Sunday, October 26, 2014

Red Bull does not give you wings!

'So we will steer clear from radiotherapy and chemo for the time being'* 'PARDON' (says the voice inside my head). 'The scans show no change so that's great but will we be monitoring you continually.'

So as you may have gathered from that introduction I saw my neurosurgeon on Tuesday. As usual when I got to the clinic it was jam packed, but only in the section next to the desk, but down the corridor all of the seats were empty and the TV was off. So I wandered down to the end of the corridor, switched on the TV, chose the channel I wanted to watch and turned up the volume so it was audible. As a regular visitor I thought I may as well use the most of what was on offer. Anyway after another 2 hours of waiting to see my amazing Dr. I was finally called into his office. On the MRI report notes he had V.Good written, that was so beautiful to read! The fact that he mentioned radio and chemo therapy again startled me a bit. He had told me last time that it was off the radar but on reflection he didn't say I would never have to have either or both of these treatments. Next MRI is scheduled in 9 months. How on earth are you meant to choose a date that is suitable nine months in advance when you don't even know what you're doing in the coming week? Oh the joys!

Just as I was about to leave I asked whether or not I could go skydiving and bungee jumping. His facial expression showed concern yet, and I will make this well known to my mother that his answer was not a 'no'. He told me he wouldn't recommend it due to those bloody things called seizures, even though I haven't had one in over 4 years but really in the end it's my decision. So what do I do? Take a risk? Live a little? Or do I sit back and watch life go by? We also talked about reducing my medication but that means giving up driving for 3 months and if I have a seizure in those 3 months then we go back to square one. Sometimes it feels like a never ending cycle of down-heartening rules that I need to live by. He then went on to say 'I know we've got you wrapped up in cotton wool but...' In a way I was relieved to hear my surgeon say this because it kind of gave me a bit of justification for those moments when I actually feel trapped by so many things that my condition (terrible word) does to me. No this, no that, minimise this, maximise that. Oh well I'm still here!

I did have a migraine that day, it's the anxiety, the tension the uncertainty of what you will hear when you walk through that door and sit on that uncomfortable chair.

So in summary, even though I had a great night last night sitting on the banks of the river Torrens with some friends listening to The Rolling Stones playing at the Adelaide Oval I'm a bit flat today and you know what, that's OK, because as it is well known by many unless you have these crappy days you don't cherish the good ones.

In other news I currently have clinomania!





*Or something to that effect

Friday, October 3, 2014

387 days later!

So I didn't blog on my 1 year anniversary of having brain surgery! I had every intention of publishing a post that talked about what a milestone this was, how the last year has been, how I feel, what has changed and what has stayed the same but I just never got around to it. Work had been ridiculously busy and I couldn't muster up the energy to type up something. I'm now on school holidays and have a few hours to spare here or there!

So here it goes! 13 months ago there would have been two significant events that I would have thought of if you mentioned September the 11th. On that day in 2005 I hopped on a plane at the tender age of 18 to go and volunteer overseas for 6 months and also on that day in 2001 the horrible tragedy of the World Trade Center occurred. I now have 3 major events to link with that date. September 11, 2013 is when I underwent brain surgery.

387 days later I'm still here! I'm still breathing & singing and doing a few other things.

Since my 1 year anniversary I have had another MRI. It was the first MRI that didn't bring me to tears. Now that in itself folks is another milestone! I have also had an appointment with a Dr. from one of my rehab clinics and that was the last time I need to see her. I'll be seeing my Neurosurgeon in about a month and am praying it is all good news. Anxious as usual!

Last night I saw a show on TV called Brain Hospital: Saving Lives. I only saw half of it but it is basically a show that documents peoples journeys before and after brain surgery. I saw, literally, how they most probably cut through my skull, held my skin back and some other yucky stuff! Apart from those gruesome visuals, watching that show was, in a weird way, a gentle and positive reminder that I'm not alone in this part of the journey. I don't mean alone as in I have no friends and family there for me I mean that I was reminded that there are others who can genuinely empathise for me and I can empathise for them. I'm thinking of you fellow brain tumour bloggers! There's a big difference between sympathy and empathy.

I took the photo below at Brighton Beach this evening. It's a shame photos can't quite capture emotions.



 Psalm 103:12



 Thanks for reading!