The time has come! The date for surgery has finally been finalized! The date of surgery for the removal of my cyst (name "Junior" by my husband), is January 4th, the first Thursday of 2018. With any luck removing this obnoxious bubble of goo in my brain will be easier then the original Junior had with swapping out a golden stature with a bag of sand.
I would really like to avoid sprinting out of the ICU with a giant boulder chasing me. I believe that trying to run in a straight line after brain surgery would be more of a comedy then an action/adventure movie.
So, with dreams about Indian Jones in my future tonight, time to begin plans for my long term substitute that hopefully end up better than the opening of the Arc of the Covenant (you know that joke is so bad you want to laugh).
Well, after almost five years post my initial brain surgery to remove the original tumor having a party in my left lobe, it is time for me to add another brain surgery under my belt. While this may not be the best sounding, it is actually surprisingly good. The big-thing-happy-who-would-of-thought-main-theory is that the reason that there is a cyst instead of a tumor trying to grow is because the tumor happy cells truly are incognito, making the empty space for my new cyst. Yeah for the rebel cyst!
So, that is the gist of things until I meet with with the very "unique" (but genius) neurological surgeon tomorrow afternoon. I really was hoping earlier in the year that I would be done with him, but alas, it is not to be. Also, on a happier note, know that my husband has successfully convinced me that if any hair shaving occurs, I will use plenty of gel and hair dye to have a mohawk. That way I can show off my second set of brain surgery scars. May the force be with you rebel cyst!
Well, I have now been successfully off of my second round of chemo for six months, and I am thrilled that food is almost back to tasting normal again. The only food that still escapes me with a normal taste is still dark greens in a salad. While they no longer make me feel like I am going to lose my lunch, they still taste unfortunately like some annoyingly healthy food that you know is good for you, but is not worth the taste of cardboard. Until my tongue decides that it likes spinach again, I will stick with the less healthy (but still delicious) iceberg lettuce in my salad.
On another note, I have received a grand total of three more rounds of the "mesmerizing" MRI since I finished my chemo at the start of the year. All have been a bit more interesting then normal since the hospital is currently expanding the imaging center. Laying for thirty to forty minutes and staring upside-down out a window is more intriguing when you are watching construction vehicles do work in what used to be an uneventful parking lot. Thanks to this I still remember that during my third MRI a couple weeks ago that there were seventeen construction vehicles, eleven regular cars, and three security cars. I am also sad to say that I sent a couple quick thoughts up to the heavens when my MRI was coming to an end so my skill as a nerdy science teacher can continue thanks to all my counted car numbers being prime.
While the repeated MRIs still act as a time of boredom for me, thanks to the same individual that has reviewed them each time, my oncologist (Dr. Wagner), is about a lose a gasket. On each review, the same person has written that my left lobe has "shown an aggressive mass". However, the "mass" has not changed shape or size the entire time during the six month treatment or the six months afterwards. This has caused all of the other doctors that I see to conclude that that non-expanding party in my head is good ol' scar tissue from the past surgery in 2012 and following radiation. To provide a real-life example of how annoyed Wagner was about the third MRI write up, his quote was: "He needs to stop copying and remember his past work!" I am pretty sure that my Hungarian oncologist would of sworn with a couple of his native four-letter words if he was seeing the MRI physician face-to-face. Until this is all figured out, my next MRI is scheduled three months in the future, hopefully with a different analyst.
On a nice and happy note, I am completely done with needing to meet with my neurological surgeon (Dr. Origitano). It has been determined that everyone is done with wanting to possibly pull out parts of my brain again. Instead, I will now get to meet with a regular neurologist that has no intention of playing Frankenstein with me. That first meeting is tomorrow, and with any luck will be a nice and uneventful event.
Time for me to continue enjoying watching mindless TV shows ("The Celebrity $100,000 Pyramid" is my new addiction, particularly when it involves Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart). Happy sunny day everyone!
