My Pet Head-Rock

Lookee what I discovered in the Little Free Library near my house: My question for you is this: Just who is this publication for? A medical student? No, the contents are too general, not medical enough. I'd hope medical students entering the world of brain surgery would have a textbook with a glossary. A brain tumor patient? No, the contents are too broad to be useful. A person is usually diagnosed with a specific type of tumor. All the information about astrocytomas and glioblastomas is likely to freak out someone with a simple meningioma. (I know. After my diagnosis, I made the mistake of reading the ABTA's "So You Got Yourself a Brain Tumor" pamphlet -- I might not be remembering the name correctly -- and made myself nearly hyperventilate by seeing where my symptoms seemed to match other types of tumors.) So is this wee dictionary for bloggers? Maybe!

As you can probably tell, my blog is winding down. Now that I’m completely recovered and just waiting for my hair to go out long enough to match the rest of my hair (it’s taking forever ), there isn’t so much to report. I may still post some writing I did right before or soon after my craniotomy, but even those are running low. I’m also trying to put together a questionnaire for a couple other former meningiomates I know so that readers can see the range of experiences. However, as I went through my remaining essays, stories, and anecdotes, I found some items that are too small to merit their own post. Hence, I give you my Bits ‘n Bobs: ·        There’s something strange going on with hospital socks. I first discovered this when I went in for my stealth MRI the day before surgery. I was given a bright blue pair of socks to wear that had those sticky bits on the bottom so that you don’t slip on those slick hospital floors. However, there were three odd things about these socks:

Now you see it... ...now you don't: the magic of hairspray & backcombing You haven’t heard much from me since December. Honestly, there hasn’t been much to say. I returned to my teaching job at the beginning of January and started back at my Hamline MFA program at the very end of January. I’m running again, too. The last “cognitive episode” I had, when I became instantly overwhelmed and exhausted by looking at our new exercise bike (a multi-step process kind of overwhelmed), was December 8 th .  I've had moments of feeling uncomfortable at work--I am often writing on the whiteboard, thus displaying the back of my head to the class--but none of my students have noticed, or they're just too polite to say anything. If it weren’t for those little bald spots at the back of my head and the still pretty short hair around them, you wouldn’t be able to tell that I’d had brain surgery. I myself can’t tell most of the time. (To see what my head looked like right afte

For as common as meningiomas are, some of you meningiomates reading this may be the only person you know to have a non-cancerous lesion in your head, and you’re freaked out. However, if you ask around, you may find that more people than you realize have or have had a meningioma. (I now personally know four other women who fit the category.) Too polite to pry into people’s medical histories? Then take comfort in knowing that there are some celebrities who share your condition. So far, I’ve uncovered these illustrious names: Elizabeth Taylor , Mary Tyler Moore , and Sheryl Crow . Fortunately, in most of the articles about these three women, the medical information has been sound. The type of surgery Taylor had is described in surprising detail. There are some takeaways from reading these articles: 1.      More women than men are diagnosed with meningiomas. 2.      The symptoms that prompt someone to get an MRI may have nothing to do with the meningioma, as may be the case w

Today it has been exactly six weeks since my surgery. Though fatigue from a craniotomy may last up to two months, which is probably standard for many surgeries, the 6-week mark ends the recovery period for most craniotomies. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s disruptive to switch teachers right before the end of term, I might have gone back to work this week. The physical and mental issues that have plagued me since the craniotomy have also cleared up for the most part. If I take any painkillers now, it is usually for a garden-variety migraine or other “non-skull-based” issue. My incision is still scabby in spots and my hair , which was so quick to reemerge, is still only very short stubble. Some of it is growing in the wrong direction, so I may come out of this with a new cowlick at the top of my head. I no longer fatigue from having to look at and listen to somebody/something at the same time, and multi-step processes and complex decisions are getting easier to do. (See post

Not the most stylish outfit but I could put it on by myself When you’ve just had surgery, you want to be comfortable. After a couple days of lounging around naked under loose hospital gowns, you want to look more yourself, less … patient-y. But you also need to be comfortable and not mess with complicated fasteners and fussy garments. For some people, the first word in comfort is jeans. I am not one of those people. Though denim can and ought to be comfortable, it is often heavy, stiff, or tight. At the very least you will have a zipper and a button closure. You may also have to wear a belt. All button-fly? What the heck are you thinking? You’ve just had a craniotomy! Your digits might not all be entirely under your control. When it comes to tops, we have some wiggle room. One hospital brochure recommended tops that are easy to put on without having to move your arms a lot; they suggested shirts that button down the front. Certainly, if you have a bandage on your head, yo