 |
| Glioblastoma, Stage 4, in left parietal lobe |
If you want to God laugh, tell Him your plans.
On 8/19, I had a right total knee replacement at
Stanford. (Because I couldn't walk last year, my weight went up about 45 lbs.)
My knee is now fine, and I have no pain, although I have not had all the PT
that I was supposed to have because of what happened next.
Three days before my surgery, I started tripping on my
words. It was just a few words, but I didn't put two and two together
before my surgery. I'm an attorney and teacher. I make my
livelihood teaching and talking. I don't trip on my words normally. When
I woke from the anesthesia, my speech was much worse, but I thought that first
week that it was because of all the pain medications I was on, like oxycontin.
By the middle of next week, I was off all pain medicine but my speech was not improving. I had also spelling problems too! I
also noticed problems with my right hand in sensing temperature and fine
sensation. I couldn't tell without looking and by only touch whether my
husband had a shirt on. I became very alarmed and I thought that I had a stroke during the surgery. My mother who stayed with me for three days
confirmed my feelings.
I have had epilepsy my whole life so I called my
neurologist in a panic. He never hears from me much anymore. I usually send him an email to let him know that I'm ok every two years. So after he
heard me on the phone, he knew something was up. He sent me the number to
schedule an MRI. I got the first available on 9/20, and two hours after the MRI we were in his office looking at the tumor. By the end of that
weekend, my neurologist had made a referral with my neurosurgeon, Dr. Mitchel
Berger. He happened to be in New York that week, but we met with his
fellow, who explained about the tumor, which was in the left parietal lobe which
controls speech and motor functions. So at least we had information and not
just scary pictures.
By a few more days, I had emergency surgery scheduled for
10/2. I had to have a battery of blood work and testing prior to the
surgery. MRIs, brain mapping, MRI spectroscopy, and neurospeech to set a
baseline. They used a marker that makes the tumor glow flourescent pink so just not
the mass would be removed, but all of the bad cells that can look like healthy
cells. They got as much of it as they could. It was also good news that the tumor was
caught so early. In this place, it often wraps around an important sensory
bundle. It did not have time to do that, which means that they did haven't
destroy that part of my brain! It was an awake (mostly) surgery and I
remember all of it. I'm told that I got an A+ in brain surgery because
I was the calmest patient they have ever had. LOL! The surgery was
on the feast of the Guardian Angels! How cool is that!? I've had a
mammoth Guardian Angel, and it was like a presence of wings folded around all of us.
Surgery took 5.5 hours.
I was out of the hospital by the following Saturday. My speech is
already coming back. It will take about 1-2 months to improve. My working
memory took a hit, but this is also supposed to improve. However, I'm now a
really poor speller. LOL! Hooray for spell check!
I'm now healing, and very weak because of two surgeries
in two months. But I'm getting more energy back every day. Yesterday I got back on track with PT for
my knee, which is now pain free, although the muscles are a bit weak because
I’ve been in bed so much lately. I do feel so much better now than I did.
Later today, I will get my biopsy results and oncologist appointment. This
tumor is a glioblastoma, high grade, aggressive, and it is the worst kind to
have. I will need chemo, radiation and an MRI every 2 months. I
will have 6 weeks to heal before this starts. I am under no illusion
about what the news will be today. The worst case prognosis is 1 to 2
years. No one survives this. However, I already know that I won’t
have that worst case. My tumor was caught early and completely
removed. I’m young, and the type of surgery I had reduces recurrences quite
dramatically. If you are interested about my pioneering
neurosurgeon, Dr. Mitchel Berger, watch this link:
So… I’m asking for your prayers today for
my husband and my mother, as we learn more about this
disease. I believe that it will be harder on them, than on
me. I am also asking for your prayers for my father, who will be told later.
After all, we are not intended to live forever. We
were always intended to go back to God. And after all, God IS in the driver
seat. I have so many questions to ask!
Update: As expected, we met with the oncologist and I was told, along with my husband and mother, that my prognosis would likely be about two to three years, at the most five years. The tumor was definitely a stage 4 glioblastoma.
Update: As expected, we met with the oncologist and I was told, along with my husband and mother, that my prognosis would likely be about two to three years, at the most five years. The tumor was definitely a stage 4 glioblastoma.
My dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease his symptoms were shuffling of feet,slurred speech, low volume speech, degradation of hand writing, horrible driving skills, right arm held at 45 degree angle, but now he finally free from the disease with the help of total cure from ULTIMATE LIFE CLINIC, he now walks properly and all symptoms has reversed, he had trouble with balance especially at night, getting into the shower and exiting it is difficult,getting into bed is also another thing he finds impossible.we had to find a better solution for his condition which has really helped him a lot,the biggest helped we had was ultimate life clinic they walked us through the proper steps,am highly recommended this www.ultimatelifeclinic.com to anyone who needs help.
ReplyDelete