So the scans didn't show any growth from August, and when they sent the scans out to a specialist to review they made sure to send both sets of scans to compare. Dr. Laurie also made sure to send out the scans to a new pair of eyes, someone different from who had looked at them before.
Well, that new pair of eyes noticed something. While my tumor hasn't grown in size, it is affecting a blood vessel that runs right through my visual cortex. And that blood vessel is bulging. Dr. Laurie hadn't noticed that 'cause he was looking at the tumor itself, as did the first expert he'd sent the scans to. The bulge on this blood vessel happens at a spot a small distance from the tumor itself, small in relation to the fact it's all in my brain. On the scans, it's not close enough to be immediately noticeable if all one's looking at is the tumor.
So despite everything I've gone over with Dr. Laurie, admitting all the conspiracy stuff and good reason to think there is something there for me to see. There's good reason to believe that I am actually hallucinating. Which is either that the bulge in the blood vessel is also pressing on my visual cortex, or the fact that the cortex is not getting as much blood.
The bad news, on top of all this, is that I could have a stroke. My brain suffocating, or the blood vessel rupturing.
The good news is that we've caught it, and unlike my tumor we can do something about it.
Dr. Laurie did say that there was no immediate danger of a stroke, otherwise he would have ordered me in as soon as he'd heard back from his expert. But the sooner we can take care of this the better. Now, we could call for an emergency operation and have this done tomorrow, or even today for that matter. We decided though it would be better to give me time to prepare. So my operation is scheduled for next Thursday. That'll give me a week of work and give the museum time to adjust schedules. Then I'll have Wednesday to do what I need to do.
The operation will take place on Thursday. They'll be placing a stent in the artery near where the tumor is to help open the pathway back up. I'll be kept over night for observation, and have more tests on Friday before they release me. And then they want me taking it easy for a week. This is usually for heart stents, but common practice for brain stents. Then I'll have to come back in the following Wednesday for more tests before they deem me worthy of going back to work. Part of all this though is that I'll be on some new meds. Dr. Laurie wants to give me a week to see how the meds affect me before I go back to work. I am so not looking forward to that after last time.
In a way, it's kind of a relief to know that I am hallucinating. And Dr. Laurie did say that because the stent would be pushing back on the tumor, the hallucinations might not go away. So there's a certain amount of distress about that. But considering what I've been seeing, now that I know, they've been kinda cute. Not disruptive, or debilitating. If they get worse, obviously I need to report it to Dr. Laurie. But otherwise I can deal. It does mean I can't trust everything I see as readily. But I've already been working on asking if other people are seeing what I'm seeing. And those close to me will know what's going on.
We're also concerned how this might affect my dizzy spells. I already keep a record of them, we'll just be going over their frequency for a while. Dr. Laurie did note that at about one attack per week, I am still up from my rates before my blackout in August. And he thinks that this bulge probably caused the blackout in the first place. So one possibility is that my attacks might go back to their original rate. But we won't know for a while.
Dr. Laurie did assure me that this was a minimally invasive surgery. And he's asked a colleague of his at the hospital to step in. Dr. Kendrick has been very successful with these operations, and he's confident that it'll go smoothly. I'll meet her on Thursday when I come in.
So that's the big news. I was waking up so late this morning that I almost missed my appointment. Mom was starting to get concerned, so she called Candace to find out where I was. I was still in bed. Candace woke me, and I got dressed in a hurry while Mom drove over to pick me up. And then we made our way to the Dr.'s office walking in just in time. Afterward I apologized for running so late, but Mom was great. She said Candace had called while I was in talking to the Dr. and apologized. Mom said she was just happy to hear I'd had a good night. And while we were talking Max texted to also apologize. She'd left for class thinking I'd have plenty of time to get up. What got Mom concerned was that Hal had stopped by to pick me up for the gym as usual.
But by that point I'd missed Hal for lunch as well. Mom had planned the day off for me anyway, so she helped me get around and take care of what I needed. And after I got home I called up the museum to let them know what was going on. Thankfully Dr. Laurie already provided me with a Dr.'s note. I'll turn that in to them on Friday when I go back to work. Helene was nice about it though, she just has to make sure everything's in order.
With all that going on though, I forgot what day it was. Hal came calling after class, which I expected. What I didn't expect was for him to be dressed up all nice and sharp. He'd gotten reservations at Fruition for tonight, and we had about twenty minutes to get there. I don't think I've every gotten dressed that fast.
Fantastic food, fantastic night. Though it wasn't until we'd gotten back to Hal's place that I realized I'd left my present for him in the dryer at home. We still had a wonderful evening, and Mom had already informed Hal not to worry about getting me home. It seems she and he had done some scheming on me. Hal promises he didn't plan for it to go that far, just that he wanted to surprise me with dinner. It was Mom that insisted that I didn't have to be home at any reasonable hour. And then while I was rushing to get dressed, she handed him my over-night bag. It doesn't have any clean clothes, since that's what I was washing. But it's got my amenities, and my journal.
Now that I'm caught up though, time to make this fantastic night unbelievable. I think I've kept Hal waiting long enough.
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