Tag Archives: brain tumors

Six Word Fridays- Hand/Hands

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button-1Barry and I hand in hand. I love Barry’s strong, warm hands. I need Barry’s help at times. His hands are always there. When I need a hand on steps. When I need a hand up. His hands are always readily there. His comfort makes me feel whole.

I have a husband deserving much. His hands deserve things my hands. Can no longer function to give. My hands shake when they function. I want to show Barry love. I want to show him appreciation. I will find another way love.  Can shine through to Barry’s heart.

I will figure a way love. Can shine through my actions daily. I need him to know love. Still shines through in my actions. He deserves that and much more. His wonderful hands show me daily. That he loves me unconditionally always. He joins me in God’s hands. God’s plan guides our daily life. His watchful hands guide us daily.

Join the fun. Follow the link below.

http://mymemoryart.blogspot.com/2013/02/six-word-fridays-hand.html

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Yearly MRI √

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With Cowden’s Syndrome, you have to follow a set schedule to keep up with which screening is next. Then, of course, if there is a problem, the screening and recheck can run together. 

Today, I went for my yearly MRI, about the brain tumor on Monday at 1pm. This is where screenings can run together.

I had a breast issue last year that caused them to redo my mammogram, which has led to other mammograms, ultrasounds and now, 6 months later, a biopsy. Scheduled Monday, one hour before my neurosurgeon appointment. At least they are within walking distance of each other.

The sad thing is, my next yearly mammogram is due in April. But I guess my mammograms are about to put a kink in my set schedule. In my schedule thus far, gynecologist, endocrinologist, neurosurgeon, neurologist, neuro-oncologist, gastroenterologist, dentist, urologist, dermatologist, psychiatrist, counselor, genetics counselor, general practitioner, breast specialist, otolaryngologist, cardiologist, massage therapist, and acupuncturist. 

Now, that I have boogered my knee up, I have to add an orthopedic doctor in there. I am sure surgery is in the future for that, which will add physical therapy into the mix.If surgery is in the mix for the next few months, I need to see about getting the lump taken out of my right wrist while they are at it.

The fancy MRI on my left knee next Thursday, then see the doctor Friday. The endocrinologist is in the mix next week somewhere. I’m getting tired thinking about next week. 

Barry is my riding buddy. I’d be lost without him. I can’t drive long distances, so he gets me to the long distance rides. I’m tired of being organized. I never considered myself organized, but with all of this, you have to be. All of the above is just me, included in my mix are Barry’s appointments, as well as several I take mom to. I’m not making light of their appointments, mine takes up more calendar space than their’s does. We should hire a good personal assistant……

Yearly Thyroid Ultasound: HAPPY DANCE!!!

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I got the all clear after my ultrasound today. They thought I had an active lymph node in my neck, but I have been given a clean bill of health any thyroid cancer or lymph node issues for the moment. A big thank you to the good Lord above and to everyone on here for the courage and support you bring out in me daily! THANK YOU!!!!!!   🙂 

HAPPY DANCE! HAPPY DANCE!

Daily Prompt: Shoulda Woulda Coulda

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          mermaidbrunetteTell us about something you know you should do . . . but don’t.

Honestly, I do not where to go with this one, but I think I’ll stick with an issue that has come up a few times today.

I hate to fold and put away clothes. Before I lost partial use of my left hand, I hated doing the laundry. I can get them in the washer, just fine. But when it comes to folding, hanging up and putting them away, I lose it. I’m useless.

These days, it is hard to do these things one-handed. I have to look at activities from a stand point of it being beneficial to me or whether it will drain my energy for the day.

In my eyes, I’d rather scrub the nastiest toilet on earth and not deal with the laundry. That is a really sad statement. Instead of dealing with nice, fresh clean things, I’d rather take care of one of the nastiest things in a home.

For the moment, I think I will continue to let mom handle things. She doesn’t like how I do it anyhow. She enjoys shrinking my clothes to make herself a new wardrobe. If I helped with the laundry, I might not get to shop as much! I love to shop, so no laundry for me, unless necessary.

Besides, I’d hate to give Barry the shock of his life!

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My brilliant Doctor, part 2

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I must tell you about yesterday at the beautiful Emory Campass in Decatur, Georgia. The neurologist report was actually good. He has finally learned that I am sensitive to medication and did not go off on a wild tangent trying different drugs.

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I was actually so happy. It was the first time since 2010 that I received a good report from this guy. I could have kissed then cute little old man. Just adorable. 

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Then, came our second appointment for the day and those words no woman should ever have to hear. There are 2 areas showing on the right side. We are unsure of what one is, but the other appears to be cancer. We need to do a need to do needle biopsies as soon as possible to get some answers.

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We added this to all the other treatments I have scheduled through the next month. I only have a few scheduled: close neck ultrasound, kidney workup and ultrasound, MRI of the brain, MRI of left knee with possible surgery,  MRI of breasts, and now needle biopsies in right breast. I have a busy month of probing and proding.

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Would anyone like to change places?

Daily Prompt: All About Me! (US)

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Explain why you chose your blog’s title and what it means to you.

Our Blog’s T.le: Two Rights Attempting to Make a Left

Barry and I came up with the title together. It is based on our health issues over the last few years. In 2009, I was discovered to have a brain tumor (gangliocytoma) in my left cerebellum. After a long period, we were told that the brain tumor was just a symptom of a rare genetic disease called Cowden’s Syndrome.

Needless to say we were dumbfounded. I had surgery in 2009 to reduce the tumor, but it was impossible to remove it in its entirety. So, life goes on.

Things were going along great, no magor problems, then December 11, 2012 came around. It started as a normal day, we were assisting the resident’s with morning care. I heard a resident calling for help.

To my shock, it was not for him. It was my sweet husband. He was in the process of having a stroke. I called for an ambulance and off to the hospital we went. Although Barry had a massive right territory MCA, he looked perfectly fine. It was hard to believe a week earlier, they had asked me to call all the family in because they did not believe he would make it through the night.

Months later,  a rehab counselor recommended, that we either start a journal or a blog. With the two of us being computer oriented, we chose to do a blog. Oddly enough, the title is related to both of our injuries. We were attempting to get something in the stove. Neither of us could do it with both hands, so he got one end with his right hand and I got the other. It came to us about the same time, that we were two right hands trying to use our lefts.

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So we named the blog:

Two rights attempting to make a left!

Nothing fancy, just the two us working together to keep a sense of normalcy.

Importance of Sleep

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Main health effects of sleep deprivation (See ...

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Have you ever had one of those days when nothing goes you’re way?

Two days ago, I hadn’t rested well for over a week. I had a free day and thought”awww, I’ll get some rest”. Little did you know, the people I live with are making plans.

Mom was feeling good and decided she wanted to go work out and wanted me to go with her. She pops her head in my room and screeches wake-up, sleepyhead. I told her to “go away”. When she left, I was wide awake, so I got up and had breakfast. I tried my best to relax and sleep while she was gone. I was starting to doze off when she walked in again.

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Barry was not at home, so I let my mother know I was going to take a nap. I couldn’t get comfy in bed, so I headed for my favorite chair in the living room. I nicely asked her to let me nap.

I got comfy under my blanket and got ready for a good ole’ snooze. I was starting to relax and kinda dozey, when mom felt it necessary to check on me, in her high heeled boots. She does not have a clue how to walk quietly and on these hardwood floors. I politely told her I was fine and to please let me take a nap.

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She started some laundry while I was snoozing. The alarm on the machine kept going off. She got frustrated and woke me up. I got the washer going and headed back to sleep. It wasn’t 10 minutes later and it was buzzing again. I fixed the problem again and attempted to go back to sleep. The same cycle repeated so many times to the point that I was aggravated. Mom finally got her wash done and I got about an hours nap. All that managed to do was make me sleepier.

Barry walked in at 4pm, so it was time to get dinner going and spend time with my sweetheart.

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After dinner, I thought I’d relax s little and dozed off in my chair. About 2 hours later Barry had a meeting at the church. He woke me to say he was leaving. There I was, wide awake again.

I attempted to sleep while he was gone without success. He was home in a few hours and we got comfy for the evening. We sat in the living room watching NCIS and I dozed off again. I woke Barry to go to bed. I had just fallen asleep when he woke me up to let me know he was going to the living room, because he could not sleep. I tried for a few minutes to get back to sleep and I was wide awake again. I headed to the living room to watch TV around 3am.  I think I dozed off for a few minutes after 5am.

At 5:45am, Barry was rustling around in his chair and woke me up. It was time for him to get ready for work. I told him I was getting in the bed and if I was asleep when he left, please do not wake me to say goodbye. When I woke up at 1:30 pm the later that day, I felt a little better.

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I had some lunch, read a few emails and Barry was home early, due to the weather. He fixed the washing machine while I went back to sleep. I woke up in time to watch the Wednesday night church service on the internet and back to sleep I went. I woke around 1am and drug Barry off to bed. He was up and off to work this morning . Kissed me goodbye and I stayed in bed till 9am. I felt drugged getting up this morning, but I am not sleepy. I actually managed to get a day of rest. Thank you, God!

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Daily Prompt: Sliced Bread

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Most of us have heard the saying, “That’s the best thing since sliced bread!”What do you think is actually the best thing since sliced bread?

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At first, I was going to say the Bible. It is one of two things that I can count on using daily. I realized more than likely,  the Bible has been around longer than sliced bread, so that kinda put it out of the running.

Of course, I’m not sure whether anyone sliced bread in the Bible or they just broke pieces off. I’m a constant student of the Bible, but I am afraid this is one thing I cannot quote book and verse on. 

According to Wikipedia: 

Sliced bread is a loaf of bread which has been pre-sliced with a machine and packaged for convenience. It was first sold in 1928, advertised as “the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped”.[1] This led to the popular phrase, “the greatest thing since sliced bread“.

I refuse to say that the cell phone was my second choice and they, in my opinion,  are definitely not the “best thing since sliced bread”. Although, they are handy. We would all live without them! Yes, kids, you can live without your cell phone. Believe it are not, you can actually have a conversation with another human being. 

My personal opinion is that current medical technology qualifies as ” The best thing since sliced bread“. New innovations in every field of medicine improves the life of numerous people daily!

Barry and I are both still alive today, by the Grace of God and modern medical technology. I would have lost Barry twice  if someone hadn’t figured out how to replace the aortic valve and how to go into an artery of a patient, actively having a stroke, to manually remove the clot and stop progression of the damage that a stroke causes. 

The brain tumor I have was only diagnosed at autopsy before 1985. I thank God for giving someone the knowledge to invent the CAT Scan. I’m ready to take my place in heaven when the time is right, but for now I plan to enjoy every moment of life. Good or bad…..

Find your Voice

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Today has been a bit of an eye opener for me. I had a fairly decent day. Some so so news from the doctor and got to do my favorite thing, SHOP! I love to shop and window shop. They both relax me. If I can’t buy anything, I get the extra exercise.

Today, my shopping trip involved my mother. While out with mom for shopping and lunch, I finally realized why she can make me mad at the drop of a hat. Since the brain surgery, my voice has not been the same. Talking is a struggle at times. I had a good singing voice and I can no longer sing without scaring the neighborhood cats. It’s like my attempts at running, you do not want to see it. My singing, well, you really do not want to hear it. For years, I couldn’t sing a note, but since attending church and singing regularly. my voice is slowly returning. Still not good, but better.

Well, while mom and I were out today, she attempted to finish every sentence I started and talked over me every time I tried to start speaking. She is just attempting to be helpful and not let anything cause me further stress, but what I need to do is talk to her and the rest of my family about letting me speak. I may speak slowly, but give me a chance. Take the time to listen. The old me is still in this body and I have a voice I want to use.

Mom even took a pen out of my hand today to put the cap on for me. I couldn’t believe it. When I left rehab, they told me a few things to keep in mind; keep moving and if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. The ground rules about me will be coming out in a few days. The time has come to get everyone on the same page!

 

 

Insomnia versus Zombie-head

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I have no trouble taking a nap during the day, but I have been up doing housework, running errands, shopping, and/or exercising.Most days, all the above. I get tired easily during the day.

As the day comes to an end, I cannot turn my head off to save my life. My sweet hubby is next to me sawing logs. The dog is at our feet snoring in tune with Barry. Hear I sit, typing up a storm. The universe does not seem to be lining up for me tonight.

You’d think with some of the medication I’m on, I’d be zonked out cold with everyone else in the house.  Mom is even out for the night.

Dad has trouble sleeping, as well as both my sisters. I usually can nod right off, but not tonight.

I had an adverse reaction to one of the drugs I was on and of course, my brilliant doctors have decided to play with my medication again. I call my neurologist brilliant, because he told me he is and that I’m lucky to get to see him.

I can’t wait to see what he wants to replace it with. Baclofen was working wonderfully and my brilliant neurologist wanted to see what would happen if I came off it. I was back on the drug within a month, but now suddenly, my lower extremities resemble those of an 80-year-old woman.

I truly do not like taking the drug, but it took some of my pain away and didn’t give me ‘Zombie-head’. It had other side effects that were pretty miserable.

Now they will be looking for a substitute. I guess this is just part of the plan and I do not need to question it. I need to take one day at a time, read my Bible and pray for patience. A few sleepless nights won’t hurt my too, too bad. After all, I can stay in bed all day if I want.