I went to see my surgeon today after having an MRI this morning and my brain is looking good. The swelling appears to be going down and the MRI did not show reason for concern at this stage. My outside wounds are not healing as fast as most people's and I will go back in 6 weeks to have this reviewed. If the judgment is that it is not making enough healing progress by itself, then we will need to do something to make the wounds close up and the skin knit back together. (This is the way I understand it right now - and it sounds painful to me). The doctor speculates this is due to blood flow being less during my "extremely long" 11-1/2 hour surgery. Then I will have another MRI in 6 months. We got pictures with the doctor, his primary nurse, and the office administrator. (Some of you know Don and know that he loves to take pictures especially of special events like this truly happy doctor visit today.) I am sure I was just lovely in all of them, of course. (In only another 4 months, I might be able to use "product" in my hair and it might do something besides flatten out. I am looking forward to that day as I really want to do something better with this hair.) Everyone graciously accepted Don's invitation to have their picture taken and I think the surgeon even said something like, "Ah, free publicity."
I do have endearing feelings about this guy as I find him to be the epitome of competence and he also possesses a great deal of charm. I am willing to give him free publicity anytime. Just ask me if you ever need a brain surgeon. I would choose him again in a heartbeat but I don't want any more surgeries anytime soon.
I do have endearing feelings about this guy as I find him to be the epitome of competence and he also possesses a great deal of charm. I am willing to give him free publicity anytime. Just ask me if you ever need a brain surgeon. I would choose him again in a heartbeat but I don't want any more surgeries anytime soon.
My sister and I also worked on a jigsaw puzzle as one of the therapists thought this might help my eyes learn to discern color and shape better. Believe it or not, we got a pretty large section completed considering we had to tke a looooooong time to turn the pieces over to see the colors on the picture side of the pieces. We chose a color that was easy to discern and unique to a certain area of the puzzle so it went well for us.
Next week, I have an eye doctor appointment and my YWCA membership re-opens. Hooray, maybe we're getting somewhere.
Milo, the cat, is on another chair figuring out that he might want to jump up on something higher. He tried that earlier and the result is that some of my CDs wound up on the floor. I did let him know how very much I appreciated it too. He really does look like King of the World (or as Don thinks, a Buddha). He has his front legs crossed and his head held high so I guess it could go either way as to how others view him. I think he could also look like a Pharoah or a Sphinx.
Don wanted me to say something about the MRI. I was actually looking forward to it as I just felt that things were going well and that this was going to be a good day for results. I am sure most everyone has had one in the past and knows this but the thing makes noise like nobody's business. It sounds like something from Star Wars or Star Trek or some undersea world blipping. The technician (a 3-year degree is required to run the machine he told me) said ear plugs are required so I stuffed them in my ears. The machine makes all kinds of different sounds, some a machine gun like sound, tat- a - tat - tat, tat - a tat - tat, and on and on. It did this so much at one point that the table I was on vibrated. My sinuses meanwhile were draining into my throat so badly, I started to wonder if I could stand 30 minutes of lying on my back, remaining as still as I could be. Then the machine started making underwater sonar like sounds. B-oing, b-oing, b-oing. Just when I thought I couldn't stand much more, the technician moves me out and shoots a dye into my arm and we repeat much of the testing again. I was releived to be out of the machine because I wanted to cough really bad but he told me to go ahead and cough but DO NOT MOVE THE POSITION OF YOUR HEAD!!! So much for the idea that when I came out to get the dye injection, I could sit up and clear my throat really well. I guess the machine calibrates itself to a certain position and then uses that calibration for the various pictures it takes. All this is speculation on my part, but I know for sure that I was to hold my head steady and you also get asked by every layer of person you see whether you have any metal implanted in your body or on the clothing you are wearing. I'm glad I could answer no to all these questions as I needed an MRI in October to identify the problem to start with. I think I was steadily losing my faculties prior to the surgery as this thing had gotten so large it was pressing my brain into my skull and evidently had my optic nerves in a wrestling hold. No wonder I can't see well. There was a lot of gouging that had to go on to get the optic nerves freed from the grip of this large and hardened tumor. I'm glad I was asleep for all this excitement. and that the tumor itself is benign.
What a good day all in all!!!!
For the record, I am to Joshua in my year through the Bible reading. Of course, I am not straying outside the Bible for interpretation nor am I trying to object to some of the violence portrayed. I am just reading it or rather allowing my Bible on Tape to play so that I can hear every word. Some of it has gotten a little boring with all the laws in Leviticus and all the rules for building the Tabernacle. I don't know what a cubit is but I know the Israelites must have known as they built the Tabernacle according to God's specifications.
