News From Lake Staplebegone
<Lisa here, with my sister-filter set on miniumum stun. Got a wonderful update from brother Chris this afternoon. Enjoy!>
We’re on cloud 9. I feel so good now, and oh how sweet it is! The staples and suture are all gone.
After pulling out the staples earlier today, Doc Edy gave us the good news. The tumor was identified as a type 1, with very low chance of recurrence. I’ll get another MRI in January, then again every six months for the next five years. If it doesn’t come back in those five years then it will likely not ever come back. And because he’s monitoring me closely, if it does come back we’ll catch it when it’s eensy weensy teeny tiny and he can use a gamma knife to obliterate the tumor.
Here’s a big shout out to Doc Edy, who told us that he actually did the surgery by hand. Turns out the robotics in the neurosurgery OR are not as fine-tuned as is necessary for this type of delicate brain work. Steady hands Eddie, good job!
So, in the next few days we expect all the staple scabs to fall off and the hairs to continue to grow. And in a couple of weeks, we won’t be able to see the scar.
I asked Nicole to post something on Caring Bridge because it was such a great day. I haven’t had any pain meds, just some ice on the forehead. I’m continuing to use ice packs every couple of hours as a prophylactic, and the lego scale to help manage the pain and prevent the headaches from becoming zoomers.
We continue to focus on recovery. I saw the PT guy today and we walked a lot around the house. I’m still using the walker for balance because my head is still sloshy. Maybe Friday I’ll be ready to take a shower, which will be a first without the staples.
My sleep schedule is still kinda wacky. I woke up about 1 or 2 am and posted a short, “something to think about” and this YouTube video of Senator Warren berating the TeaParty Republicans, to my Facebook page.
Personally, I think the TeaParty is done for, and they’re going to lose all support. These latest shenanigans are childish temper tantrums, a last gasp before they fade away. Yesterday I may have felt sorry for Boehner, but not today. He needs to lose his job because of his incompetence. He did this to himself.
But, more importantly! Nicole slept with me last night and got six whole hours of sleep. More than she’s had in months. This weekend our in-home nurse Emil will stay overnight and sleep downstairs so that Nicole can sleep in our bed upstairs, and hopefully she’ll get a full weekend of much needed sleep.
I’m not ready yet m’self to move upstairs cuz I just can’t do the steps. Maybe next week, depending on whether or not the pool-inside-my-head stops sloshing around so much. My energy level is still pretty low, and I really appreciate Sunil who came to visit today. He was really good at making sure to limit our time together because he knows I can only handle about 30 minutes before I need a sensory break and some rest.
I’m still talking a bit slow, and my thinking is also a bit slow, but my thinking is much much clearer. And, I have super powers. I can hear everything, even the buzzing of the lights. And everything tastes so wonderful. Yum, I can’t wait for those burritos that Nicole is making for dinner tonight. After which, she’ll be off to her Women’s telecon and I’ll go lie down and relax and slip into that beautiful white blanket of snow.
We know it’s gonna be about three months before I get nearer to normal, and up to a year to get back to fully normal (with my new super-powers). But all in all, it’s been a great day, and everything is looking up and up.
And that’s the news for Oct 2nd.