The Itinerary

That sounds so hopeful and exotic.  That's what the neurosurgeon team calls this process.  I would like to have the neurosurgeon plant a memory of Andy, the girls, and I adventuring for 2 weeks in Fiji (Alexandra you're taking the pictures) while he is in there!

Here's the itinerary for my surgery, as I understand it:
January 5th:  MRI and complete pre-op physical
January 11th - 12th: Angiogram to embolize the blood vessels that feed the tumor (I guess they use glue to do this - I think I'll take some of Delaney's scotch tape with me just in case)
January 20th - 25th:  Surgery and hospital recovery
January 25th:  Home to recover!!  I plan to take 2 weeks completely off from work and then ramp up to full-time over the next 6 weeks.  There are so many unknowns, so this is the ideal schedule.  However, as my children have so graciously taught me over the years, schedules/plans are made to be disrupted/changed/broken/waylaid, but everything typically works out for the best in the end. 

In the end (March 7), I intend to be resuming life as we knew it pre-Herb.  I imagine there will be changes, good and bad.  I don't kid myself that we can get through this unscathed.  But honestly, as we begin this journey I know I've got good people supporting me and my family and that puts my heart and mind at ease.  I'm so humbled.  This sounds so sappy, but you all have turned on my Heart Light (I hope you hear Neil Diamond swelling in the background as you read this :)).  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  I love you all. 

I'll be at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.  I definitely welcome visitors. 

That's all for tonight.  I was lucky to have acupuncture and a massage today, so keep your fingers crossed that I close my eyes and drift right off to sleep :).  I miss sleep immensely - that's one of the pre-Herb pleasures I'm looking forward to enjoying again soon!  Although, it's interesting to live the night life for a brief period, late night shopping on QVC is not an addiction I wish to develop :).

The Discovery

"Who is Herb and why is he doomed?" 

"Herb" is a meningioma (benign brain tumor).  Herb has been slowly growing on the left side of my brain for a couple of years, although, we just discovered it during an MRI on 12/10/2011.  I decided to name the tumor Herb because it was totally uninvited, will end up being a significant event in our lives, but we hope it will be a distant memory soon. 

Here's a brief history of how we learned about Herb.  In August, I got a headache on the left side of my head.  I've always been prone to headaches, but these were different.  I started seeing my doctor about these headaches.  We tried drugs including Alieve and indomethacin.  Neither worked and the indomethacin (a strong anti-inflamatory used commonly to relieve arthritis) made me loopy and intensified the headaches.  I tried accupuncture and massage.  Nothing could get rid of the headache for more than a 1/2 day or so.  It was frustrating.  I have not been able to run or do yoga since August.  Finally, in early December, the doctor ordered an MRI. 

The MRI went fine.  I'm not uncomfortable in tight spaces or bothered by loud noises (as anyone who has met Andy and the girls know).  I equate the experience to having my head stuck in an unbalanced washing machine with Christmas music playing in the background. 

On 12/12/2011, my doctor called to tell me about Herb.  December is Andy's busy season, so when the doctor called at 6:30 pm I was trying to get Delaney and Ellery ready for bed.  The doctor's news flustered me so much that I hung up on him twice!  He called back after each hangup and Delaney got Ellery ready for bed, including getting her diaper on and teeth brushed.  Such a lovely gift.

Telling Andy the news is the hardest thing I have ever done.  I just didn't want to say the words outloud.  I didn't want to hear myself telling the person I love the most the awful, scary news.  Andy was amazing, he just absorbed the news, held me as I cried, and assured me that we would get through this.  The best part is he is right. 

That night I found out as much about menigiomas as I could.  Since 12/12/2011, I've been to see two different neurosurgeons and have considered all the different treatment options.  The odds are stacked in my favor.  The neurosurgeon is 99% positive its benign.  Its about the size of a golf ball and its not irritating my brain tissue at all.  After collecting all the information we could, Andy and I decided with our neurosurgeon, that surgery is the safest, most effective option for me.  Herb has included the spinal vein, so that complicates the surgery a little, but my neurosurgeon, Dr. Ferreira is a a vascular neurosurgeon at UW Physicians.  Andy and I think we have a great team working with us.

I hope to use this blog to keep people in the loop and set everyone's mind at ease about this bump in the road. 

That's all I have the energy for tonight.  I am hopeful that 2012 will see the end of Herb.

Thanks for all your love, support, friendship, and good thoughts.
Love,
Steph