroid...which I had suspected for years...because it runs in our family. He also for now...has me off my blood pressure meds...because he feels that the BT might have had something to do with that all along. After all "Mini" that's what I named my BT...had been there for at least 20 years.
I started a journal...at the suggestion of one of my MM's. It has really been a blessing to me....personally to be able to get my thoughts and feelings out...and be able to move forward.
I had periods where I was afraid to stay alone at night. Because my BT was located in the frontal lobe....we tend to be emotional people. When I found this out....I could really start to deal with it and it didn't scare me anymore.
Anyway...my crani-versary...which one of my fellow support group members...named it...will be on September 8, 2009. It will be my 1st second chance crani-versary.
In the words of John Waite....the song entitled "I Ain't Missing You"
"I ain't missing you, since you've been gone away" That means you "Mini"!!!!
I have so much to be grateful for and the most wonderful thing that has happened this past year was finding great support....when I needed it the most.
I have made some really super friends....that I hope to have for years and years.
I will close with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson.
"What lies behind us & what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us"
Thanks for allowing me to share my whirlwind year that was.
Brenda : )
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