Pain in the Neck

i do not have too much to report. the last few days my neck is getting more stiff. i attribute that to attempting to move it more. there is some swelling at the base of my neck. i have been icing, but i need to do it with more frequency. the incision has also been a bit tender of late. i also attribute that to the muscles under the scar. that is a very uneducated guess.

my intestines have not been cooperating as much as i would like. i will be going in for some additional blood tests ordered by my neurologist and gastroenterologist. i hope the tests will shed some light on my numbness and my Crohns.

i have begun to receive some summery of services/benefits from my stint in the hospital and various doctor's appointments. health care is exceptionally expensive. i am so lucky to have health care. i cannot even imagine having the procedures i did and not having insurance to cushion the blow. i truly hope that the politicians will universalize health care. any major illness and it will ruin a persons life.

How the Time Goes By

it has been a few days since i last wrote. snow, high winds and doctors visits have come and gone. well, the flurries may not have gone. i met with my surgeon last week. let me rephrase that. i met with his nurse practitioner and he came in to admire his stitching work. she was late to work because of the weather. in the waiting room there were exceptionally old magazines. finally, she walked into the room. i had never seen this person before. i was expecting to see Dr. Kennedy. :) i should have known better.

with her southern drawl she asked me a myriad of questions about my symptoms prior to the surgery and what has gone on for the month since i had the procedure. i asked her numerous questions about exercise, returning to work, driving, how much longer will i have headaches and what the severity of them might be, to name just a few. she removed some of the stitches that were sticking out of my neck. she rubbed her hand forcefully over my scar. i have to say it was a bit unnerving. my neck had never had such forceful contact. it is numb and so it gave me a strange sensation that made me quiver. she was impressed with Dr. Kennedy's work, as am i. she stated that i need to wait 6 months to participate in an contact sports. i did not hear that. i am going to go with Dr. Kennedy's original suggestion to wait 3 months to start playing ball again. she indicated that i may start driving if my range of motion with my neck allows me to do that, but only on side streets. she informed me that i may go back to work in three weeks. i am excited yet there is much trepidation returning. the trepidation is around the volume of emails and my ability to be able to be lively in meetings for 8 hours a day. i am sure i will return to form fairly quickly.

after answering all of my questions she went to grab Dr. Kennedy. he came in and looked at the scar. he was impressed. he said that i have to have an MRI in three months and if that has no sign of growth, have another in three additional months. if that one looks good, they will have another one in six months. if that one is negative, i will have them yearly. i should not have to see him again unless thee tumor grows quickly. he also wanted me to set up an appointment to see a neurological oncologist just in case. this physician will take a look at me and might get me into some studies, but more it was to get to know him and if the tumor recurs, he can set up some treatment options with chemo or radiation. all in all, it went well.

If anyone really cares, i apologize for the tardiness of my post

it has been a few days since my last post. i did not want to bore you with the mundane aspects of my life. i have been enjoying the weather. i have been sitting on the porch resting and reading. i wish i could do some planting and cleaning of my yard. it needs it big time. i finished the book Three Cups of Tea. i highly recommend it. i have started the book entitled Miraculous Health. the thunderstorm was fabulous. i truly enjoy storms. it most certainly satisfied.

i was tiring of some of my facial hair. it was itching a bit. i cut a portion of it. you can see that i am looking quite rough. :) it is challenging taking pictures of yourself. i will post one of my scar tomorrow.

i have not been able to sleep well due to my intestines. they have not cooperated as much as i would like with the medication. i hope it will respond soon so i do not have to take steroids. we shall see. i see my surgeon tomorrow. i am anxiously awaiting that meeting. i do not know what to expect from the visit. nevertheless, i hope he will let me know when i can drive and when i am able to return to work. we shall see. i will keep you posted.

For your Amusement

i wanted to give you a glimpse into my new look. i have a side shot, but i cannot get it to rotate properly. here it is. as you all know, i usually keep my hair short and easy to maintain. my situation has allowed me the opportunity to explore my ability or lack there of to grow facial hair. not many of you knew i still had the ability to grow hair on top of my head as well. i still have it. having a beard is not as bad as i thought, but it does not feel like me. i will continue to grow it for a bit longer. i find it rather amusing and it takes minimal effort to maintain. i do need to obtain the proper clippers to make it even easier. my head clippers and razor do not allow me the ability to properly manage my look. we will see how long i keep my hair. i am going to wait until i see my entire scar. some of the steri strips are coming off. once i see it in its entirety i will decide if i should go back to short an easy or attempt to hide the scare with hair. i know my hair will not grow there, but we shall see if i should give myself a fade. enjoy the pic!

i had a headache for most of the evening and morning. it has subsided a bit. i thought i was out from under the headache spell, but i guess it will be something i will be coping with for some time to come.

i watched a wonderful movie today. i encourage you all to watch it. it is called Sharkwater. it is about saving sharks and thus our ecosystem. i do not want to get on my preachy horse about the environment and politics. we are a world in peril and we have nobody to blame but ourselves. we need to be better stewards of ourselves, the land, water and air to assure future generations can thrive. so, i will just encourage you to view this and other documentaries. it is a short documentary but especially powerful. i guess i have always had a love for the ocean and sharks. too bad my experience with Mr. Miller in biology in high school ruined my chances of becoming a marine biologist. i guess i am still harboring a grudge because he did not assist Tony, my friend and lab partner, in dissecting our fetal pig or answering any of our other questions he had about biology. we were both destined to a life outside of science. :)

Overtired

again, i was unable to sleep well due to my intestines. i was able to sleep for a few hours this morning. it looks like everything is back to normal on the sleeping front. i cannot remember the last time i slept though the night before the surgery. it has been years. the inflammatory and pain killers allowed me some solid sleep. i guess those days are over.

i dropped off my stool specimen. i hope to have results by the end of the week. i left a message for my neurologist to see where and when he has scheduled my blood work. i hope he will get back to me soon.

Piecing Healthcare Together

i slept terribly last night. it had nothing to do with headaches. it had everything to do with my crohn's. it is back and in full force. i was up every hour for most of the night. i guess if it is not one thing it is another. this is something i am used to and can tolerate.

my gastroenterologist called me back. we had a wonderful conversation. he is a gentle soul. he agreed to speak with my neurologist in order to integrate treatment. i am sure i will have to set up an appointment in the near future. he prescribed Asacol for my intestines. i have taken it in the past and i do not believe it works well. i suppose i will actually listen to my physicians this time. this may be a bit too much information, but i will tell it anyway. i have to give some stool samples to him as well.

the weather is improving. it was absolutely gorgeous out today. it is about time. spring has sprung!

First Doctor's Appointment After Surgery

i have hot water! the repair guy came early evening and fixed the water heater. the thermostat was the problem. so, i am clean and so are all the dishes that were piling in the sink. what a relief.

i just returned from my appointment with the neurologist. his bedside manner is not the best, but he is good. due to the fact that the tingling in my arms is not constant, he is not that too concerned. he wants to continue to monitor me. he does not know why i am still tingling. finding the tumor most likely had nothing to do with the tingling. he is glad that we were able to take care of that. he is concerned with the fragmentation of care that i have received. i need to contact my GI doctor and ask for all of the blood work i have given over the last 8 years. also, i need to have many additional blood tests done to rule out some other possibilities such as: Vitamin d and B12 deficiencies, MS, Lyme's disease, TB, HLA-B27, FANA, ACE, RPR FTA and CBC. i have no idea what some of these acronyms mean, but i need to be tested for them. i believe they are auto immune type diseases. i have to see him again in six weeks.