HEY everyone!! Now here you will find the story of what happened that first night, and then whats been going on to date.... ENJOY!! (kinda... is that possible? hehe)
Now, on Sunday night 23rd Dec '07, Trav and I went to house up the road from our new house for a few drinks to meet the neighbours and have a meal, was really nice!! Then came home and tried to watch a movie, i was way too tired, so brushed my teeth and hoped into bed. Trav stayed up and watched a movie, and came to bed about 1am (which he NEVER ever does, he's always in be b4 me). He woke me up because I was dripping with sweat, I remember he waking me up, i had normal function of everything except for my speech, i couldn't say a word and my mouth was opening and closing constantly, and i was grabbing his hand and tapping mine. He was yelling at me to get some pants on so he could take me to the hospital because me pupils for enormous and he thought i'd taking like double doses of nurophen or something. Then all of a sudden I remember my mouth stiffening and my arms stiffening and that was it. I had a seizure that lasted a minute or so, and Trav called an ambulance, i had another seizure b4 the ambulance arrived and then another getting into the ambulance. Got to Gosford hospital and they gave me an MRI scan and they found a brain tumour. They r not equip to deal with that kind of thing, so i got a free ride in a helicopter to Westmead hospital. The Tumour itself is about the size of a 20 or 50c piece and if right at the front at the top of my head (great!! cool scar material huh!) with a small tail. They have told me it should be as easy as cutting open and pulling it straight out, the only thing they can't confirm until they remove it, is weather its cancerous or not. They say its unlikely, because the cancerous kind grow like tree roots and this isn't, its just a blob. But they can never say never. VERY scary. They have told me that its been there for a HELL of a long time and basically right now we just need to stop the pressure pushing on the brain which is causing the seizures. Seizures are very dangerous because i stopped breathing and obviously lost concsiosnous, its a build up or spinal fluid or something. Part of my lung collapsed that night so we incredibly chesty for days!! So yeah, deep breathing to help me get through the metal bullcrap running through me head, it really really sux! So anyways.... no-one shed one tear for me please! Done way toooo much crying already, and am slowly coming to terms with it, and what doesn’t friggin kill me, will make me the strongest person EVER!!
So have to wait to get a PET scan in the next week, and then see the nerosugeon after the 14th jan, so waiting really sux!! Love to everyone, we're doing as well as can be!! and its all good, I’m smiling finally.
The next part was a day or two after seeing the nerosurgeon on the 15th Jan '08....
Well, rang the Dr's yesterday and of course to his plans he only see's PUBLIC patients on Mondays.... and the receptionist said he was busy up until mid Feb! So Trav said, "Not a hope in this world sunshine, they told us to see Dr Dandie, ASAP... it was of upmost importance!" So she told us she was call him and call us back. She called back and got us to see him, this morn @ 10am. (bloody Dr's) So we went and saw him, got the results from the PET scan, PET scan picks up any parts of the brain that are 'feeding' more than others, so to speak. A normal persons brain should be pretty blanketed all over, not dull, not bright. PET scan showed the tumours (one's 15mm other is 6mm- very close to each other) however its not very bright, which means its a LOW grade tumour/s, which is great news.
So we have 3 options,
1. is to leave it and keep an eye on it, see how/if it grows and do a scan in 3 months time and then decide if to make a move to operate or not.
2. is to take a biopsy of both tumours and see what they consist of, however the risks of taking a biopsy are the same as the operation itself. But with a biopsy I see it as fence sitting, and it doesn't really leave you with much to work with. They can't guarentee that the small piece that they take for biopsy will be made up of all the same compounds as the rest of the tumour, some could be quite bad, others could be completly benine.
3. is to go in, rip them out, send them off to the lab and wait for the results. Everything points to them being pretty harmless, but we'll have to wait and see. Now they have to watch their own back and give you the risks of surgery. 1% chance of stroke, 1% chance of death! (same with any surgery) and a slight chance of personality change. (Trav couldn't stop laughing! Bast^$d) will have to wait for the pathology results to come in, 7-10 days
So we've gone for option 3, lets just get on with it and get them out. They can't gaurentee that i wont get another seisure, but as soon as they are out, i will stop taking the anit-seisure medication, and see how i go. I will have to be seisure free for 3 months before i can drive (that sux!) if I have another seisure in that time, I will have to not drive for 12 months!!! (WHAT!!??)
On the MRI scans there is a cloudy kinda area all over, its fluid on the brain, and he said some of those cells in there may be like the cells in the tumour, and they may cause tumours to re-occur later in life, so this is something that is to be monitored for the rest of my life, like having scans every 12 mnths. When they remove the tumours, they obviouly cant remove it all (normal cancers and tumours and things, they like to get 20mm clearance, but when its in the brain they obviously can do that) I was thinking, lets get them out, and off i go, and that that. Not that easy :( Buggar huh! So until we know what it made up of, we dont know what the next step is. Worst case, its cancerous and i'll need to have kemo or radiotherapy in a 5 week course, pretty well straight away. Best case, they are completly benign and off we go! (fingers crossed huh!)
So Sugery will (pending the hospital ringing me in the next few days) be on next wed the 23rd Jan. Should be in anywhere from 4-8 days b4 i can come home. And i can hear what your all saying, "She's gonna miss the bloody TRIVIA NIGHT!!" I'm pretty upset, I'd love to be the Guest Of Honour and my own event, how fantastic would that be, not like the wedding where i had to share it with someone like Trav!! EEeeww Boys!! So PLEASE PLEASE drink for me, everyone! And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure that Trav get soooooo smashed, he's legless, he badly badly needs to have a release! So I'll ring from the stupid hospital and someone put me on seapker phone so i can chat with everyone!!
Okies, Love to all!! Hope i've covered everything, everyone keeps telling me i'm repeating myself, I apologise if i am, cause i got no idea!! hahaha
After Surgery 27th Jan '08:
Ok guyS!! Everything was a double thumbs up from a sugery point of view. Trav and I got up bright and early, left here at 5:35am and headed towards Weatmead Hospital. Drove up Gosford hill and hit a steady flow of traffic! Geeeez no wonder Trav hates leaving any later than that. Got up to Kariong (top of Gosford hill) and the amount of work boys sitting up and the servo sippin on coffee's and having a smoke was hilarious! There's like a strip of like 50-100m thats just fulll of boys waiting to be picked up. hahaha but that was the most exciting bit of my day, just kidding.
So got to the hospital about 6:45am and rushed in, then was deperate to use the loo. So walked up to the desk, the chick was like, look I dont work here, you'll have to sit with the others here and wait until the receptionist comes. Ggrrr So i ran to the loo, came back and there was like 10 more people! Say 25 all up! 2 very pregnant chickies, ohhhh sooo sweet having C-sections!! So Anyways, Some chick started calling some people over to the desk, so i just stood up and walked over. Most people had bits of paper, i had nothing to show. I said my name and then, he said no worries, take a seat. Then within 5 mins, another lady burst through some side doors and yelled "Kasey Dawe" I almot fell off my seat! "Yup yup - Thats me", "They've been asking for you!" Arghh ok, lets do it. Meaning the MRI clinic, (so I left Trav behind for a few mins) and went through the doors. She asked me to completly strip off and put a gown on, and she said someone will be in to pop a canula in and then shave some spots on your head for the sugury. So Dr came in and did just that. He shaved 7 spots (all over, but 3 in front) and put sticky thangs on, then circled them purple marker.