Episode #22 Bouncer the Big Brain Tumor:

Episode #22 Bouncer the Big Brain Tumor:

Okay, the podcast will tell you several things about how I ended up having brain surgery to have a massive tumor the size of a tennis ball removed from my brain. Let's just say the last two years I've been pretty sick. I did visit my doctor but I ended up leaving his office with prescriptions that I never filled because whatever they were I knew they wouldn't help.

Well, I didn't see my mom or my mother-in-law on Christmas because I was too sick to sit in the car and ride there. I had been losing weight and couldn't eat anything. The last week of February I was so sick I thought I was going to die. I'm not joking. I was on the couch and praying Alan would come home from work and help me. When he arrived God gave me the strength to sit up to talk to him. I told him we had to find someone to help me because there was something very, very wrong with me. He immediately got online and called a doctor some people told him about and her staff scheduled me for an appointment on March 4th. They also said we needed to plan on spending an hour with her because she was going to examine me and talk to me about my issues. I honestly have never had a doctor spend an hour with me so I'll be honest, I didn't believe it. Guess what? She spent one hour and fifteen minutes with me. I was shocked! And blessed because she asked the questions I wanted to talk about so she could figure out what my body was going through.

I have a thyroid issue and I thought that could be the problem but boy was I wrong! My new doctor ordered lab work to check my levels but she also told me she wanted to order an MRI. I'm claustrophobic but I didn't care. I needed the MRI so her office was going to arrange all the details and call us to let us know when the appointment was. They called and told me that Monday, March 11th at 11: oo I needed to go to Knoxville for the appointment. Perfect. I was finally going to find out why I was so sick. 

During the MRI the medical team that was running it saw something so they stopped the procedure and told me they needed to add contrast. When the contrast is injected into the body it improves the quality of the MRI images. The contrast is called gadolinium and some people are allergic so I requested they get Alan because I wanted to speak to him before that happened. They found Alan in the lobby and brought him to my room so I could see him. No big deal. I just wanted to see him in case I had a reaction to the contrast so we continued the MRI. I did it! I got through it without having a meltdown. We went home and I got sick again. UGH!

Then my new doctor called and told me the results of my lab work. It wasn't awful but it wasn't great either. She adjusted my prescription for my thyroid issue and she prescribed vitamins and informed me I needed to start them soon. Alan and I went to a local pharmacy and got them. Thank goodness I felt good enough to go. It was like going to a resort because it had been so long since I'd been out of the house. We found the vitamins and they buy one get one free. That was a nice bonus!

Next, the big phone call came. I was in the living room on the couch sick and couldn't get up so Alan answered my phone. I could tell he was focused on what he was saying and I could tell the other person on the phone shared that focus. It was the day after my MRI and my doctor called to tell us I had a massive tumor and needed to see the neurosurgeon immediately. We needed to be at the office in one hour and we lived an hour and fifteen minutes away. 

Once we got to the office I met the nicest doctor, staff, and nurses ever. They explained how I needed surgery and it needed to happen Tuesday. I finally knew what was wrong with me. It felt good to know that there was something and people...