Tu(m)ors and Travels

I simply don't like taking medicines. Just the thought of them makes me feel nauseous. I somehow managed to stay on schedule for all my mandatory medicines for the first couple of weeks post surgery. As I gradually felt better, my aversion for the medicines came back with a vengeance. Despite my husband's constant warnings not to, I stopped taking ALL my medicines as of three days ago. This morning, at my radiation oncologist appointment, I got to hear it from the nurse. She chided me for tapering off prescription medication abruptly. I didn't dare look at my husband's face, for I knew he had the textbook example of "I told you so" written on it. The rest of the appointment went amazingly in my favor, though. The oncologist, Dr. Chen, had a meeting with my neurosurgeon Dr. Gore, and got detailed notes on my case. I have atypical meningioma,  which means I am in the 9% of the meningioma pool that has a grade 2 tumor (90% have grade 1, 1% have a tumor that grows...

Cricket fans know how significant a time it is for an Indian chase when a Dhoni or a Virat comes out to bat and hits it out of the park. This past week has been that kind of turning point in my healing story. I have been pleasantly surprised by the significant improvement in my own recovery! The night after my surgery, I remember begging for pain medication every 30 minutes. Oral meds made me throw up and the nurses switched me to the IV meds. Those IV injections made me wince in pain. Fearing the IV needle, I would attempt to bear the pain. Mere minutes later, I would give up and beg for the meds, and scream as they inject me. This cycle that repeated for nearly 24 hours was easily the most horrifying experience for me. I have tears in my eyes as I type all of this. Happy tears, without a doubt, for today marked the second day of  no Tylenol, Tremedol or Delotted in my system. Simply no more optional pain meds! I am just taking a couple of mandatory anti-seizure and nerve-soothing...

In the month leading up to my surgery, I had a goal of walking 100 miles. I could only manage walking 75 miles then. I had underestimated all the things I needed to get done to prepare for the procedure and recovery. As my incision slowly heals and my brain gradually powers back to normalcy, I feel the need to set new activity goals for myself.  We have less than two months until Raaga's Rangapravesam. Initially, I thought 100 miles in these two months would be a challenging goal. I went out for walking the past two days. On both days, I walked (with a friend) for a little over an hour and a couple of miles each day. Somehow the two miles from yesterday felt so much longer and tiring than those from today. Yesterday, I skipped my afternoon pain-med (Tremedol). Today, I even skipped my morning Tylenol. I do feel exhausted today, too, but none of the pins-and-needles-type pain I had experienced the first two days after the stitches were removed. So, I decided to set my goal in terms ...

Two weeks ago today will forever be etched into my memory as the day that launched my metamorphosis. Before April 30th, 2024, I was fiercely independent, extremely self-confident, and borderline arrogant. Whether drafting important work emails, hosting  Telugu school events, or loading the dishwasher at home, I had OCD for how things are done.  I rarely asked anyone for help.  In the past two weeks, three friends from three different states have taken turns to help me and my family. Our dinners have come from a different family every night. My girls have been driven to classes by various friends. My dishwasher has been loaded by people other than me. I have needed help drying my hair, walking to the bathroom, and even wearing socks.  These past two weeks have taught me patience and gratefulness, and opened my eyes to just how powerless one could get in the hands of destiny. I am feeling incredibly fortunate to have so many kind people in our lives that always have ou...

There's always a bigger line than you can draw- something my mom says often. Her philosophy has always been the same- any problem you are dealing with, someone out there's dealing with something worse. I am thinking of those words of wisdom as I am headed out to deal with some of my smaller lines. I have already dealt with the worst of it- the anxiety surrounding the surgery, the procedure itself, and the excruciating first few days, post op. Now it is time to head to the surgeon's office to get the stitches and staples removed. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. I am, in fact, terrified; the trauma of getting  the two drain openings on my scalp plugged still fresh on my mind. But then, it is a smaller line than the bigger ones, some of which I had experienced myself. I should be able to handle it. For everything else, there is the Lord Rama card, read like mastercard commercial :). There are some other things that are also on my mind-Radiation session(s) to ge...

I am usually not this narcissistic, but this post I am about to type should be interesting, ;). There's so much of pre and post comparison to do that one could turn my surgery experience into graduate thesis in itself! Do I type faster now with less brain mass? Do I sound more witty than before? Do I simply sound more obnoxiously self-absorbed? I guess if you are still reading, you can find out along with me! I will have to start where I last stopped- when I arrived at the hospital wearing a sari, no less. I remember changing into scrubs, talking to the anesthesiologist and the surgeon, and saying bye to Bhaskar and Preethy. That's about it. That was like 10am Tuesday, April 30th. The earliest recollection I have, after that, is from 10pm that night; of me typing something on my phone with restrained hands to my colleague, attempting to make a dark work joke about my being in requal.  Intel and Qorvo people will get the humor.  Wait, restrained hands? Why yes! It wasn't jus...

 

11am Tuesday, April 30th. 2024 Hello, They just took her in to the operation theater after an hour of prep. Doctor will page us when they actually start the procedure in an hour or so. We will keep this group posted with updates.   Thank you! ******************************* 1:30pm Tuesday, April 30th, 2024 Hello, We just heard back from the surgical team. The setup took some time but they have completed the incision. The procedure is underway and expected to take around 4-5hrs.  Thank you! *********************************** 6pm Tuesday, April 30th, 2024 Hello, They finished the procedure around 5pm. It went smoothly with no complications 🙏 The surgeon was able to remove more mass than initially anticipated and fortunately it wasn’t located very close to the brain. I am in ICU now and Jyothy can answer questions though she is not fully awake and was able to identify me.I will send the next update once she is fully awake. Thank you so much for keeping us in your prayers a...