Tu(m)ors and Travels

It's been party time since I woke up today! The hugs from the girls have been extra long. Messages from many dear friends have been pouring in. Had a nice long chat with my parents albeit without video. My best friend is manning my kitchen and giving me queensly treatment. An army of people are looking out for my family! I could get used to this love!  Decided to dress for the occasion. What better way to celebrate an important milestone of my life! Let's get this party started! All checked in and ready! On way to the venue Drove the freshman to school though she got ready well in advance to take the bus Customary selfies Customary selfie

Dear Friends, I just came home from my pre-op MRI. They put some calcium carbonate markers on my head for the surgeon to map out the area tomorrow. I was joking with the nurses that I just got myself the most expensive haircut, while they clipped my hair in a few places to put the markers. The whole crew at neurosurgery has been singing praises of Dr. Gore. Apparently, all the nurses out there consider it a privilege to assist him in surgeries! Left the hospital today feeling some very positive vibes! My heartfelt gratitude to all of you for keeping me and my family in your prayers and thoughts! Lots of love and regards, Jyothy P.S: I believe I ended up at 75 walking miles for the month. If only I could count the miles my mind went while racing at the speed of light this past week! ************ Last picture for a while with a full head of hair! My last pre-surgery video call to parents. They still don't know anything about my diagnosis or surgery.  With the rock star of talent show...

 Life appears to be going in fast forward mode lately.  I spent  early Thursday morning finishing the script for a skit my students will be performing at the children's festival next week. Then, on a whim, made a trip to the salon to get highlights, as it suddenly dawned on me that I might not even have much hair left, let alone be able to color or style my hair, post surgery.  I hurried back from the salon, picked up both girls and went to visit Boys and Girls Aid Society in south east Portland. Raaga and I have been following the awesome work they do to help young adults aging out of the foster care. The visit told us so much more about the organization and how they have been around for over 100 years, helping homeless children! We rushed back to the burbs just in time for Taara's talent show dress rehearsal. She aced it as always :). I then drove Taara to dance and took Raaga for some last minute stuff needed for her photoshoot the following day. That was just Thu...

Sri Rama Navami is the day of Rama's birth, and his wedding to Sita is often celebrated across the globe on this day. Rama and Sita's relationship is complex. It is a beautiful tale of love nestled in all kinds of hardships, what with Sita getting abducted, Rama fighting the demon Ravana, Rama and Sita's post-war union, and their eventual separation. Despite everything that ultimately happens to their marriage,  Rama and Sita's union is the most fervently celebrated celestial event in Hindu culture. As Bhaskar and I sat at the temple witnessing the divine wedding celebrations, my mind wandered off to my own mental demons.  We met with Dr. Gore this morning. There were two new findings. One- my surgery got pushed out to May 6th, as the doctor had a higher priority case to handle on April 29th when I was originally supposed to go under the knife. Two- the recent angiogram indicated the possibility of some blood flow abnormalities that may require some additional procedure...

Mondays are my favorites. After the chaos of the weekend, they bring the calm of the routine. I look forward to the time when the kids go off to school and I finally get to do my own mundane Monday tasks. Today, April 15th, is no ordinary Monday, however, and is here to tax us with tasks not so routine, and certainly anything but calming. Every year, as I scramble my way through turbo tax, I tell myself that I won't procrastinate filing taxes next year. I have been hustling the husband for his papers since January. By mid-February, my tasks list changed dramatically and taxes got completely ignored. We were cleaning up after the Sunday afternoon Telugu classes when a fellow teacher casually asked me if we had filed the taxes yet. That finally lit the necessary fire under me and I parked myself in front of the computer for the rest of the evening. Husband's papers were not the rate limiting step, he pretty much had them all ready. *I* was the culprit! Intel never sent me a W2, f...

There are many things I did/do that I did not know I could/should do until someone else encouraged me to do. This blog is one of them. Writing these posts has given me an outlet, not just to communicate my status to friends and family, but also to sort my own thoughts and fears around what is happening and what is to come. I type up my posts on phone, usually when on a walk. I then come home and upload pictures on my laptop - my phone fails there. Yesterday, after dropping Taara at school, I sat down at the dining table, by the window, to do just that. The laptop screen got too bright and unusually blurry at the same time. I moved to the other end of the table to escape the sun. It didn't help. I lowered the brightness on the laptop to a minimum. I squinted my way through photo upload, closed the laptop, and got up and almost immediately sank back into the chair. The sofa, the chandelier, the chairs, and the stairs- everything around me- started wobbling. I somehow managed to get m...

Sanskrit saying: VaidyO NarayanO Hari: English Translation: Doctors are God. Today, I have stumbled upon the scientific proof for the above. In my 44 years of existence, I have tried, on countless auspicious/religious days, to observe fast, without  success. I would always start the fast ambitiously, and, after a couple of hours, succumb to the nearest carbs in sight. To me, it is impossible to see food and not eat. Miraculously, I fasted today, drinking only water for nearly 21 hours, because my doctor ordered so. Doctors=God. In my case, Doctors>God. Hence proved! :) We arrived exactly at 2pm, as instructed, at St Vincent's, and found out that my procedure doesn't start until 4pm! Two whole hours more to kill, and more importantly two more hours of hangry!  The nurse took us to our room IRU7 and was going over the logistics. I excused myself and ran to the nearest restroom to pee. I burst out laughing when I found the nurse waiting outside the restroom, for my urine sampl...

I got pulled over last Saturday on I-5 near exit 7B, on my way to the local Telugu association New Years' Day celebrations. That exit was about a mile and half from our event venue. We had five minutes before Raaga was due to go on the stage and give her Telugu speech, and I was on frantic calls with her team members, organizers and  the person who held our tickets for the event.  I admitted to the cop that I was an idiot and that I am sorry. The Clark county officer, a sweet and *very* good looking one, might I add, coolly handed me a $145 ticket for talking on the phone while driving. At least he let me go quickly enough, and Raaga made it to the stage with microseconds to spare in cinematic style! I apparently had a lot to talk about, this whole week. I have been constantly on the phone every day, with the doctors, insurance guys, work people, friends, family. I did learn my lesson from that ticket however, and did all my talking outside of my car. I have still been on the ...

 "We have some exciting news for you. From tomorrow on, our school will be called as the French Immersion School of Sato. You shall call me Madame Plo." I could hear the announcement all the way out to the road as I walked past Sato elementary on Monday (April 1st). Sometimes I feel so normal that I wonder if this whole tumor thing is fake news. Perhaps the surgeon would call me and say 'April Fool, that tumor was a joke', like Ms. Plo said to kids at Sato elementary.  Some other times, I have headaches so sudden and so intense that I'd feel as if I am about to drop to the ground, reminding me of the craziness I currently call life. Spring break was a welcome distraction from many things, packing school lunches being one. Taara spent longer with her friends than without, throughout the week, and she didn't have anything to complain about. Raaga had a totally different spring break tale to tell. Before February, we had made all kinds of plans for this break. A ...