The Fabuleous Fifties

I typed up a whole new status report on my illness last sunday and lost it to password trouble. Still, everything changed since then so now I have another chance.

I had been feeling dizzy a year ago, but it left. I chalked it up to hypertension and booked weekly sessions wth a very mellow psychiatrist. Works very well for me. Still, this summer the trouble reurned and got worse. Since there is a history of brain seasures in my family, my wife and I reteatedly asked for an MRI scan to eliminate anything like that. But all quick and easy tests suggested there was nothing wrong in that department, so no (expensive) MRI scans for me.

When two weeks ago I started slurring and falling to the lef and started losing my typing skills on the left hand, they finally sent me to a neuro-surgeon. He suggested concentrating on the cerebellem where motor skills and coordination are situated.Well, you can see where this is headed. But it didn't. The scan showed I had a huge growth on my upper right cerebellum. Possibly a cyste resultion from a smaller growth bu probably some sortof new an quite rare non tomurous growth that woul have to be taken out completety. A doably operation, but I would see quite a long perioe of recovery while I was to retrain my brain.

Today went back to the first diagnosis - I seem to have a small growth combined with a huge cyste. This has had the result that the fluids in the rest of my brain aren't draining properlyWhich resulted in neausinous and more slurring than necessary (most of which is currently being held in check by medication).

They are going to cut next week. The good news is that they are going to cut less, the bad news is that they have to take a look at the tumor to see if it is malignant (it probably isn't, but they like you scared so you can't sue). How the revalidation wil be is unknown.