Thankfully for my recollections and for you, as my reader, my husband is an email pack rat. He actually saved the following email from 10 years ago, and it documents exactly what we were doing during this week:
From:
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Ron
Balsdon
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To:
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CC:
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Date:
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5/3/2004
11:33:46 PM
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Subject:
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Balsdon
Family News
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Greetings one and all –
I apologize for this mass-email and I hope that this message is not deleted by your SPAM filter before you read this. I realize that I have not kept in the best of touch with some of you on this distribution, but I have included everyone in my email address book because this is easiest way to tell everyone this message at the same time.
Our story all started about 3 months ago when my wife, Megan, tripped over a sprinkler head in her mother’s front yard and, swinging her arms like mad, tripped and fell face first onto the front hood of our new car before falling backward and knocking the back of her head on the concrete of her mother’s driveway. She had at the time the requisite bruise on her chin and bump on her head, but luckily, there was nothing broken and nothing bleeding. We picked her up, brushed her off, and went about our business. Keeping a sharp eye out for any symptom of the after-affects of blunt head trauma, Megan watched for symptoms of anything that might be unusual in the ensuing couple of weeks. Besides the bruising on her knees and her chin and because she can be a bit on the paranoid side sometimes, Megan noticed that her vision sometimes became blurred, she sometimes saw spots and sometimes she felt a little dizzy or light-headed. All of these things had seemed to previously occur at some point or the other in the past, but since they would go away after a while, we really didn’t pay them too much attention. Well, because she had started to notice the fuzzy vision in the aftermath of her trip into the front end of our car, Megan began to also note when and where these things occurred when it slowly dawned on her that a lot of weird stuff seemed to be happening quite often. Some days she would see spots, other days she would get dizzy, sometimes, her eyesight would blur after staring at the computer all day. But she also started to notice other weird things, like being slightly off balance sometimes, or the fact that she had a dull headache almost every single day, or she would stumble into a wall while not paying attention. Megan started to get a little concerned.
She began methodically (she did get her degree from UT in pre-med, after all), and went to the eye doctor about 6 weeks ago. He could see nothing wrong, other than her severe nearsightedness (that she must have caught from me), and proceeded to sell Megan a new set of glasses and frames and a full year’s worth of contact lenses for several hundred dollars. Still a little concerned, Megan waited until her 6-month post-pregnancy check-up to bring up the subject with a medical doctor. This visit took place in late March and after telling her regular doctor what was going on, she was referred to an Internist with an appointment scheduled for April 19. After listening to Megan’s story, the Internist (who happened to be less than a year out of Med School) referred Megan to have a CT scan performed the next day – just to make sure that there was nothing wrong. Megan went in at 9 in the morning and it only took until around noon, Tuesday, April 20 for the doctor to call and say that there was something a bit odd on the CT scan, a “mass” if you will, and could Megan be so kind so as to maybe go back again the next day for an MRI? Megan was a little freaked out about the great unknown, cried more than a little that afternoon and night, but otherwise held off a full-blown panic attack/freak-out, and we then went back to the radiologist and had the MRI done on the 21st. After reviewing the resulting films with the Internist, the Radiologist made yet another appointment for Megan. Things were now moving a little fast and furious and thus it was Thursday, 4-22-2004 at exactly 4:22 in the afternoon that we sat in the offices of a Neurosurgeon and were told that Megan is currently suffering from a rather large tumor (3 cm x 5 cm x 9 cm) located on the top of her head and embedded in the squishy protective layer surrounding the brain.
Luckily, this diagnosis took place a week and a half ago, so we have all had a chance to relax a little bit after stressing out just a tad, read up on the issues, breathe deep, get the official second opinion (not to mention finish up Ron’s school semester at the same time) and start coming up with a game plan.
This much we know: 1) from the looks of things on the MRI scan, Megan most likely has a type of tumor that is called Meningioma. 2) It is a very, very slow growing type of tumor. In fact, the doctor told us that Megan’s bump on her head in January had nothing to do with this – she has had this thing for years. 3) For some odd reason, the hormones produced during pregnancy cause this type of tumor to grow more rapidly. And because the tumor is/was growing more rapidly, the brain was unable to adjust to the growth as it had in the past – thus, Megan started seeing lots of different symptoms more frequently. 4) Surgery is the only option for treatment. 5) The location of the tumor will make removal easier because it is on the top of the head and, by definition of what is a Meningioma, it is only sitting on top of the brain – not invading into it. 6) 90% of this type of tumor is benign. 7) Because of its slow growth, there is no emergency or reason to jump into surgery tomorrow. We can take our time in making all of the preparations. On the negative side of things, 1) it is unusual to see this in a otherwise healthy 25-year old, 2) the tumor looks to be butting up against (but not enveloping) the large blood vessel running between the two halves of the brain and 3) it is already excessively large.
And, thus, we now find ourselves waiting for the doctor to get back with us with a set of surgery dates. Most likely, this surgery will be toward the end of next week.
Luckily, we have tried to move on and deal with all of this with a grain of salt and a lot of humor (as I hope is evident in this email). Megan and I both know and feel that there is nothing at all that we can do other than schedule a time and place and have this little “procedure” done to take care of everything. Its not like brain surgery is as difficult as rocket science, now is it?!? In 6-8 weeks, Megan will then be back up on her feet and able to drive around (did I mention that because of possible seizures that she can’t drive anymore?). Anything outside of this scenario is just not something that we care to contemplate as there simply is no other alternative or outcome possible. We have also discovered after telling people of her condition that about every third person has a co-worker’s cousin who has an uncle related to someone who has had brain surgery and survived. There definitely seem to be a lot of survivors out there (including people as young as or younger than Megan) and we certainly look forward to Megan someday being that co-worker’s cousin who has an uncle related to someone who has had brain surgery. In fact, we are already planning the party in the Fall at the Salt Lick (www.saltlickbbq.com) to celebrate the success of her surgery (Where else, right?).
On a happier note, our daughter Audrey is doing great as she approaches her 8-month old mark. She is already heavier than what I could bench press in the 7th grade (or today if I am really honest with myself), has started getting teeth, has not YET started crawling, and has started to become the determined, possessive, self-aware firebrand that will get her arrested someday. Plus, she has beautiful big blue eyes. I am still not sure where they came from, but they are beautiful nonetheless. Please see the attached photo taken less than six hours ago.
In all seriousness, and to wrap up this email for those of you who have read down this far, Megan’s tumor is indeed a big deal. We are concerned for her health and are making the best plans that we can at this time. As we start to head into next week and her as-of-yet-tentative surgery date comes closer, we will, however, take all the help that we can get in the form of your best wishes and support. If you are a praying person, then please also pray for her health and well being. I know Megan has been extremely touched by all of the well-wishes and concern that has so far been expressed on her behalf and through the cosmic ether out there, it will all eventually catch up to her.
Thanks,
Ron
I apologize for this mass-email and I hope that this message is not deleted by your SPAM filter before you read this. I realize that I have not kept in the best of touch with some of you on this distribution, but I have included everyone in my email address book because this is easiest way to tell everyone this message at the same time.
Our story all started about 3 months ago when my wife, Megan, tripped over a sprinkler head in her mother’s front yard and, swinging her arms like mad, tripped and fell face first onto the front hood of our new car before falling backward and knocking the back of her head on the concrete of her mother’s driveway. She had at the time the requisite bruise on her chin and bump on her head, but luckily, there was nothing broken and nothing bleeding. We picked her up, brushed her off, and went about our business. Keeping a sharp eye out for any symptom of the after-affects of blunt head trauma, Megan watched for symptoms of anything that might be unusual in the ensuing couple of weeks. Besides the bruising on her knees and her chin and because she can be a bit on the paranoid side sometimes, Megan noticed that her vision sometimes became blurred, she sometimes saw spots and sometimes she felt a little dizzy or light-headed. All of these things had seemed to previously occur at some point or the other in the past, but since they would go away after a while, we really didn’t pay them too much attention. Well, because she had started to notice the fuzzy vision in the aftermath of her trip into the front end of our car, Megan began to also note when and where these things occurred when it slowly dawned on her that a lot of weird stuff seemed to be happening quite often. Some days she would see spots, other days she would get dizzy, sometimes, her eyesight would blur after staring at the computer all day. But she also started to notice other weird things, like being slightly off balance sometimes, or the fact that she had a dull headache almost every single day, or she would stumble into a wall while not paying attention. Megan started to get a little concerned.
She began methodically (she did get her degree from UT in pre-med, after all), and went to the eye doctor about 6 weeks ago. He could see nothing wrong, other than her severe nearsightedness (that she must have caught from me), and proceeded to sell Megan a new set of glasses and frames and a full year’s worth of contact lenses for several hundred dollars. Still a little concerned, Megan waited until her 6-month post-pregnancy check-up to bring up the subject with a medical doctor. This visit took place in late March and after telling her regular doctor what was going on, she was referred to an Internist with an appointment scheduled for April 19. After listening to Megan’s story, the Internist (who happened to be less than a year out of Med School) referred Megan to have a CT scan performed the next day – just to make sure that there was nothing wrong. Megan went in at 9 in the morning and it only took until around noon, Tuesday, April 20 for the doctor to call and say that there was something a bit odd on the CT scan, a “mass” if you will, and could Megan be so kind so as to maybe go back again the next day for an MRI? Megan was a little freaked out about the great unknown, cried more than a little that afternoon and night, but otherwise held off a full-blown panic attack/freak-out, and we then went back to the radiologist and had the MRI done on the 21st. After reviewing the resulting films with the Internist, the Radiologist made yet another appointment for Megan. Things were now moving a little fast and furious and thus it was Thursday, 4-22-2004 at exactly 4:22 in the afternoon that we sat in the offices of a Neurosurgeon and were told that Megan is currently suffering from a rather large tumor (3 cm x 5 cm x 9 cm) located on the top of her head and embedded in the squishy protective layer surrounding the brain.
Luckily, this diagnosis took place a week and a half ago, so we have all had a chance to relax a little bit after stressing out just a tad, read up on the issues, breathe deep, get the official second opinion (not to mention finish up Ron’s school semester at the same time) and start coming up with a game plan.
This much we know: 1) from the looks of things on the MRI scan, Megan most likely has a type of tumor that is called Meningioma. 2) It is a very, very slow growing type of tumor. In fact, the doctor told us that Megan’s bump on her head in January had nothing to do with this – she has had this thing for years. 3) For some odd reason, the hormones produced during pregnancy cause this type of tumor to grow more rapidly. And because the tumor is/was growing more rapidly, the brain was unable to adjust to the growth as it had in the past – thus, Megan started seeing lots of different symptoms more frequently. 4) Surgery is the only option for treatment. 5) The location of the tumor will make removal easier because it is on the top of the head and, by definition of what is a Meningioma, it is only sitting on top of the brain – not invading into it. 6) 90% of this type of tumor is benign. 7) Because of its slow growth, there is no emergency or reason to jump into surgery tomorrow. We can take our time in making all of the preparations. On the negative side of things, 1) it is unusual to see this in a otherwise healthy 25-year old, 2) the tumor looks to be butting up against (but not enveloping) the large blood vessel running between the two halves of the brain and 3) it is already excessively large.
And, thus, we now find ourselves waiting for the doctor to get back with us with a set of surgery dates. Most likely, this surgery will be toward the end of next week.
Luckily, we have tried to move on and deal with all of this with a grain of salt and a lot of humor (as I hope is evident in this email). Megan and I both know and feel that there is nothing at all that we can do other than schedule a time and place and have this little “procedure” done to take care of everything. Its not like brain surgery is as difficult as rocket science, now is it?!? In 6-8 weeks, Megan will then be back up on her feet and able to drive around (did I mention that because of possible seizures that she can’t drive anymore?). Anything outside of this scenario is just not something that we care to contemplate as there simply is no other alternative or outcome possible. We have also discovered after telling people of her condition that about every third person has a co-worker’s cousin who has an uncle related to someone who has had brain surgery and survived. There definitely seem to be a lot of survivors out there (including people as young as or younger than Megan) and we certainly look forward to Megan someday being that co-worker’s cousin who has an uncle related to someone who has had brain surgery. In fact, we are already planning the party in the Fall at the Salt Lick (www.saltlickbbq.com) to celebrate the success of her surgery (Where else, right?).
On a happier note, our daughter Audrey is doing great as she approaches her 8-month old mark. She is already heavier than what I could bench press in the 7th grade (or today if I am really honest with myself), has started getting teeth, has not YET started crawling, and has started to become the determined, possessive, self-aware firebrand that will get her arrested someday. Plus, she has beautiful big blue eyes. I am still not sure where they came from, but they are beautiful nonetheless. Please see the attached photo taken less than six hours ago.
In all seriousness, and to wrap up this email for those of you who have read down this far, Megan’s tumor is indeed a big deal. We are concerned for her health and are making the best plans that we can at this time. As we start to head into next week and her as-of-yet-tentative surgery date comes closer, we will, however, take all the help that we can get in the form of your best wishes and support. If you are a praying person, then please also pray for her health and well being. I know Megan has been extremely touched by all of the well-wishes and concern that has so far been expressed on her behalf and through the cosmic ether out there, it will all eventually catch up to her.
Thanks,
Ron
I know I just made a MASSIVE wall of words, and I apologize, but I thought it was really interesting to read the story from my husband's perspective. I had actually forgotten some of it - like the vision changes and the process that I went through with my eye doctor in addition to my OB/GYN, not to mention the assumed hormonal connection in regards to the rather rapid growth of the tumor. At this point, I can also tell that I had done my due diligence by having the second opinion given by another neurosurgeon and we were basically waiting for the first doctor to schedule the surgery.
During this time, I wrote a will and completed a medical power of attorney, giving my husband permission to remove me from life support if I could only live in a vegetative state. I wrote letters to my husband and to my daughter, letters that I hoped they never had to open, letters that feebly tried to convey how much I loved them and how sorry I was that I had to leave. I also went shopping with my mom and we bought nice pajamas and slippers for my (assumed) extended hospital stay. I called my dad, who I had not spoken to in almost 10 years, and started to lay the foundation for re-establishing our relationship. Mostly, I just prepared. And prayed. And hoped. And tried to focus on moving forward. And became certain, with every day that brought me closer to surgery, which we eventually scheduled for May 13, 2004, that I was not done on this earth.
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