1st Neurosurgen Apt (Wenatchee)

Wow. So much has happened in less than 72 hours that I don't even know where to begin.

First of all, I can not believe how loved I am - I have the best life and the most amazing group of family and friends, thanks to everyone that has been bombarding me with love and support through emails, texts, facebook posts, word of mouth, etc. I feel really powerful right now, like I can conquer the world!

Today was great starting out - I've been using my trademark "black humor" which has been really helpful, but then sometime around mid-day I had a reality check and burst into tears that this is going to be such a burden on everyone around me. I'm aware that this is going to be a lot of work for all of us, and I'm really grateful for the all of the love.

So - 2nd Jess Update
I met with the Wenatchee Neurosurgeon yesterday afternoon. He gave me the diagnosis of a Parietal Meningeal Lateral Posterior tumor (don't remember if that's the correct order of the words because I don't have my notes with me). When I looked at the screens from my MRI and Angiogram it was pretty crazy. The tumor is huge. I guess that's why they want to operate immediately. It's pushing the left side of my brain over the midline to the right side of my brain and causing outward symptoms.

They're worried at this point because the tumor is pushing down on my brain onto some veins and an artery and they're worried that the pressure could cause a rupture, seizures, a stroke, etc.

The Wenatchee neurosurgeon wanted me in for surgery at 8:00 am this morning, but I told him that I wanted a second opinion. He is one of two neurosurgeons in Wenatchee and they cover everything below and above to both borders of the state. They're the only neurosurgeons between Spokane and Seattle.

I didn't want to be insulting - but this IS my brain we're talking about here, and after he gave me an overview of the craniotomy, using terminology like, "You will take a nap, then I will scoop it out like ice cream." After that, I really needed another neurosurgeon (from Harborview) to review my file. Right now I'm in a waiting game. All of my film, scans and my chart are waiting at Harborview for review by Dr. Sekhar the head of the neurosurgery department (and widely regarded as one of the top neurosurgeons in the world). They will review everything tomorrow (Friday) and I should hear back on Monday regarding surgery.

I want the best of the best for my surgery, but if I have it in Seattle it's not easy to get home. After surgery I can't go over the passes for a month, can't drive for a month, can't lift anything for a month, oh ya - and I'll be bald. Too bad the bad hair will last for a little longer than 6 weeks. I'm not allowed to put my head lower than my heart right now, but this morning when I came up with my new name GI Jess, I was dying to do a battle roll off my bed and book it to the bathroom just for kicks. Oh well. In time. 

Either way, since I have to get the tumor removed, I'll be getting the craniotomy, but I want to feel really confident and comfortable during the process. Better to make sure that we've got a great team of doctors, because I'm set on living through this!

Anyway, my diagnosis:
*I have what is believed to be a benign tumor (they won't know until they remove it and biopsy it)
*Due to its size/characteristics it's believed to have a high probability of recurrence over the span of my lifetime in different areas of my brain (MRI's for life baby!)

I feel pretty good about what's going on. I feel insanely lucky that the tumor is on the outer area of my brain, and it's believed that I won't lose much if any of my brain function (some would argue that what's left after my college days is questionable anyway, so I'd like to keep what I've got!).

Urgent Jess Update

The email I sent to friends and family after the results of my scan:

Friends & Family,

Just wanted to send a quick note to let you know that I've had some extremely unexpected news. After an insanely intense debilitating headache that occurred last Friday while snowshoeing with Danny (and a couple of re-occurring headaches on Saturday and Sunday), I scheduled an appointment to meet with my doctor yesterday morning (Monday).

I told her that I had such a bad headache that I couldn't walk or see for about 90 seconds, and that the left side of my head, and lower back of my head, felt like they had a lot of pressure, and continued to have a pretty bad aching sensation.

I pressured her to sneak me in for an MRI scan immediately, but there were some hoops regarding my insurance so we planned a CT for today.

This morning I went in for my CT scan, at which time they said that I would instead be receiving an MRI (at which point I thought, "ooooh, UPGRADE!!"). Once in the room for the MRI they told me that I would not only be having an MRI but also an injection to see my brain even better (at which point I thought, "Cool! Double upgrade!!!").

After the procedure the radiologist looked at me funny and asked when my followup exam was (and I told her Friday), she told me that they would have my results shortly. I only got halfway home on my drive before I had a call from my doctor who told me that she had been on the horn with the neurosurgeon Dr Higgens and that I have a massive brain tumor and an AVM. I asked her if I was going to die, and her response, "We hope not."

She wanted me to turn around and head back to the hospital because they were holding a position at the CT dept for an Angiogram as soon as I could get in. Of course, I then called Danny sobbing and told him I couldn't talk but that I had a brain tumor. Then, I had my parents come get me from my car - I couldn't drive because I was sobbing and shaking so badly.

I've since done the angiogram and I just took my first pill to take care of the brain swelling. 

I have an apt with the neurosurgeon tomorrow where he will go over my diagnosis and my options. It all depends on the AVM and the Tumor (I'm capitalizing because I fell like it deserves that kind of punctuation). The two issues are unrelated, but make it difficult for surgery. I have no idea what type of tumor it is. We have no idea what I'm actually dealing with.

Anyway, at this point all I know is that I have a large Tumor in my lateral parietal region and an AVM.

I will be in and out of the hospital in the following days, and it looks like the first brain surgery is scheduled for Thursday morning at 8:00 am.

In the meantime, I love you all - all of my friends and family, and if you pray or send positive energy, please do what you do and think of me because I'll feel all of your positive thoughts. I'm not sure how things will continue from here, and I probably won't be on the phone except for doctors or things of that nature - I've already been on the phone today with three different doctors, two radiologists, and multiple nurses regarding this issue. They are awesome, awesome people, and they're really moving this right along.

Sorry if this email is ridiculously long - but you all know that I'm absurdly long winded.

Please don't be offended if I don't get to your call/text/email - it's definitely not personal. All of my love to everyone - I have been so insanely fortunate in my life - and I can't wait to conquer this - and for the record, I am cashing in regarding this email...any grammatical error of any sort or any particular aspect of my writing that doesn't sound eloquent and mind blowingly witty, is because I have a brain tumor.

ALL MY LOVE
XOXOXO
Jess