A Date Has Been Picked

I am pleased to finally announce a surgical date has been scheduled. I am scheduled to have surgery on Wednesday, April 22nd at NYU Hospital. After much consideration I decided to choose this team over the Sloan team as I felt more comfortable with Dr. G’s thorough review of my case and time spent with me explaining his concerns and thoughts. Over the next few weeks I will be taking care of all of the pre-cert testing and peripheral benchmarking that needs to be accomplished.

The method of surgery is still TBD (craniotomy vs transphenoidal) until I meet with the ENT. Since this distribution list is only to immediate friends and family I feel comfortable disclosing that although the surgeons will make every attempt to go through my nose, in the end I may need a craniotomy to remove the mass. I feel confident that Dr. G is the man for both surgical types (yet another reason for my decision). Yes there are significant risks with these surgeries – but let’s not even focus on anything other then my recovery.

The most popular question is – what is the diagnosis. Folks, we still do not know and won’t know until the mass is removed and tested. Yes, there is the possibility that it is malignant or has pre-cancerous cells; however, I am not choosing that as an option for me right now. Only happy thoughts here! When I know what it is I will let you all know. As the surgeon said to me it’s one of 5 things and the fifth option is labeled “other”.

I will be in the hospital from Wednesday 4/22 through ?. Yes, I realize this falls on several family birthdays – but trust me there was no choice. This is when it will be done. Unlike my method of dealing with fact finding, doctor visiting etc, I would love and welcome any and all visitors during my recovery both in and out of the hospital. The best treatment for any illness is smiling and positive energy and well, all of you bring a smile to my face and heart. So please don’t feel like you are bothering me – I will let you know if I need some space or am not up to the visits.

That brings me to my next subject. Thank you all for the support and love that each of you continue to send during this very difficult and draining time. I can’t say enough thank you’s. I can’t imagine going through this saga without each one of you. I do realize that for some of you there have been a bunch of questions directed to you regarding the status of my health (i.e., kids class, etc), please feel free to refer any and all questions to me or answer as you feel fit. The truth is we have no idea what this is and what the long term ramifications are until it is removed. Personally I’m going with they are going to get this out and then I will start taking hip hop class. I have no intention of this slowing me down.

Ahh so this leads into the next point. Recovery – the initial 3 weeks after surgery will be very critical for me. I need to get plenty of rest and have very little stress. The concern here is that I don’t have an RA flare up or kick the autoimmune into high gear. I will be off all medications from now until three weeks after surgery. Any and all play dates for the kids are welcomed. Also, I need to stay as healthy as possible. The mass is indeed growing so we do not want to hold up the surgery any longer than necessary – so if you don’t feel well please don’t hug me. I know it’s hard to resist!

Last point – communication – I will make sure an email is circulated to update you as to my status post surgery. Up until posting this all on the blog not everyone has been in the know. Initially I was going to keep all of this information private, but after all the calls and prompting to blog my story…well here it is out in the open

OK well I think that is it. Consider yourself in the know.

I can’t stress to you all enough how important you are in my life. Thank you just doesn’t seem to cut it. Some of you have and will be traveling distances to see me – I’m not sure if I can ever convey how that has made me feel. Each one of you have gone above and beyond and to say I feel blessed just doesn’t seem to cut it. Only good things ahead – I know that.

With love, Indie