7 plates and 27 screws

At my MRI last Thursday, I asked Dr. M about the number of screws in my skull, expecting the number to be something like 6.  Well, was I blown away when they told me I have 7 plates and 27 screws in that ol' cranium of mine.  So many!!!  The screws are tiny (like eyeglass screws) and the plates are small-ish too, but still.  I jumped off of the exam table to look at the pictures closer, and couldn't help but smile and laugh.  I feel pretty badass.  :)  My titanium doesn't show up in MRIs, so these are from the CT scan I had the day of surgery (note the 5/23/11 date).  So here's my bling!  (It's not the best picture quality of all time, as they mailed me printed pics and then I shot them with my iPhone... but it's a start.)

There are my 7 round plates, 6 in the middle and 1 to the left (which is actually the right side of my head, these scans always seem flipped because you're looking at my face, not the back of my head, in this)

Side view, obviously, of the lone plate.... and I can tell exactly where this is on my head because occasionally I bump it and it HURTS.  Also, you can see the skull incision more clearly!  Eek!

I think these are so cool!!  Apologies if they gross you out.  I didn't give much warning...

So totally unrelated to my titanium (which does not set off metal detectors, thank you for asking), I had something weird happen yesterday.  Waaaay back when all this craziness started almost 2 years ago (!!!), before I was diagnosed with a brain tumor and surgery would have seemed like the most unlikely thing of all time, I had these weird things happening with my arm.  It was these weird arm symptoms that caused me to see a doctor, who referred me to a neurologist, who referred me to another, who referred me to Dr. S and Dr. H and Dr. P (my kickass neurosurgeon team at UW).  Since surgery, the weird arm symptoms have rarely returned.  I'll get a weird tingly finger for a few minutes, and that's about it.  (Side note: these symptoms are unrelated to my tumor).  

Well, yesterday, I had my most significant arm symptom since before surgery.  My upper left arm went really achey from Monday evening through this (Tuesday) morning.  It ached enough to where it is difficult to sleep.  But it's gone now.  It felt soooo weird though.  Not physically, as I'm familiar with the weird arm things I've gotten.  But it felt so weird to feel them and know what they lead to.  It blows my mind, really.

I'm very happy it's gone now (and I can hopefully sleep much better tonight!).  It was a little like a splash of cold water to the face.  Life.  It's crazy how such small things can lead to such enormous, humungous, life-changing never-be-the-same things.

Oops, I did it again

At my appointment with Dr. M on Thursday, I told him about my middle of the night shower.  He didn't seem too concerned, and thinks it's related to stress.  And let me tell you, these MRI appointments bring me stress to no end.  Until I get good results and can relax, that is.

So it blew my mind when that night, Thursday night, the day of my MRI, I showered again in the middle of the night.  Got up, showered, put on lotion, moisturized my face, and wandered back out of the bathroom.  Only then did I subtly decide I could go back to bed, at 11:45pm.  UGH.  I end up really tired in the morning, and lack of sleep usually gives me a headache (and its only cure is more sleep, or more cowbell).

I've got a midnight shower disorder, and the only prescription is more cowbell.

I had figured with the positive MRI results and the stress melting out of my body, I wouldn't do a middle of the night shower again.  It bummed me out, and makes me feel like a total crazy person.  But I've slept pretty much through the night the last couple of nights, so that makes me feel good.  Isn't that silly?  To feel accomplished because you didn't take a crazy person shower in the middle of the night?!?!  Welp, I'll take it!

Next step: Putting a sign on my bathroom mirror that says "If it isn't 6:00, go back to bed."  Let's see if that works!

I'M ALL GOOD!

Scan was clean, no growth, got into all my appointments 30 minutes early, today couldn't be better!  Next up, lunch with my friend Lynn and an afternoon massage.  Also, I learned that I have 7 plates and 27 screws in my skull.  How badass is that?!?  Pics to come.  :)  WOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!!!  Next scan in June 2013.

Uber stressed

My next MRI is in 4 days, and I can tell that it is really wearing on me, more so than anything else in my life does.  I'm sick, likely due to my immune system not being in tip top shape due to stress; I got a cold before my last MRI too.  My feet are cramping more, which is directly stress related for me.  I'm getting a lot of night sweats, plus my crazy middle of the night confusion is happening.  I can cry at the drop of a hat, and have been.  I can tell my body and mind are under a lot of stress right now, and they're not happy.

I'm hopeful for continued good results with my MRI and no tumor growth.  If it is growing, I don't know what I'll do.  But until then, please send positive thoughts, prayers, and vibes my way this Thursday for no growth of that stupid tumor in my head.  Until then, I'm going to try and keep myself distracted with friends and dinners and things like that.  I'll post an update after I get my scan results in a  few days.

Midnight showers bring May flowers

I've mentioned on here the issues I have with determining what time it is when I wake up in the middle of the night.  I see the clock saying 3:30am, but I cannot comprehend whether I can get up, whether I'm late for work, whether I can go back to sleep, etc.  Wednesday night took it to a whole new level.

I went to Deck the Hall Ball (an awesome 9-band concert that lasted 8 hours) on Tuesday night and so I was super tired on Wednesday.  So Wednesday night I went to bed at 9pm (yes, I'm old and lame, I know).  I konked out for a few hours and awoke at 12:30am.  I was so convinced that it was time to get ready for work, I got out of bed, started the shower, TOOK A SHOWER (while thinking, man, I am sooo tired right now), applied lotion, moisturized my face, put on my bathrobe, and wandered back out of the bathroom.  At that point I realized that it was in fact the middle of the night (and kind of early, actually) so I went back to bed in my bathrobe and with wet hair.  Ughhhhhhhhhhhh....

"This blog doesn't have enough clip art!" said nobody ever.

The weird thing is, once I realized it was okay to go to sleep and that my alarm had not actually gone off, it makes me feel like going back to bed is the totally normal thing after taking a totally normal midnight shower.  I don't have this *d'oh* moment where I realize what I've done.  It just seems completely okay that I got up and showered and now am going back to bed.  It's not until the morning that I want to slam my palm to my forehead.  I don't get it.

This stuff makes me paranoid that my little tumor friend is growing and getting into trouble.  Especially with my MRI less than a week away, I'm a little on edge about the whole thing... and at the same time thinking this midnight shower thing is pretty ridiculous and kind of funny.

O Christmas bike, O Christmas bike...

Since Tony Soprano (my bike, duh) moved in, I've had less space for other things in my 460 square foot apartment.  Like, for instance, my 4 foot Christmas tree.  I put up my Swedish welcome lights, my nesting Santas from Prague, the sock snowman I made in high school with the 3rd grade class I TAed for, and hung my stocking from my dresser with care.  And then this happened:

Wishing you a very special(ized) Christmas

I wanted the old school big bulb lights (you know, with the opaque red/orange/white/green/blue bulbs... I LOVE those) but Target only carries newfangled LED lights.  I think these are still lovely though.  And please note my tree skirt and gifts placed lovingly below.

I've got my decor up (albeit a bit limited since Tony moved in), received my 1st Christmas card (shout-out to the Harsilas!), am seeing the Nutcracker ballet this weekend, went to my 1st holiday party of the year on Saturday, and am excited for all of the season's festivities!

Merry Christmas from Teddi, Amy-lia, and Estefani

Feliz Navidad, amigos!