Cranial Surgery - My Story

Getting love from a therapy dog after surgery

It seems that I have taken a hiatus from writing for a couple of months.  Cranial surgery will do that to you.  A few years ago I was diagnosed with a meningioma.  A benign brain tumor.  I had gone in for an MRI due to some dizzy spells I was having (they had nothing to do with the tumor) and that's when they discovered it.  It wasn't good news but all the medical professionals said it was slow growing, benign, and not to worry.  It hadn't grown enough to affect me. So every year I would get an MRI to check on it.  This last year it had grown 1/2 an inch and they promptly sent me to a neurosurgeon.  There I was given a couple of choices but I really had only one choice it seemed - remove it.

I didn't tell my friends or family because I didn't want them to worry and I knew they would.  I scheduled the surgery for October 13th and I told my family about a month before.  And yes, all Hell broke loose, as they say.  Two daughters came to stay with me and take care of me after surgery (Thank Heaven for Little Girls).  They really were a God-send.

5:30 a.m., everyone in the waiting room

It's been about 4 weeks since surgery and I'm finally beginning to feel like myself again.  Recovery was rougher than I imagined it to be, but I think it's always that way.  I gained a new-found respect for all those who have to endure these kind of surgeries.  I also am impressed with our medical professionals and all the advances in medicine that have been made.  Thanks to recent advances in MRIs, they can pinpoint the exact location of the tumor and do not have to poke around looking for it.  I'm sure that cut back recovery time.

In short, this has been my explanation of my sudden absence this last month.  I have returned.

To the right is a picture of me with two of my daughters and my daughter-in-law.  My first outing after surgery last month.  Part of my hair was shaved, hence the scarf.