August 2022 Update

Well it’s that time again! I had nothing but positive thoughts going into my August 23rd MRI scans. I just said to myself There will be no tumor in my brain. That’s it! I woke up that morning at 5:45am to get to my 8am MRI check in. I skipped my morning coffee to be sure I kept that sleepy feeling so that I could get a little nap in during my scans, as they piped in my requested Spotify station “Your Favorite Coffeehouse” You know the one with the brown background and the latte in the foreground. That’s the instruction I give every radiology technician, and please put the contrast in VERY SLOWLY!

We sat down in Dr Taylor’s office and waited as she opened up the images on her computer and swiveled her monitor towards us as she said THIS IS EXCELLENT. Then she explained to Dan and me that there was something new that she visualized on my scans, and that it appeared the radiologist took the images in a different sequence than what she’d seen in the past and she was happy to see this sequence. To me, it looked like there were dark holes or Swiss cheese in the areas that were previously thought to be tumor recurrence or post radiation necrosis. But Dr Taylor clarified that these were called dystrophic calcifications and are as a result of treatment. They’re also referred to as cavernomas (small oval abnormal blood vessels created by the radiation treatment). I’m learning something new everyday! She also said “There is no evidence of tumor in my brain!” Pinch me! After these last few years,  These words were long overdue!

In other news, I’ve been working with a new PT recently who I adore. I knew she’d be great when I walked in with my quad cane and she said “we’ve got to get rid of this old lady cane”. That session, she brought out every style of single point cane the rehab department had. As I tried each cane, She timed me and watched me walk. Turned out I walked faster and was stable using the single point cane but not the walking stick :( which she said “reads younger”. I started exclusively using the single point cane a few weeks ago, and I’m not turning back! She also gave me a daily step goal of 2000/day. And once I proved I could do that, she said my new goal is 2500/day. And I’ve been meeting that easily! In fact yesterday, I surpassed 7000 steps! Still working on my OT and my left arm and hand but she’s (my left arm) so stubborn. 

What’s next? Per Dr Taylor’s after visit summary “Follow up with brain MRI in 6 months”