After struggling with renewed severe headaches (especially bothersome at night) after they’d been receding pretty steadily, we got in touch with the surgeon’s office today. They ordered another CT scan and we then had a consultation with one of the other neurosurgeons as our surgeon and his co-surgeon were both unavailable. The surgeon with whom we met was very thorough, looking through all the scans and case notes and questioning us pretty closely on a variety of issues. At the end of the visit, Tina’s back on steroids for another week. We also discussed the possibility of hormonal effects from a change in pressure on the hypothalamus now that the tumor is out.
Today’s scan held lots of good news: her brain is re-occupying the tumor-void impressively well, there’s little visible edema, no blood and little air in the cavity. He was most impressed with the size of the tumor and emphasized just how lucky we are that Tina’s recovery has been as smooth as it has been, given the original size of this thing.
Steroids are the unsung heroes in medicine, though they also deserve their reputation as villains.
ReplyDeleteThe same with painkillers.
When you need them, use them without regret. Suffering is not ennobling.