Hope

I met with my neurosurgeon yesterday along with my husband, Dayv. He showed us the new images from my last MRI as well as the old ones. Dayv has never seen them before. He said the dosage of steroids I was given should have at least shrunk the mass significantly if not completely like he has seen before in other patients. Mine showed no change at all. He said we could still sit and wait however, I could be sitting on something that could be very serious. He also said I’m not risking much by doing the biopsy. If it keeps growing, I will lose more hormones anyway. And there is that chance I won’t lose any hormones by doing the biopsy.

Dayv and I have discussed this whole thing quite a bit. Before my appointment we had pretty much already came to the decision to go ahead with the biopsy but I still had some apprehensions. I asked my doctor if they would know for absolute sure what the mass was by doing the biopsy. He said they may have to send it out which may take some time but YES, they will find out for sure. After hearing all he had to say, I felt at peace with the decision to go ahead with the biopsy. Although I am still nervous about the actual procedure, I am actually feeling excited to FINALLY find out what we are dealing with and moving forward with a plan of action!

My biopsy will be Dec 10th. On Dec 9th I will go in for a CT scan which will serve as a gps so they know exactly where to go. On Dec 10th I will be admitted and they will go on through my nose, through my pituitary to the pituitary stalk and take a piece of the mass. Cerebral fluid will leak from the incision. They will then take some fat from my stomach to patch the hole (I wish they would take some extra!). I will spend two to three days in the hospital. During my stay they will do a full work up to check my hormones and see which ones, if any, were affected before I leave the hospital. I will not be allowed to lift anything and my recovery will be 1-2 weeks. I asked about going back to work the week before Christmas break and he said he would wait to go back to work after the break. So I guess my Christmas break will start a little early.

Is this finally the light at the end of the tunnel? I am very hopeful!

Side note: my face is looking so much better! I still have a little redness but my preschoolers have stopped asking about it so it must not be very noticeable!