Treason of Words

I just got back from my appointment with my neurosurgeon, Dr Stovall. In his opinion, the tumor (yes, it’s officially a tumor now) and the seizures may in fact be related; an EEG, he tells me, is good for identifying seizures, but not for locating them to a high degree of precision. Not only that, he also believes that the growth is a benign (albeit abnormal) meningioma. Extracting it now would carry a 10-to-15% chance of a negative outcome (most likely decreased right-side strength or dexterity or complications arising from compromising the nearby sagittal vein). Therefore, what he recommends, and what I had actually concluded was the best course of action before he suggested it, is to treat the seizures with the Tegretol I’m already starting, to watch the lesion for signs of change, and to monitor me for any further symptoms. To that end, I’m scheduling another MRI for mid-April to see if things have changed.

There are relatively few who have had the awesome privilege of witnessing my glorious nakedness. This is probably in the best interest of the public’s mental health. There are even fewer who actually aspired to such an honor. This is probably, IMHO, indicative of prevailing poor taste. You, however, good reader, are in for an even greater thrill. Behold!

Yep, that’s me. Not merely au naturel, but rather sans peau. The red-tinted bit is the mysterious growth I mentioned previously. As it turns out, it may not be the thing causing my seizures (yes, we’re calling them seizures now, although I favor the more folksy “spells,” since there’s none of the motion usually associated with seizures) after all. The periods of disorientation I have seem to emanate from my left temporal lobe (the front-ish part of the brain), while this ominous-looking lump is nestled into the top of my left parietal lobe. I’ve got a prescription to treat the seizures (yay, drugs!). As for the bump in my noggin, here’s what we know about it so far:

• It may be an unusual sort of meningioma (a benign sort of growth, rich in CT scan lovin’ calcium)
• It’s not leukemia or lymphoma
• It could still be schwannoma or neurofibroma
• It’s been there long enough to slightly thin the skull just above it.

Here’s another shot of the critter, from the front.

Just try looking at me head-on next time and not imaging this thing perched in my skull.

In other news, the MRI revealed that I have a deviated septum, which explains why my right nostril is always more stuffy than my left:

As for the inevitable “how are you handling this” question, I’ve decided not to let this interfere with my life. Oh, there were a few days when it weighed heavily on my mind, and from time to time I’ll dwell on it a bit longer then I should, but on the whole, I’m taking it better than my wife and my mother (who, for all I know, are the only ones who actually read this thing. Hi Christina! Hi Mom!). All my plans are full steam ahead.