They Love Me Just a Little Too Much Here

So they are keeping me for at least another day. My silly brain is still swelling so they are going to put me back on steroids so the swelling will halt and decease. My headaches are pretty bad and Dr. Mickey does'nt want me leaving while I am in still so much pain because I live so far away. Thanks for that. I do want to go home. I want to be with my husband and see my friends. I also want to get wags and kisses from the 10 furry pups I have. This is a pic of Tilla, I don't know if I have ever shared that information with you before, but here are the rest of their names,
Boob (aka boobalicious or boobasaurous depending on his actions at the moment), Jelly Bean, Tilla (aka Atilla the Hun) Tulip, Tucker, Max, Moilly, Bug (aka Love Bug) Missy, and Mamma. I will try to post one of their pictures....They keep me very happy. I love wagging tails and unconditional love.

Anyway back to the tumor. It hurts like hell....I just wish the hurting would stop and I could get back to normal. I want to start writing on my novel again. I want to help edit my friends novels. I want to get back to my jewelry business and everythting else I do. However as long as my brain insists on being larger than the cranial capacity, that is an impossibility.

I am not happy about this new development and I am having strict talkings to my brain everyday. We are at odds at the moment.

Just thought I would keep you updated...that's about it for now. Talk to you again tomorrow if I get to go home.

My name is Donna and I feel like crap today

They call me Zipper Head!

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This is the scar and it looks like you can just unzip me.

Hopefully I get to go home tomorrow, Saturday and get back to normal life. I am meeting with the kidney transplant team on April 16th. Anyone have and extra kidney floating around?

Actually I have quite a few people who have stepped up to the plate already. My husband, sister, daughter, my contractor and a friend. Someone out of all of them...should work.

But now my concern is that you, whoever you are, and that if you are reading this and hurting, how can I help you through whatever it is you are going thru? If you are in a life threatening situation there is nothing more scary than thoughts of leaving behind loved ones. I faced this with the idea that nothing would go wrong. Yes, we (the family) talked about all of the death stuff, but once we discussed it and got all of the questions out on the table and found out all of the answers, I got all of my affairs in order and then we were able to move on.

I thoroughty researched the surgeon and the hospital and his team. I think I got the best doctor available. His name is Dr. Bruce Edward Mickey out of Tx SW University Hospital Complex in
Dallas, Texas. It is a teaching hospital and from what EVERYONE I spoke to reported, .....he is the best and he surrounds himself with the best.

Thank you, Dr. Mickey.

Well that's all I have to say today...I thought you might want to see the scar...Just think 45 hours ago my brain lay exposed on an operating table with doctors poking and prodding it. And look at me now. I am writing to you. Just how amazing is that?

My name is Donna and I am now an official zipper head and proud of it. I came through it with flying colors!

Pretty Cool...this is my brain

Hi Everyone.

Here it is the day after my "Stupid Brain Tumor Surgery" and I am already on my computer. Imagine that. I have the video of the complete surgery and it is really, rather amazing. You can see my brain and just like I had thought, it is quite an impressive brain. I was agog with the video. bit it grossed Ed out. I hope I can download it on this site in case you are interested in seeing brain surgery, but let me warn you, it is quite graphic.

Last night was a reallllllly bad night. I was throwing up quite a bit and it felt like my head was being torn from my neck. Once the upchucking passed, it has'nt been so bad. They are keeping me pretty drugged, which is a very good thing.....and I should be home by the weekend.

Anyway, I am at Zales Lipshey University Hospital (part of UT Southwest Complex), 5151 Harry Hines Blvd in Dallas, Room 520. I know some of you wanted to come by and say hey....so there is the address.

The cut on my head is very impressive. (about 10 inches long) It is not bandaged so you see it in all it's glory. Again...it grosses Ed out. By Friday I should have 2 black eyes and my head should be at maximum swelling. I am assuming I will be quite attractive. So far, everyone I have come into contact with here at the hospital is wonderful. They are very kind and good care givers.

My sister-in-law, Patty Lasko, stayed all night with me in ICU last night and I can only imagine, how horrible it was for her. During the upchucking sessions, I was crying because of the pain to my head and I actually think she was crying in sympathy. She was such a life saver, I don't think I could of made it thru last night without her. Thanks Patty.

I am already walking around and I am really amazed at this whole process. I am fine and I have no side effects that I know of. That is other than I tilt to the left when I walk, I don't really know who I am and I am blind as a bat.....psych....I am perfect...but you already knew that!

That is about all I have to report. I am going to try to download the video....and I will blog again within the next couple of days.

My name is Donna and I no longer have a "Stupid Brain Tumor"

It's the night before surgery and I'm at my sisters house. She lives about 10 miles from the hospital and since it is supposed to snow, I thought it woud be safer to be close just in case the roads are bad. I'll be at Zales Lipskey (sp) on Harry Hines. I'm a bit nervous about all the hoo-ha but I'm also ready for the games to begin. The knife makes it's first cut at noon and the entire thing shoud take between 4-6 hours. I'll be in ICU for the first 23 hours and if all goes well, then I'll be in my room after that for about the next 4-5 days.

I just wanted to take a minute and say thanks for all of the encouragement and thoughts coming my way....

My name is Donna and tomorrow I'm off to see the Wizard.

Do you want to see my brain?

I had an appointment yesterday, Feb 17th, with Dr. Mickey (nuerosurgeon) and after extensive testing, we have decided it would be safer and I would have a better long term prognosis if he went in thru the derma (skull) instead of the nose. I'm all atwitter about the prospect.

Am I nervous? Yes, I guess I am. Am I afraid? No, I don't think so. I am nervous about how much it will hurt afterwards,(yes I know I am a wuss...but) scared, no. I believe in destiny and I just have too much on my plate for it to be my time.

The cool thing about all of this is they will take pics during the surgery and I will post them here. So I will have proof that I actually do have a brain and I bet it's big and smart looking. Now that's not something everyone can say....Hey....you want to see a picture of my brain :)

There's really not much else to say about it. Tuesday is the date it all comes together and Wednesday is the date that will tell me if all is well. I will get back to you as soon as I can to update info. I am taking my computer to the hospital with me so hopefully I can do my show and tell on Wednesday. Wish me luck, and I wish you safety and good health.

My name is Donna and Wednesday really will be the first day of the rest of my life.

The Dr. shakes his head slowly and says

It’s been a while since I put to words my medical mishaps, so here goes, I’m at it again. Today I went to see Dr. Toto, (nephrology) to check on my kidneys before the surgery. I am now at about 21% function and am in stage 4 kidney failure. However, that’s really not all that bad. I have been in stage 3.9999999 for quite some time, so I plan on being in stage 4 (the beginning) for a while. Sounds like a movie of the week.

“Dr. We have a situation here. This strikingly beautiful woman, (nurse points to me) has a brain tumor and is in stage 4 kidney failure. She also suffers from Cushings Disease and has a liberal sister!”

The Dr. shakes his head slowly and says, “Yes, nurse, I know she is strinkingly beautiful.”

My drama goes something like that!!!

Anyway, back to the kidney thing, I have a couple of offers. My sister, who is probably the closest match, my husband, my daughter and believe it or not, one of the contractors working on our house. He has offered, but I don’t think he knows what he would be getting himself into. Anyway, I am sure my sis is a perfect match, so I will become one with her. God help me, she is a screaming liberal, so I’m crossing my fingers for the conservative kidney.

Now to the good news. There is absolutely nothing about my kidneys that will hamper the brain surgery. I just have to make sure they know about the kidney situation before I go under and then all will be perfect.

So...I am just hanging around waiting to get the ball rolling and get this mess over with so I can go back to living. I am pretty darn sick of being so tired and puekey all the time.

Wish me luck, if you are reading this, then you are in my thoughts..Wishing you nothing but good luck and good health.

My name is Donna....and I am in pretty good shape....considering!

Thank You

I don't really have anything new. I just wanted to say thank you for following and if you don't follow but have left a comment,Thanks. I really enjoy reading your comments and advice. It gives me a lot to think about.

Be Careful What You Wish For

I said I wouldn’t post anything until next week unless something came up...well something came up. I went last week to get some blood work for Dr. Castro (Fort Worth – Endocrinologist) and everything was normal except…..my body is producing too much cortisol which is an indication of Cushings. I looked it up and I decided that I do not want that.

Unfortunately I do have some of the symptoms, but I am sure if I get creative enough I can explain those away. However, in the mean time he is sending me paperwork for additional testing that I start on Monday. He wants to measure my cortisol and the tests I’ll be doing will verify cushings or verify that he is just being overly cautious. I vote for the latter. I thought a brain tumor was bad, but now I’m going to have a really fat upper body and a hump.

Of course, it is quite rare….what else would I have…the rarer it is, the more of it I'll have. So bring it on. I am ready to face whatever test this may be to my sanity. So far so good. If I am going to have an additional malady, just give me something I can take a pill for and it will go away. Keep the rare stuff …just give me….hmmmmm……..let me think….OK, I know..just give me a rash and keep the cushings.

I guess that's all the news, oh no ....&@%$&@%$#.....

Damn….now my arm itches!

My name is Donna and I have a stupid Brain Tumor, Cushings, and a rash.

Be careful what you wish for.

The good news about my Stupid Brain Tumor is....

Ed (my husband) and I went to see Dr. Mickey (Dallas) today and we both liked him and his manner. He was very thorough with looking at the scans and going over them with us. He said that with what he sees on the scans he would go up through the nose and just poke a hole in the tumor and drain the fluid. What he really wants is to see a(n) MRI scan with IV dye. He cannot see the stem of the pituitary gland and would like to see that before he goes in. Unfortunately I am in kidney failure and the dye will (maybe) damage what is left of my kidneys.

He is going to get with my kidney guy, Dr. Toto of Dallas and see what he thinks. I trust Dr. Toto so I am sure he will advise what he thinks is best for my situation. My thought on this is go with the dye. This Dr. will be poking around in my brain and not have all of the information he could have. If this dye harms my kidneys, then so be it and I will deal with that if or when it happens. But for now, I have this tumor pressing on my optic nerve and it has taken away half my vision. I don’t see that improving until I address this mess. All of the Dr’s. said that my vision may get a little better and it may not. I am voting for it getting a whole lot better and in this situation, my vote is really the only one that matters.

All of the decisions will be made on Feb 12th. I'm going to have another MRI and CAT scan on that day, then go to Dr. Mickey at 1130 that same day. He will have all of the info he needs to make his recommendation...and I will make my decision as to what will happen to my “Stupid Brain Tumor”

The good news about "My Stupid Brain Tumor is
....hmmmm...........
I'm going to have to get back to you about that

But for now, I will post again on the 12th or 13th of Feb, unless something happens between now and then. It won’t...I lead a charmed life!

Wish me luck in making the best decisions. My thoughts are with you and I’m sending you good vibes.