About This Blog

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Though there may be several entries to this blog when all is done, do not expect it to refresh itself into perpetuity. The specific purpose for this blog is to serve as a repository of personal experience and information for current and future travelers on the meningioma path. The diagnosis of a brain tumor, even a benign one, can be frightening and create a steep learning curve. When you throw “craniotomy” into the mix, it can get even more frightening and hard to see one’s own way forward. There is plenty of excellent medical information out there from reputable clinics and hospitals, and I will link to it often. However, I have learned that firsthand experience from the patients themselves is truly valuable when it comes to understanding the broad scope of reaction and possibility. The more you know, the better prepared you are, and the calmer you will be. All the best to you.

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Craniotomy Preparation Tips

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My husband and I did not do all of the things I list here, but we realized after the fact that they would have been helpful. 1.      Cleaning. a.      Do all your laundry as close to your surgery date as possible. Make sure that your comfy, lounge-y recovery clothes are ready for you. b.      Clean your house, especially the bathrooms, and change your bedsheets the night before leaving for the hospital. c.      Take out the garbage! d.      If you live in a house, do all or as much of the seasonally appropriate yardwork as you can.   2.      Pay any outstanding bills. You probably have a stack of medical bills sitting around. If you are able, pay off everything you can before surgery because you are liable to forget such things afterward—and you don’t want to pile up overdue charges just because you’re recovering from surgery. This will also ...
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A Post-Craniotomy Media Diet

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Craniotomates are told to take four to six weeks off of work after surgery. Due to the nature of my job (teaching = getting a long-term sub) and the holiday schedule, I am fortunate enough to get two entire months off. Since my pain and discomfort are minimal, this sounds like a great time to kick back and get caught up on my Netflix streaming, no? No.    Brain surgery is unlike other surgeries, I’ve realized. When I had my colon removed in 1985, I indulged myself in MTV and Danger Mouse and listened to tapes of Howard Jones and OMD . When I had exploratory abdominal surgery in 1991, I watched news about the Gulf War and The Golden Girls. I listened to my tunes when there was nothing good on TV. But now, after my craniotomy, my house is often silent. Brains are complicated things, simultaneously fragile and remarkably resilient. Brain surgery and the medications prescribed for swelling and seizures afterward mess with the functioning in some subtle and not-so-...
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2017: My Year in Health

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