The frustration of a phone call

Here's how the cycle's been going lately: stress out over a phone call, make said phone call, receive no news whatsoever, cry. I guess it's better this way, though. Today is Friday the 13th. For all I know, they could tell me that my tumor didn't in fact get removed, and that they actually took out healthy brain--just on the opposite side from where the surgery was supposed to happen. That development would be less than stellar. Ok so I'm really glad that's not the case. So I'm supposed to find out the final results on Monday, but there's just no telling what's going to be the case here. It's just such a rare tumor. I hope the delay is just from having to check so many different sections of it. That or they lost it.

a brief pause for my cute niece

Now it's time for some shameless promotion of my niece. I can't help it. I mean look how cute she is. Would you do any different? Today we went down to the swing set. She played; I photographed. What a perfect day.

Yesterday, when we got back from Baltimore (we spent almost a month cooped up in that Best of Westerns with the best of maids, Marie), this was the glorious sight before my eyes. My sister and niece spent many hours slaving over it. It feels good to be home alright...

Goliath's Stats

Size: 8cm x 8cm
Ok, Goliath is at least borderline, well, gigantic. I guess that’s why I named him accordingly. That’s roughly 3.14 inches (or Pi inches, if you will)—a 3 in.x 3 in. fragment of festering flesh that was surgically coaxed out of my head into a hermetically sealed formaldehyde-free container. How did Dr. Q remove such a rare reality from my head you ask? With his superior surgical skills silly! (He said that he’d only seen one other tumor of the same variety in all his years of neurosurgical specialization.)

Weight: 3 Pounds!
A pretty weighty tumor, Goliath has left big empty shoes for my brain’s many types of fluids to fill. They say that neurological cells don’t reproduce, but I’ll show those highly accomplished and credentialed physicians the meaning of neurogenesis. Seriously though, that’s a relatively weighty tumor; it’s like my brain’s experiencing it’s own personal renaissance.

Age: probably years old
Dr. Q couldn’t say for sure (currently, nobody can know this), but he thought that due to the amount of adaptation that my brain had undergone, the tumor had probably been growing slowly in it on the scale of years rather than weeks or months. It was only the more aggressive part that had triggered the symptoms that I started experiencing around Thanksgiving.

That's all he told me for now. Wait until Thursday for my super all important release of the Goliath's official prognosis. Hopefully it'll be good news all around.

A post-op fantasy

Well today was a bit of a let down. Sadly, I didn't get the official word on my tumor, yet (muted trumpet sounds). I did get my staples out, though. I also met with Dr. Q again (He's so likeable. I just want to squeeze him). Now I'm in another hotel (Yay!) an hour outside of Durham, NC. Honestly, it's such a unique experience, this hotel that is. Seriously though, I can't wait to get home where I can actually get some much needed R&R. I'll do some biking, eat some raw food (and some regular food. If you think I'm gonna stay totally raw, then you've obviously gone completely nuts, which is actually fine with me.) Anyway, I've got until Thursday to wait for the official word now. I have to call back up there, so hopefully I can have a more official update for you then. Bye now!

Visitations and ramifications

Last night my friends Evan and Shannon came for a special visit. Well it wasn't so much special as absolutely conventional, but that's to be expected from a bunch of snarkers like them. It's too bad, though. I was a bit on the tired side when they showed up, so it totally slipped my mind to snap their photos. Drat! It's ok though, I commisioned Shannon to take a remotely developed picture of her and her beau (guess what? that's them above!). You know, it's like we've leapt into the 21st Century without even taking a step into the 20th (yes I know, that makes no sense).

It felt so good to laugh with them; I'm serious. I'm talking full-body laugh here. I guess I've just been taking things so seriously lately that I forgot my sense of humor. I mean, I thought I kept my sense of humor healthy and radiant, but I guess there's a difference between a hearty chuckle and full-body laughter. The only problem is that it makes my head feel like it's gonna split open when I laugh that heartily; a strange albeit satisfying feeling, I guess.

Record huntin' was next on the list. I didn't feel very good when I woke up this morning. I'm coming down off the Dex so every few days when I have to reduce the quantity I take, I get a bit of a headache. Nothing that an appropriately placed dose of Extra-Strength Tylenol can't take on, though. We scouted out two different hole-in-the-wall record stores. Dan and Adam loaded up on records (Adam in particular). We got lunch, coffee, saw the building from the Wire. What didn't we do? One thing's for sure, Baltimore's got nothing else for us. Well that may be a bit of a mis-statement. How about: Baltimore's got a whole lot more to offer us and we're probably not gonna get to see it. I think that sounds better, don't you?

Tomorrow morning at 8:40 is my post-op appointment with Dr. Quinones. Then Jay and Bob are coming by for their final visit, too. Having friends come visit really helps me on the road to recovery. I don't realize how much I need the interaction (though it's really tiring), but it helps me to feel like I'm a normal person again. Ok well, wish me luck tomorrow. There's no telling what my fortune will bring...