:Shennanigans:

I realize I have been derelict in my duties about providing more follow ups for R's gramma-I apologize. She is back home (two weeks this past Monday), initially with home care. She has been doing amazing! The time during her hospital stay and the following week, my m/i/l was here and visited gramma daily, cleaned her house and got everything arranged (home care, bill payments, food, etc) so gramma would have an easier time when she was home. The next week, Uncle L and Aunt C (and trust me, has she become a *C* in my book, despite all she did for gramma - more on that in a private entry) stayed with gramma for a few days, and then had her at their home for a few days, making sure she was not alone, became used to her new routine, diet, and medication schedule. Once she was back home, I was visiting daily to check in on her, keep her company (whoo-boy, did we kick some Scrabble a**!), and fix some diabetic friendly Italian dishes. The biggest bummer for gramma has been the dietary change (and feeling dependent) because she LOVES Italian food. Well, I showed her there is life with Italian after diabetes - all sorts of pasta substitutes and alternatives. Boy was she happy to not eat chicken or turkey for another meal! Her friend and Uncle L were around for one meal and they both also enjoyed the meal, so I felt pretty darn good.

I am a fairly proficient cook; I ordinarily do not enjoy it. I know how to cook for *the masses*, but not so much for a few people. Alot of the meals I am best at cooking are not freezer friendly, so when I get a chance to cook for a group who will help demolish leftovers the next day or so, I take it!

I have not had alot to report about myself medically, but the onslaught of my six month post-op appointments began, and has now ended. I had two MRIs, a CTScan, and a slew of doctor appointments. There are good and bad results, but mostly good.

It was discovered why I continue to have balance and vertigo problems. . . When the surgery was performed, the surgeon went in with the intent to sever the balance nerve on the right side of my head (the side with the tumor), while making every attempt to leave the entirety of the facial nerve and hearing nerve intact. When, during surgery, the decision was made to leave a small portion of the brain tumor, the decision was based upon the tumor having grown around those two nerves; the two nerves having entwined themselves around one another. Come to find that some portion of the balance nerve was wrapped into that quagmire. Thus, without the entire nerve being severed, I have the balance and vertigo issues.

There is nothing surgically which can be done because of the high risk involved to me physically and to the nerves which successfully escaped damage during the last surgery. I have some computer programs to work with which are designed to teach me how to gain the upperhand on these issues when they occur, and to learn to live with the disability. It has been tricky, but I see alot of progress even in the last week. I hope to become advanced enough that some of the day to day things, which remain impacted to a high degree, become easier to handle.

The good news is that I have 65.7% of my pre-op hearing. Not pre-tumor, mind you, but pre-op. Okay, well, I had 70% of my natural hearing at pre-op, and I have tested as par-normal hearing (meaning, if you have 100% of your natural hearing, I had 130%), so I essentially have just a hair under 60% of an average person's hearing. Heh, that is better than some people who never had a brain tumor! *go me, go me, go me*

The surgeon and my doctor are writing an article about me because of the extraordinary success with my case. They stated that they have spoken to other doctors and surgeons who deal with my type of tumor and that not one of them believes the results until they are shown the tests and documents (I gave them permission). My tumor was so large that even my doctor and surgeon, though they told me I had a 15-20% chance, did not think they could achieve the result. Even prior to surgery, I was told if I was the doctor's sister, he would have advised me differently than the path I chose to pursue. What are statistics, other than numbers skewed to show what some person wanted the numbers to (dis)prove, right?

The docs are working on some sort of dissertation for the New England Journal of Medicine and for a magazine published for The House Ear Institute & Clinic. I have been promised that my name will be an alias and no face photos will be included; they will use surgical photos and information about me, but nothing which would otherwise identify me. Not that my ex would be caught dead reading either of these publications, but I have done too much to be nicely tucked away from him and do not want something so obscure to be the reason he finds me. *sigh* It is sad, really. Eh, I have become quite used to it, however.

Unfortunately, on our way home from one of my appointments (two Fridays ago), R and I were involved in an accident. We were rear ended by a driver who had earlier been playing some sort of whacked out game of chicken when street lanes were merging. She almost took out the entire side of R's car!

When she hit us further up the road, I saw her coming and told R she was going to hit - she was going to fast to stop in time. I turned to look in the side view mirror on my (passenger) side, thinking she may try to swing around us, but knowing there were parked cars in that lane ahead of us, and she hit. My head hit the seat-back, but R put his foot on the gas to absorb as much impact as possible, but we had a car in front of us, so there was only so much he could move.

R got out of the car, went back to hers to get license and insurance info, but she yelled a few choice words at him and took off. R called his work peeps who had the helicopter (oh joy) and three units catch up to us as we followed her through LA and into Glendale. She pulled into a dingy nasty alley and was trying to park, but instead hit a parked car and drove up onto a curb. R blocked her in until police arrived. She REEKED of alcohol. Folks, it was NOON, for all that is holy! Her passenger got out of her car and took off after throwing something into a van parked next to where we were stopped. He was skuzzy; go figure-so was she.

She was DUI, under the influence of a combination of psych meds and alcohol, driving on a suspended license, and her passenger was wanted for two or three robberies in the area. Geesh - what a winner!

Needless to say, she was arrested and the police went in search of her passenger, who they had been searching for all morning. Do not know if he was ever located. We have an October court date on which we appear for the prosecution re: the driver.

What to say about our trip through TX and Georgia... Seriously, everyone knows not to travel down to the south during hurricane season, do they not? Well, after living in NC, I sure know, but there was naught I could do about the timing of our trip. R's gramma had her art gallery/art academy grand opening and it was important for us to be there-Ike and all. Ike interfered with phone and internet connections, and flight arrangements. Oh well., home now.

The notion of 9/11 travel was weird, at best, and nothing happened. Met the pilot at the airline counter, but I am not sure if the banter was supposed to make me feel *better* or more nauseated. He and the counter steward were joking that THIS plane he could keep in the air, unlike *that one* in Bermuda...Yeah, ha ha ha. I am not the best flyer in the world, despite how much flying I have had to do post 9/11. I was not good before 9/11 either, but I did not have to fly as much as after that date.

Anyhow, just weird. Hard to put a particular reason on the weirdness. Nevertheless, all is well that ends well.

Flying did wreak havoc on my head. R and I learned that I need to delay flying for an undetermined period of time. The pressure during take off caused pain and balance problems, so I felt nauseas most of the flight. The pain was so bad that a few tears made their way onto R's shirt. Ugh, and the turbulence. The flights home were less than pleasant. I am very happy to be on the ground again and home.

Right before we left, we had a loss on R's side of the family. It was completely unexpected and so sudden that it threw everyone for quite a loop. She passed away in her sleep and was found in the morning when her husband went it to wake her up. We missed his cousin's funeral as it occurred the day we left.

We made it a point to visit with his gramma and cousin's husband and children once we were back home. It was nice to see everyone and talk about family. I never was able to meet her, a total regret.

Upon returning home, R and I sadly discovered that a favorite place of ours, La Fondue, has closed its doors. Jen and Rob introduced me to this place sometime near seven years ago. I told Lisa to let Jen know since she would not know unless she comes back to visit and wants to eat there; I recall it being one of her favorite places. *sniffle* R and I have made it one of those places we go for our date nights; the nights we schedule in once a month, no matter what life throws at us. So. Sad.

There are other fondue restaurants, but this one had either the best staff, or the best to make fun of-depending on who your server was for the night. Also, as Jen so aptly named it, La Fondue had *THE BEST* birthday song EVER, 'Souls of the Children". Seriously, it was on an old 45 and sounded so eerie and creepy, that it really sounded like young haunting souls from beyond. La Fondue also had the best fondue dip. It will be missed.

On the brighter side, R and I befriended the owners daughter awhile back, so we have been in touch with her. She sent us the birthday album. How cool is that?!? She also gave us some recommendations for fondue in the area...meaning in Southern California. Additionally, she provided us the recipe for their salad dressing (as well as a HUGE jar of it), the recipe for their fondue, including where to buy the best cheeses for it, and the vintner of the white wine they served as the 'House Wine' on the menu, which I loved (and a few stores which carry it in stock). Seriously, she is an amazing and funny person, and we will miss visiting with her at the restaurant. She does, however, live fairly nearby, so we all plan to remain in touch with one another.

As for today, well, I woke up feeling kinda bleh. I have no energy and my tummy was topsy turvy earlier; better now, but still fairly lethargic. Not sure why. I do not feel like I am getting ill or anything; perhaps I overdid it a bit this week. I plan to take it easy this weekend and let it pass. Eh, whatever.

There is a private entry following this entry.

Arrivederci!

I do not think this country has become what our forefathers had in mind.

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2008-09-20 7:15 PM exciting times Previous Entry :: Next Entry Mood: not much of anything at the moment Read/Post Comments (5)	I realize I have been derelict in my duties about providing more follow ups for R's gramma-I apologize. She is back home (two weeks this past Monday), initially with home care. She has been doing amazing! The time during her hospital stay and the following week, my m/i/l was here and visited gramma daily, cleaned her house and got everything arranged (home care, bill payments, food, etc) so gramma would have an easier time when she was home. The next week, Uncle L and Aunt C (and trust me, has she become a C in my book, despite all she did for gramma - more on that in a private entry) stayed with gramma for a few days, and then had her at their home for a few days, making sure she was not alone, became used to her new routine, diet, and medication schedule. Once she was back home, I was visiting daily to check in on her, keep her company (whoo-boy, did we kick some Scrabble a*!), and fix some diabetic friendly Italian dishes. The biggest bummer for gramma has been the dietary change (and feeling dependent) because she LOVES Italian food. Well, I showed her there is life with Italian after diabetes - all sorts of pasta substitutes and alternatives. Boy was she happy to not eat chicken or turkey for another meal! Her friend and Uncle L were around for one meal and they both also enjoyed the meal, so I felt pretty darn good. I am a fairly proficient cook; I ordinarily do not enjoy it. I know how to cook for the masses, but not so much for a few people. Alot of the meals I am best at cooking are not freezer friendly, so when I get a chance to cook for a group who will help demolish leftovers the next day or so, I take it! I have not had alot to report about myself medically, but the onslaught of my six month post-op appointments began, and has now ended. I had two MRIs, a CTScan, and a slew of doctor appointments. There are good and bad results, but mostly good. It was discovered why I continue to have balance and vertigo problems. . . When the surgery was performed, the surgeon went in with the intent to sever the balance nerve on the right side of my head (the side with the tumor), while making every attempt to leave the entirety of the facial nerve and hearing nerve intact. When, during surgery, the decision was made to leave a small portion of the brain tumor, the decision was based upon the tumor having grown around those two nerves; the two nerves having entwined themselves around one another. Come to find that some portion of the balance nerve was wrapped into that quagmire. Thus, without the entire nerve being severed, I have the balance and vertigo issues. There is nothing surgically which can be done because of the high risk involved to me physically and to the nerves which successfully escaped damage during the last surgery. I have some computer programs to work with which are designed to teach me how to gain the upperhand on these issues when they occur, and to learn to live with the disability. It has been tricky, but I see alot of progress even in the last week. I hope to become advanced enough that some of the day to day things, which remain impacted to a high degree, become easier to handle. The good news is that I have 65.7% of my pre-op hearing. Not pre-tumor, mind you, but pre-op. Okay, well, I had 70% of my natural hearing at pre-op, and I have tested as par-normal hearing (meaning, if you have 100% of your natural hearing, I had 130%), so I essentially have just a hair under 60% of an average person's hearing. Heh, that is better than some people who never had a brain tumor! go me, go me, go me* The surgeon and my doctor are writing an article about me because of the extraordinary success with my case. They stated that they have spoken to other doctors and surgeons who deal with my type of tumor and that not one of them believes the results until they are shown the tests and documents (I gave them permission). My tumor was so large that even my doctor and surgeon, though they told me I had a 15-20% chance, did not think they could achieve the result. Even prior to surgery, I was told if I was the doctor's sister, he would have advised me differently than the path I chose to pursue. What are statistics, other than numbers skewed to show what some person wanted the numbers to (dis)prove, right? The docs are working on some sort of dissertation for the New England Journal of Medicine and for a magazine published for The House Ear Institute & Clinic. I have been promised that my name will be an alias and no face photos will be included; they will use surgical photos and information about me, but nothing which would otherwise identify me. Not that my ex would be caught dead reading either of these publications, but I have done too much to be nicely tucked away from him and do not want something so obscure to be the reason he finds me. sigh It is sad, really. Eh, I have become quite used to it, however. Unfortunately, on our way home from one of my appointments (two Fridays ago), R and I were involved in an accident. We were rear ended by a driver who had earlier been playing some sort of whacked out game of chicken when street lanes were merging. She almost took out the entire side of R's car! When she hit us further up the road, I saw her coming and told R she was going to hit - she was going to fast to stop in time. I turned to look in the side view mirror on my (passenger) side, thinking she may try to swing around us, but knowing there were parked cars in that lane ahead of us, and she hit. My head hit the seat-back, but R put his foot on the gas to absorb as much impact as possible, but we had a car in front of us, so there was only so much he could move. R got out of the car, went back to hers to get license and insurance info, but she yelled a few choice words at him and took off. R called his work peeps who had the helicopter (oh joy) and three units catch up to us as we followed her through LA and into Glendale. She pulled into a dingy nasty alley and was trying to park, but instead hit a parked car and drove up onto a curb. R blocked her in until police arrived. She REEKED of alcohol. Folks, it was NOON, for all that is holy! Her passenger got out of her car and took off after throwing something into a van parked next to where we were stopped. He was skuzzy; go figure-so was she. She was DUI, under the influence of a combination of psych meds and alcohol, driving on a suspended license, and her passenger was wanted for two or three robberies in the area. Geesh - what a winner! Needless to say, she was arrested and the police went in search of her passenger, who they had been searching for all morning. Do not know if he was ever located. We have an October court date on which we appear for the prosecution re: the driver. What to say about our trip through TX and Georgia... Seriously, everyone knows not to travel down to the south during hurricane season, do they not? Well, after living in NC, I sure know, but there was naught I could do about the timing of our trip. R's gramma had her art gallery/art academy grand opening and it was important for us to be there-Ike and all. Ike interfered with phone and internet connections, and flight arrangements. Oh well., home now. The notion of 9/11 travel was weird, at best, and nothing happened. Met the pilot at the airline counter, but I am not sure if the banter was supposed to make me feel better or more nauseated. He and the counter steward were joking that THIS plane he could keep in the air, unlike that one in Bermuda...Yeah, ha ha ha. I am not the best flyer in the world, despite how much flying I have had to do post 9/11. I was not good before 9/11 either, but I did not have to fly as much as after that date. Anyhow, just weird. Hard to put a particular reason on the weirdness. Nevertheless, all is well that ends well. Flying did wreak havoc on my head. R and I learned that I need to delay flying for an undetermined period of time. The pressure during take off caused pain and balance problems, so I felt nauseas most of the flight. The pain was so bad that a few tears made their way onto R's shirt. Ugh, and the turbulence. The flights home were less than pleasant. I am very happy to be on the ground again and home. Right before we left, we had a loss on R's side of the family. It was completely unexpected and so sudden that it threw everyone for quite a loop. She passed away in her sleep and was found in the morning when her husband went it to wake her up. We missed his cousin's funeral as it occurred the day we left. We made it a point to visit with his gramma and cousin's husband and children once we were back home. It was nice to see everyone and talk about family. I never was able to meet her, a total regret. Upon returning home, R and I sadly discovered that a favorite place of ours, La Fondue, has closed its doors. Jen and Rob introduced me to this place sometime near seven years ago. I told Lisa to let Jen know since she would not know unless she comes back to visit and wants to eat there; I recall it being one of her favorite places. sniffle R and I have made it one of those places we go for our date nights; the nights we schedule in once a month, no matter what life throws at us. So. Sad. There are other fondue restaurants, but this one had either the best staff, or the best to make fun of-depending on who your server was for the night. Also, as Jen so aptly named it, La Fondue had THE BEST birthday song EVER, 'Souls of the Children". Seriously, it was on an old 45 and sounded so eerie and creepy, that it really sounded like young haunting souls from beyond. La Fondue also had the best fondue dip. It will be missed. On the brighter side, R and I befriended the owners daughter awhile back, so we have been in touch with her. She sent us the birthday album. How cool is that?!? She also gave us some recommendations for fondue in the area...meaning in Southern California. Additionally, she provided us the recipe for their salad dressing (as well as a HUGE jar of it), the recipe for their fondue, including where to buy the best cheeses for it, and the vintner of the white wine they served as the 'House Wine' on the menu, which I loved (and a few stores which carry it in stock). Seriously, she is an amazing and funny person, and we will miss visiting with her at the restaurant. She does, however, live fairly nearby, so we all plan to remain in touch with one another. As for today, well, I woke up feeling kinda bleh. I have no energy and my tummy was topsy turvy earlier; better now, but still fairly lethargic. Not sure why. I do not feel like I am getting ill or anything; perhaps I overdid it a bit this week. I plan to take it easy this weekend and let it pass. Eh, whatever. There is a private entry following this entry. Arrivederci! I do not think this country has become what our forefathers had in mind. 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:: JOURNAL HOME :: SUBSCRIBE TO THIS JOURNAL :: Brainsalad :: Friendly Fiction - Adventures in writing. :: Girl Child :: JamTart :: Kenny :: LisaMarie :: Netter...and her Empire :: Reenie :: RT :: Scout :: SmartiPlants :: WordWebbing ::