The Day Michael Jackson died, and I became a Brain Tumor Survivor...
Dr. Mickey and I 28 hours after surgery.
In the spring of 2009, I began to have some dizziness and trouble climbing stairs at work one day. After checking with my regular doctor, he suggested I go to a neurologist to get checked out, since those were symptoms I had never had before. I followed his advice, and was put in the MRI tube to check out my brain. On June 25, 2009, I got a phone call at 8:30 p.m. from the neurologist, telling me two brain tumors had shown up on the MRI. They were meningiomas, he said, and therefore, benign. However, even benign brain tumors can cause many problems, especially those like mine that are in the motor area of the brain. He said I needed to find a neurosurgeon to see what course of action should be taken.
I saw one neurosurgeon, who said we could "watch and wait" to see if they grow to the point that they must be removed. This doctor ended up leaving his practice, and I was able to find another neurosurgeon, Dr. Bruce Mickey at UT Southwestern. He too advocated watching the tumors in yearly MRI's. Each December became a time where I would wonder...is this the year they will have grown? Finally, in December of 2011, we heard the words we didn't want to hear. "Candy, the larger tumor has grown. If you wait until your left leg starts dragging, it will be really hard to get back what you have lost. It is time to think about having it out." I left that day, crying, and later just blocking Dr. Mickey's words out of my mind. December brought the Alamo Bowl for my Baylor Bears, and we went to it. On the way back, I realized, Candy, he's right. It must come out. That January, I made an appointment to see him about taking it out. He patiently answered all my questions and did his best to put my fears to rest in the face of the seriousness of the surgery.Having already scheduled a trip to Israel in February and wanting to be able to enjoy the Final Four in early April, I decided to wait until April 10 to have the surgery since it wasn't an emergency.
The day came, and the Lord helped me through the surgery and the period after. Dr. Mickey and his team were absolutely awesome. It was the scariest moment of my life, yet it was in many ways, a period of joyfulness and gave me a sense of "starting over." Things I had taken for granted now seemed like privileges, special things. It was an opportunity to be rid of the tumor, yet more symbolically be rid of anything that held me back in my life. An invitation to renew my commitment to the Lord and live life to the fullest for Him-every single day of my life.
Below are some photos and videos from my "brain surgery experience." (Click on the pictures for a larger image and caption)
I saw one neurosurgeon, who said we could "watch and wait" to see if they grow to the point that they must be removed. This doctor ended up leaving his practice, and I was able to find another neurosurgeon, Dr. Bruce Mickey at UT Southwestern. He too advocated watching the tumors in yearly MRI's. Each December became a time where I would wonder...is this the year they will have grown? Finally, in December of 2011, we heard the words we didn't want to hear. "Candy, the larger tumor has grown. If you wait until your left leg starts dragging, it will be really hard to get back what you have lost. It is time to think about having it out." I left that day, crying, and later just blocking Dr. Mickey's words out of my mind. December brought the Alamo Bowl for my Baylor Bears, and we went to it. On the way back, I realized, Candy, he's right. It must come out. That January, I made an appointment to see him about taking it out. He patiently answered all my questions and did his best to put my fears to rest in the face of the seriousness of the surgery.Having already scheduled a trip to Israel in February and wanting to be able to enjoy the Final Four in early April, I decided to wait until April 10 to have the surgery since it wasn't an emergency.
The day came, and the Lord helped me through the surgery and the period after. Dr. Mickey and his team were absolutely awesome. It was the scariest moment of my life, yet it was in many ways, a period of joyfulness and gave me a sense of "starting over." Things I had taken for granted now seemed like privileges, special things. It was an opportunity to be rid of the tumor, yet more symbolically be rid of anything that held me back in my life. An invitation to renew my commitment to the Lord and live life to the fullest for Him-every single day of my life.
Below are some photos and videos from my "brain surgery experience." (Click on the pictures for a larger image and caption)
Here are some videos from when I was still in the hospital, when I was about to come home, and also after I came home.
This first video was one I made about my brain tumor journey in general.
September 23, 2015 Gamma Knife procedure to treat the second smaller brain tumor...
My neurosurgeon at UT Southwestern, Dr. Mickey, recommended that I have Gamma Knife to treat my smaller tumor before it got too big to treat that way. This was a great way to avoid having my head opened up again for brain surgery years down the road.
The whole procedure took around 4 hours and wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Here are the events that occur the day you have Gamma Knife:
1) The head frame is attached. (You are given a drug in your IV to help calm you down, so you can handle it better. It wasn't painful at all and more than anything, it's just awkward to have it on.)
2) You go to the MRI to get a real time picture of where the tumor is. It was a little bit weird doing the MRI with the head frame attached, and was uncomfortable, but again, your drugs are helping you chill out during this time.
3) At this time, your neurosurgeon and radiation oncologist go to work, planning your treatment after they get your MRI. It will take them around an hour, most likely to plan and map out your treatment for when you are in the Gamma Knife machine.
4) When they are finished with your treatment plan, it's off to the machine you go. You are allowed to bring music to listen to while you are in the machine (there was a CD player in the room), so bring a long CD. I was in the machine 49 minutes, but you may be in there longer. So bring the longest CD you have. While you are in the machine, it is totally silent other than the music you hear that you brought. They have cameras on you and a microphone so you can talk to them if you want to or need to, and they can watch you to make sure you are OK at all times.
Attaching your head frame to the machine is a little strange, and again, a little uncomfortable, but once you are attached, relax your head and neck and it will feel better. I kept my eyes closed the whole time and went to my happy place and even talked to the Lord while I was in the machine. The music really helped, and before I knew it, it was over.
5) After the treatment, the radiation oncologist came and removed my head frame and gave me a big hug. They watch you for an hour or so to make sure you are OK to go home. I had no negative reaction and went home within the hour.
Note: They don't allow any friends or family back with you while you are in the "Gamma Knife Suite" for prep and treatment. So just be aware that you will be by yourself. However, I kept my phone with me, and my friends were texting me non stop to help me feel supported.
Some photos from Gamma Knife Day at UT Southwestern in Dallas...
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