tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60645094906529300602024-02-20T07:15:06.346-08:00The journeySeusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13663816984425582992noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6064509490652930060.post-9124329967581864592014-07-25T17:22:00.001-07:002014-07-25T17:22:59.699-07:00<div class="s2">
<span class="s3" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-weight: bold;">Reflecting One Year After Receiving a Brain Tumor Diagnosis and Having a Craniotomy</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s3" style="font-weight: bold;">Question</span><span class="s2">: I understand you were diagnosed with a brain tumor and had </span><span class="s2">a craniotomy</span><span class="s2">. </span><span class="s2">I know someone who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer and had a similar surgery. </span><span class="s2">I’m c</span><span class="s2">urious how you are doing</span><span class="s2"> after the surgery</span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s2">and if you have any general advice going forward?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s3" style="font-weight: bold;">Answer</span><span class="s2">: </span><span class="s2">In reaching</span><span class="s2"> out to others like you did, I’m</span><span class="s2"> repeatedly told that everyone’s experiences </span><span class="s2">after </span><span class="s2">surgery</span><span class="s2"> is different. There</span><span class="s2">is a </span><span class="s2">lot to say, but here</span><span class="s2"> are</span><span class="s2"> my two</span><span class="s2"> cents:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s2">1.</span><span style="padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s3" style="font-weight: bold;">Surgery Recovery.</span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s2">I was diagnosed with a grade 2 astrocytoma in my right frontal lobe and merging </span><span class="s2">into</span><span class="s2"> the </span><span class="s2">corpus</span><span class="s2">colossum. </span><span class="s2">The </span><span class="s2">craniotomy </span><span class="s2">recovery process wa</span><span class="s2">s long and slow</span><span class="s2">for me</span><span class="s2">. I was in the ICU for 2 days after the surgery. I had strong headaches for several weeks. I had a huge shiner under one eye</span><span class="s2"> – as </span><span class="s2">if I lost badly </span><span class="s2">to</span><span class="s2"> Mike Tyson</span><span class="s2">. </span><span class="s2">Two</span><span class="s2"> days after surgery, </span><span class="s2">I could not move my left hand, </span><span class="s2">which</span><span class="s2"> the surgeon</span><span class="s2">warned me about ahead of time as a potential reaction from surgery due to </span><span class="s2">the brain swelling from the surgery. I was on </span><span class="s2">a med called “</span><span class="s2">oxy – something</span><span class="s2">”</span><span class="s2"> for headaches for a few weeks. I had trouble walking –more from the pressure build up in my head after surgery. Sometimes I’d have to sit </span><span class="s2">after about 10-30 seconds</span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s2">of walking </span><span class="s2">due</span><span class="s2"> to the pressure</span><span class="s2"> in my head</span><span class="s2">. </span><span class="s2">In the first few weeks, I could not tolerate loud noises – even the closing of the microwave bother</span><span class="s2">ed</span><span class="s2"> me. I had regular night sweats, bad dreams, heada</span><span class="s2">ches, and tremors for a few </span><span class="s2">month</span><span class="s2">s after surgery</span><span class="s2">. </span><span class="s2">My</span><span class="s2"> headaches lasted for about four</span><span class="s2"> months – mostly dull, </span><span class="s2">minor ones but annoying. </span><span class="s2">Four months after surgery, I</span><span class="s2"> started back at work – as a lawyer, </span><span class="s2">mostly involving </span><span class="s2">reading and reviewing contracts – </span><span class="s2">and </span><span class="s2">my</span><span class="s2"> headaches returned</span><span class="s2">. </span><span class="s2">My doctors told me that my “return-to-work </span><span class="s2">headaches</span><span class="s2">”</span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s2">could have been from fatigue,</span><span class="s2">reading, or the </span><span class="s2">remaining </span><span class="s2">tumor. All </span><span class="s2">doctors</span><span class="s2"> I went to said that headaches are normal after the surgery. </span><span class="s2">About five months after surgery, I had occasional headache free days – hooray. </span><span class="s2"></span><span class="s2">I took naps for the first </span><span class="s2">two to four</span><span class="s2"> months </span><span class="s2">after my surgery</span><span class="s2">. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s2">2.</span><span style="padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s3" style="font-weight: bold;">Fitness. </span><span class="s2">I</span><span class="s2">f </span><span class="s2">you</span><span class="s2"> are </span><span class="s2">into fitness</span><span class="s2">, here are my thoughts. </span><span class="s2">Before my diagnosis, I r</span><span class="s2">an</span><span class="s2"> half marathons. </span><span class="s2">In the few days a</span><span class="s2">fter surgery, I </span><span class="s2">could barely walk. It took me several weeks before I could walk one mile. I </span><span class="s2">lost all my fitness and </span><span class="s2">had to</span><span class="s2"></span><span class="s2">gain it back</span><span class="s2"> from scratch. </span><span class="s2">I took a very patient and slow approach. Slow and steady wins the race, a fellow survivor told me. I took that to heart. I was</span><span class="s2"> cleared to jog after my first follow-up MRI post</span><span class="s2">-surgery</span><span class="s2"> (4 weeks after surgery). </span><span class="s2">I just kept walking to build up endurance. </span><span class="s2">Five</span><span class="s2"> months</span><span class="s2"> after surgery, I</span><span class="s2">could</span><span class="s2"> finally walk two</span><span class="s2"> miles. </span><span class="s2">Nine </span><span class="s2">months after my surgery, I began jogging. Ten months after surgery, I finally managed to run for five straight minutes, albeit slow. </span><span class="s2">One year after surgery, I r</span><span class="s2">a</span><span class="s2">n a mile without breaks. </span><span class="s2">I then started a “couch to 5k” plan. </span><span class="s2">A</span><span class="s2">ll my </span><span class="s2">doc</span><span class="s2">tor</span><span class="s2">s have stressed that exercise is great for recovery, and their only caveat is “don’t overdue it.” I’ve yet to have a doc</span><span class="s2">tor</span><span class="s2"> give me more specific info on exercising. I know </span><span class="s2">of </span><span class="s2">a girl who had a surgery to remo</span><span class="s2">v</span><span class="s2">e a tumor closer to her brain stem</span><span class="s2">. She </span><span class="s2">was able to run a marathon about 5 months </span><span class="s2">post-surgery</span><span class="s2">. </span><span class="s2">Incredible. </span><span class="s2">Maybe I could have done that too. Who knows. </span><span class="s2">But </span><span class="s2">I </span><span class="s2">adopted</span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s2">the</span><span class="s2"> motto</span><span class="s2">, “</span><span class="s2">slow and steady wins this race.</span><span class="s2">”</span><span class="s2"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s2">4.</span><span style="padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s3" style="font-weight: bold;">Stay Positive. </span><span class="s2">Nearly every article </span><span class="s2">about beating cancer</span><span class="s2">urges survivors and caregivers</span><span class="s2"> to stay positive. For me, that was hard to do when I </span><span class="s2">had</span><span class="s2"> headaches. </span><span class="s2">It’s easy to </span><span class="s2">feel good when you feel good physically. </span><span class="s2">But</span><span class="s2"> for me it was</span><span class="s2"> hard </span><span class="s2">to feel good and positive when I</span><span class="s2"> fel</span><span class="s2">t</span><span class="s2"> crummy. </span><span class="s2">I stayed as positive as I could. A</span><span class="s2">fter</span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s2">a while</span><span class="s2">, I realized I could still play </span><span class="s2">soccer </span><span class="s2">with my kids, exercise a bit, work, eat, walk, and </span><span class="s2">fee</span><span class="s2">d</span><span class="s2"> myself</span><span class="s2">. So </span><span class="s2">things can’t be so bad. As </span><a href="" name="_GoBack"></a><span class="s2">the </span><span class="s4" style="font-style: italic;">Lizarmy </span><span class="s2">blog put it, living with a Grade 2 brain tumor is doable. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="">99999:RRICHARD:</a><a href="">1739255</a><a href="">-1</a><span class="s2"><br /></span><a href="">10/16/2013</a></span></div>
Seusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13663816984425582992noreply@blogger.com0