Recovery Time

Today, Saturday, is 3 days out from the GK treatment. I can now wiggle my eyebrows up and down almost all the way with hardly any pain from the screw holes in my temporal areas. It still hurts a bit to lay down on the back of my head and the very top of my scalp still feels numb. Nicole put some antibiotic ointment on a couple of raw spots last night, and it helped-that stuff is pretty gnarly to get out of your hair though. The doctors kept telling Pat that it was obvious that he didn't give me many martinis, judging from how quick I reacted to the pain meds. Evidently I giggled through the bulk of the procedure. Except for when I woke up and they were screwing something tighter and my hair was getting screwed into the mix, and when they would rotate my head certain directions and manipulate the table I was on in another direction. Yuck.

Today a physical therapist did some cranial sacral work on my head and Wow. Gentle touch is especially meaningful after physical trauma. After being held in a vice grip for so many hours, plus the general stress of this new development it was wonderful to have some kind, focused time to just rest and heal a bit from Wednesday with no interruptions. This afternoon I took a bike ride through campus to Monroe street and back. It went ok...told Pat I'd take the cell phone in case I tipped over-which made him nervous. Never know how well my balance will be after a couple days of being drugged and nuked. The only problem was on the path past the OSU cow/sheep barns where there are a lot of bumps. It felt like some of the craters where either screws were, or radiation was focused didn't quite know what to do with themselves. I was hoping I wouldn't come home with concave spots whether visable or not. Campus is MUCH more smooth. . Yeow. So, still taking it moderately easy, increasing activities daily. Repotted a bunch of tomatoes today, still have a ton more to go. It'll happen. Pat's recuperating too. He came home from work at about 6 pm yesterday, went to bed with no dinner, and woke up at about 6:30 this morning.

Sarah's having a blast with her new Nikon D-80 camera. Yeah-Make-A-Wish Foundation!! Not only was planning and reading up on photography a great distraction from a cruddy situation, she's got some fantastic equipment, and is taking some fun photos. We practically have to pry it out of her hands at bedtime. Very fun. Not bedtime...the camera.

So-that's about it. Thanks, those that have sent cards and e-mails, etc. It helps a LOT to know you're rooting for us. This is NOT a solo road.

Jeanne

Gamma Knife, the sequel

Jeanne had the Gamma Knife procedure performed on Wed. March 21. The Gamma knife radiated the small cancerous tumors that had formed in her brain. We will not know if the procedure was completely successful until follow up scans are done in the months ahead. But, the doctors are confident that they got all of them.

And, "all of them" actually totaled seven tumors, not four, as previously thought. The reason for the difference is the MRI scanner used just prior to the procedure, at the Providence Hospital, is better-suited for brain scans than the MRI used here in Corvallis.

Jeanne is recovering well. The discomfort she feels today is not so much due not to the radiation, but to the metal frame that was pinned to her head for 6 hours. (Yes, metal!) She is very tired, but resting comfortably.

Next up, we will go back to the oncologist in early April to determine what chemo drugs and other therapies to begin.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for Jeanne.

Patrick