We went to MGH yesterday to get my stitches removed and collect all of the orders for next Wednesday. I will have more blood work, a CT scan, and another, wait for it, my absolute fav, yes …. MRI. Even though I’m not a huge fan of holding still in a plastic tube and head cage for 45 minutes, having ice-cold contrast dye injected into my veins, and being subjected to very loud noises and vibrations, the new MRI will give the doctors a ‘better road map’ of my new brain/tumor landscape for the upcoming surgery.
Our doctor told me he usually removes the center of an older person’s acoustic neuroma, but doesn’t complete the second stage of the surgery because they are such slow growing tumors. My age makes me a candidate for regrowth, so I have to have the second, more delicate surgery. The tumor has been described to us as an orange. The doctors have removed the pulp. Now they need to remove the ‘peel’. The issue with the second surgery is that the peel is intertwined with my cranial nerves. Once a doctor declares his specialty the other doctors must force him to select a metaphor to use when talking to patients. One doctor compares my brain to an orange the other an engine, but they never seem to change the item of comparison.
Bottom line: I am feeling much better today. I am still pretty nervous about the second surgery, but I am thankful and hopeful. It feels amazing to have clean-ish hair and to be thinking about the future. Again, thank you all for your support.
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