I have no intention of making this a big “downer” type of post. I’m writing this because I want the folks who use my materials on this site, as well as folks who “know” me from mandolincafe.com (the best forum on the internet), to have the facts about what is going on in my personal life.
Some Boring Medical History
For whatever reason, it seems that my body has this weird thing about developing benign tumors on neural tissues. Twenty-some-odd years ago, I had a small tumor removed from between the first and second knuckles of my right hand. It was composed of scar tissue that developed from a cut I received there when a glass broke as I was washing dishes. The tumor developed after the cut had healed; apparently the cut had knicked a nerve. After the surgery and recuperation, I was good as new and it never affected my ability to play rhythm on guitar, so no big deal.
A few years back, I went to see a brain & spine doctor about my lower back. I live with plenty of pain and I have a condition called scoliosis. I wanted to see if there was anything a specialist might do to help. As Providence would have it, I experienced an unusual mental episode just a few days before my first appointment with the brain & spine clinic. It was like a thirty-minute episode of some dementia. Because I reported that episode (which was the first and last of its kind), the surgeons concentrated on my brain as well as my spine.
MRIs and X-rays confirmed my scoliosis, of course, but also found a small tumor on a nerve at the spinal column of my lower back, near a herniated disc there. It is assumed to be a schwannoma rather than a neurofibroma, and benign. But between the tumor, the bad disc, and the scoliosis, these conditions give me a great deal of pain, which I manage through a variety of treatments administered by a pain management doctor.
The MRIs of the brain revealed a tumor at the top of my brain, assumed to be a benign meningioma.
Hopefully, I’m not boring my readers too much yet with all this medical history. The preceding is an explanation for how I’ve arrived to my present situation. For a few years, I have been monitored by doctors via MRIs, which have determined that the annual growth of my brain tumor has reached a point that it must be dealt with. Therefore, in less than a week following this writing, on December 10, 2024, I will be undergoing brain surgery for the resection of this tumor. I’ll be glad to have that hitchhiker ejected, to be sure, but I’m not looking forward to the surgery nor the recovery time.
About This Ugly Hitchhiker
Regarding my brain tumor … like the small tumor in back, the docs are not certain what it is, but by the pictures and behavior their assumptions are that it is a type-one, benign meningioma. It sits right on top of my brain. I’ll try to describe it.
The brain is divided into two halves, or hemispheres, right down the middle: Right hemisphere, left hemisphere. At the top of the brain, the two halves are a bit rounded, so there is a V-shaped cavity, or sinus, where the two halves come together. My nasty hitchhiker is in the middle there, though the most of the mass is pressing down on the right side. As it has grown, it has filled the space between the skull on both sides, and has also grown all the way down into the V-shaped cavity, which transports blood across the brain. Fortunately, according to a recent MRV, my body has sort of repaired that area with a work-around for the blood flow.
The areas of the brain affected by this tumor have to do with motor-control rather than cognitive functions. That’s awesome! I would prefer having my wits rather than my muscles, seven days a week and twice on Sundays, if I were forced to choose. Unfortunately, it doesn’t explain my brief dementia-like episode. But this tumor has already begun to affect my mobility, my ability to type well, for instance, and my ability to play music as cleanly as I would like. As I said, I’ll be happy to have it gone.
About My Impending Surgery
Of course, to get rid of this thing, the surgeon will have to put a hole in my head and dig it out. Since the tumor has fully invaded the V channel where blood flows, the surgeon will place clamps fore and aft in that section of the brain before proceeding, and those clips will remain with me for life. That’s pretty much the only complication expected in that surgery. It does increase the risk a bit, but as long as the surgeon doesn’t make some terrible mistake, my prognosis is good.
About My Expected Recovery
Following the surgery, I’ll be placed in ICU for a day, then placed in a regular hospital room for observance for another day, then sent home if all goes as planned. I’ll have about two weeks of home help for mobility exercises and wound monitoring. After that I should continue to heal and slowly return to normal. I should be able to drive after a couple of months if all goes well.
I may be back to playing an instrument soon, I can only imagine how my recovery will go, but I’m hoping for the best. There is the possibility of some pretty bad headaches, tremors, seizures – but again, I’m hoping for the best.
Conclusion-itis
Here, I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading this. It is meant for enlightenment about my life, and education (look up the big words), and I am not writing this to seek sympathy, but your prayers, well-wishes and moral support are quite welcome.
Keep on picking!
Mark
Mark,
I am sorry to hear of your situation. Aa you know when we get order more things crop up. I know as in the last couple of years I have been diagnosed with Asthma and now with prostrate cancer. I have read your posts on the Cafe for a long time and always enjoy them. I used to post on the Cafe until I had a small spat with Scott, but I read it every day. I hope the surgery’s and recovery goes well and your back posting again.