A minor setback
This week started with another doctor's appointment, this time with Dr. O, the ear, nose, and throat specialist. The neuros wanted him to look at my sinuses, since they seem to be in very bad shape. The thought was if I needed to have surgery on them, he could go through the nasal passage to reach the tumor and get a sample for the biopsy. So I went into his office Monday morning with the thought that we were going to look at the films and decide when to schedule surgery. But in what has become the norm recently, things weren't all that easy.
When he pulled up the CT scans, he showed me a very tiny spot on the film. There was nothing there. And that was the issue. See, on either side of the area in question was bone. And, he explained, there should be the same in this spot. Essentially, there is a hole in my skull. To further complicate it, this gap is directly adjacent to the tumor. It creates new risks when the surgery is performed. Without going into the medical description of what he told me, it is basically that the brain is going to be directly exposed to the are they are operating on. Surgery always has inherent dangers, he said, but this one would be especially delicate. It would require two surgeons as well, because they will repair the hole while they are in there. But when we looked at the most recent scan and saw that the tumor itself is now pushing onto the eye, I knew that surgery now is a must.
I have stated many times in the pages of this blog that it is what it is. No matter what the situation presents, it is what it is. I left the office Monday morning thinking that this was a setback, and it is. But at the same time, there are people much worse off than me. This isn't fun, and it's not without risks. But the likelihood is that I will have the surgery, recover, and not have to go through this again, knock on wood. So I will be grateful that the news wasn't worse than it was. I could have been told that it's inoperable, or worse.
I have another battery of tests scheduled for next Monday evening. Results from that CT scan and MRI will be reviewed with Dr. O Tuesday morning in my next appointment, and we will schedule the operation at that time. It will most likely be end of next week or the beginning of the following. This blog will be the best way for people to know what is going on, as it will be impossible for me to call everyone who has called, messaged, and texted me about this over the last week or so, though I appreciate each one of them.
Never ending winter appears to be back in Columbus, Ohio. Have a great day everyone................
When he pulled up the CT scans, he showed me a very tiny spot on the film. There was nothing there. And that was the issue. See, on either side of the area in question was bone. And, he explained, there should be the same in this spot. Essentially, there is a hole in my skull. To further complicate it, this gap is directly adjacent to the tumor. It creates new risks when the surgery is performed. Without going into the medical description of what he told me, it is basically that the brain is going to be directly exposed to the are they are operating on. Surgery always has inherent dangers, he said, but this one would be especially delicate. It would require two surgeons as well, because they will repair the hole while they are in there. But when we looked at the most recent scan and saw that the tumor itself is now pushing onto the eye, I knew that surgery now is a must.
I have stated many times in the pages of this blog that it is what it is. No matter what the situation presents, it is what it is. I left the office Monday morning thinking that this was a setback, and it is. But at the same time, there are people much worse off than me. This isn't fun, and it's not without risks. But the likelihood is that I will have the surgery, recover, and not have to go through this again, knock on wood. So I will be grateful that the news wasn't worse than it was. I could have been told that it's inoperable, or worse.
I have another battery of tests scheduled for next Monday evening. Results from that CT scan and MRI will be reviewed with Dr. O Tuesday morning in my next appointment, and we will schedule the operation at that time. It will most likely be end of next week or the beginning of the following. This blog will be the best way for people to know what is going on, as it will be impossible for me to call everyone who has called, messaged, and texted me about this over the last week or so, though I appreciate each one of them.
Never ending winter appears to be back in Columbus, Ohio. Have a great day everyone................
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