Category brain tumours
The Sum of the Parts
For the final #braintumorthursday of Brain Tumor Awarness Month #BTAM, after outlining this past year’s surgery and treatment adventures, I’m reflecting on my feelings toward all of these steps along the way. Or, more accurately, on the sum of the parts. I can start by saying that I’ve passed two more milestones in the week […]
Greymadder Returns: Turn May Grey
I am blessed to have followers and supporters who have been asking how I’m doing and noting that there’s not been a great deal of blogging going on. I recently had a talented friend and career/relationship coach (see Jolene Watson’s Clarity Coaching) do a Myers Briggs analysis with me, and found I’m an intuitive […]
Adventures in Radiation and Chemo Therapy
Ever wondered what happens in the radio therapy room? Are you looking at radiation and chemotherapy for a brain tumour? Here’s a terrific video taken by my husband of me getting set up for a treatment, featuring a couple of the terrific radiation technicians I see every day. Excellent people, doing excellent difficult work, making […]
Operating Room Video – Awake Craniotomy
Here is a live video taken in the Operating Room during my awake brain surgery. Perhaps not for the weak of stomach, but you can observe the brain mapping that is occurring, with the probing of my parietal lobe and sensory motor cortex. I didn’t actually remember doing this activity, they asked me to identify […]
Craniotomy Part III: Recovery and Release
It is now two weeks since my surgery. This is part four of a set of posts I’ve written covering my experience. We left off at the conclusion of the procedure in the operating room. I must say that the time since has been rather anti-climactic. We were well prepared by my surgeon, Dr. F, […]
Craniotomy Part II: Surgery
My awake craniotomy was scheduled for 8 am on September 9, 2015. I felt well prepared. I got up early, to take advantage of the last window for nourishment, at 5:30 am and downed a big cup of homemade bone broth. I scrubbed clean using the antiseptic sponges provided by the hospital, including my newly […]
Craniotomy Part I: Preparation
I’ve known since May that I would be having brain surgery to remove as much of my brain tumour as possible. I’ve been fortunate to be seeing my rockstar surgeon (let’s call him Dr. F) for three years, since diagnosis, as we watched it for signs of progression. When we saw growth on my spring […]
My Awake Craniotomy Tales
Today I sit down to write. I haven’t done so for awhile. I’m a selfish blogger; I write when I want to, not according to any schedule. And today, I find my thoughts and attention are prepared and focused on telling you the story of what I’ve been up to over the past weeks. Readers […]
Anniversary Craniotomy
Today, August 14th, is the three year anniversary of the day I received the phone call from my neurologist directing me to the hospital, because he’d seen a glioma on my MRI scan. And as of today, we have a new plan. Awake craniotomy in September. (Updated to add – date will be September 9, […]
Pride and Progression
I feel compelled to tell you that I had a draft post ready to go entitled “Year Two of my Ketogenic Life”. One of the most popular posts here at Greymadder remains the Year One version. Over the past month, as I prepared to go for my six month MRI monitoring scan, I started drafting […]
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