Well, this past Thursday, Feb. 4th, I went back to Springfield for an M.R.I. and a visit with my neurosurgeon and radiologist.
My appointment for the M.R.I. was first and I was directed to a new place for that. Previously, I’ve gotten all my M.R.I.’s at St. Johns Hospital in Springfield. This time, the event took place in the same building that houses my neurosurgeon, The Surgery Center, which is just across the road from the hospital. The appointment had been moved up from 11:00 to 9:00 so we had to leave here at 7:00 to get to Springfield in time. Lehua drove us and we arrived there in plenty of time.
I got into the place for the M.R.I. and the lady did NOT have me on the schedule. That seems to be typical for these things. Even though they had called me to confirm the appointment, she didn’t have any record of it. They happened to have had a cancellation right at that time, so they were able to get me in. I did NOT like this M.R.I. machine. The machine at the hospital is familiar and not NEARLY as loud as this one was. I knew I was in for something different when the nurse handed me some of those foam earplugs and then they started immobilizing my head with cushions and finally a “mask” that went over my face.
I’ve been having some allergy/sinus problems along with congestion, so when I was up inside the tube getting the M.R.I. I started getting a tickle in my throat like I needed to cough. I fought it off as long as I could but finally had to signal to be brought out of the tube and cough my head off. When they put me back in, the lady asked if I wanted the fan turned off (it blows in your face to give you the feeling you’re NOT in a tube) and I asked her to turn it off. That made all the difference in the world and I was able to get through both M.R.I.’s without further incidence. I say two M.R.I.’s because it is one WITH and without contrast. The one with contrast they put some kind of fluid/dye in your veins via an I.V. and it gives them a different view.
We now had almost three hours until my visit with the neurosurgeon, so we headed to the mall to kill some time. I got to walk one time around inside the mall which is about 2 miles. I need to start up my walking regimen again, it makes me feel a lot better! We finally had some lunch about 12:30 and then did a bit of “people watching” which is one of my favorite activities at the mall. I like to guess how far away people live from town by how they’re dressed, etc. It’s a great game!
We left the mall and went to the neurosurgeon appointment. I saw two assistants before I saw the surgeon and both of them looked at the M.R.I. results and the commentary and told me there was no re-growth and that the “edema” had gone down. I’m told the edema is the place in my brain where they cut out the tumor. It had been swollen a bit on the last M.R.I. but that had gone down, which was good news.
My surgeon finally came in and we talked about the results. He was very happy with what he saw. I told him about the seizure I’d had back in November and he told me I’d have to quit driving for 3 more months. I was NOT happy with that news, in fact it almost completely wiped out the good news I had just received. It meant I am now dependent on others to go anywhere or do anything for the next three months. That my friends is like a jail sentence for me. The only bright spot about that is I have an appointment in two weeks with the Neurologist and she may be able to get me back to driving before that 3 months….pray for me about that!
While we were in Springfield, at the mall, it started snowing and while it was lovely, I was worried about driving conditions. The temperature was just too warm for any of it to stick, so that worked out great.
After the appointment, I had to go to the radiologist and get bloodwork done and then consult with her. Her name is Dr. Raju, little Indian woman and she was happy with the results of the M.R.I. and said the bloodwork was as it should be, so all in all, GREAT news! (Did I mention that I hate needles? Not a good thing for a man in my condition.)
I guess Katy may get some time being a chauffeur during the next three weeks. I actually feel sorry for Lehua having to drive me around when I need her to. She will do it, she may not love it, but she will do so and for that I am thankful. I’m not very good at depending on someone else, so I hope this is resolved before three months.
I may come back and add to this later, but for now it’s about all I need to say without doing a whole lot more rambling.
Almost forgot to add that I don’t have to go back until AUGUST!! That is a sixth month schedule and after that, if everything looks good, it will be a YEAR before I go back again. Wooooo Hooooo!
I also forgot to add that I finally asked the surgeon about the “bumps” on my scarline. He said that there was a small titanium plate held in by screws to hold my skull together, nice to know, eh? It sure makes shaving my head with a razor difficult.
