Well, when the ball rolls, it sure rolls fast!! I am pleased to announce that in the last week I have secured a new neurosurgeon who specializes in skull-based and pituitary tumors! While the doctor that I was originally going to see was all fine and well, and I was very lucky to get in as quickly as I did, I was offered an even earlier appointment by this new doctor and I am very glad I decided to go with Dr. Cusimano out of St. Michael's Hospital in downtown Toronto instead. I will tell you why. Dr. Cusimano has come highly recommended to me by numerous health care professionals and regular folks. I have read really good review online and I am hopeful! I received his referral form with a LONG list of requirements to fulfill before we even get to meet but I am more than happy to do so. Some of these things include: get ahold of all my endocrinology tests and results and reports, new blood work and urinalysis, a new CT scan, a new MRI scan, a thorough neurological and ophthalmologist workup, as well as many other new tests.
I received the new referral on Tuesday and was in the office of my new neuro-opthamologist Dr. Irene Vanek (also at St. Mike's) on Wednesday afternoon!! She is like the gatekeeper to my neurosurgeon. Every test, big or small, must be reviewed by her before passing me on to surgery. She performed dozens of eye tests on me which thankfully revealed no damage to my eyes as the tumor is resting on the optic nerve so there is a high risk of pressure on the eyes and damage to my peripheral vision (this cannot be corrected by glasses). I was unprepared for these eye tests as I have never needed one before and let me tell you I had quite the laugh with Hilary, my escort, as I tried to blindly text message my friends.
Dr. Vanek was simply amazing. She saw the urgency in my case and personally delivered some requisition forms that my own family doctor didn't seem to think were urgent enough to even look at during our last appointment, so I am grateful for the effort and dedication she put into my care. I look forward to seeing her again!
So this past week has had me driving into downtown Toronto 3 days in a row leaving me poor, tired and sick with a cold, but it is all worth it. Nothing feels better than knowing I am getting the right care and care in a timely manner. To answer those who ask why I didn't take public transit downtown, I am still very slow moving with my right side, my endurance and energy is shot, and navigating the bus, GO Train, and subway as well as all the stairs is quite simply a nightmare, so being able to park across the street from the hospital for a king's ransom is a sacrifice to my wallet I am willing to take! Also, those who know me know that I am clumsy footed on a good day, so I can only imagine what would happen to me on a busy street in Toronto with all that hustle and bustle (do I sound like your great aunt yet?).
So the last major test I am waiting for an appointment for is a new MRI and that will hopefully all be completed before my meeting with my new neurosurgeon. He will have all the pieces needed to assess my brain and how and when to remove the tumor and help me get my life back!! Hooray!
I am still leading an incredibly boring life down here in the south. That being said, I am still and always will be so grateful for all the time I am getting to see my family and southern friends, and incredibly appreciative for the opportunity to rest as much as is needed to heal my body. I know that the only reason I was able to heal my pelvic fractures is because I have been given the time off to get the proper treatment and actually lay down. I feel like I have reached my limit as far as what I can do at home for physio-therapy so I will be starting physio at a clinic soon.
Besides a busy week of medical stuff, I had a great time organizing and throwing a Mother's Day lunch at my mom's house last weekend. We had a few newer faces at the table and it was really lovely to have the whole family there. I also got to see my close friends for a belated birthday brunch and we had some really good laughs.
Fingers crossed this week will be as busy as last week was!!!
Until next time, here are the ABCs of Me.
A: Age - 29
B: Bed size - double although king is #bedgoals
C: Chore you hate - dusting
D: Dog's name - Bobo
E: Essential thing to start your day - peeing
F: Favorite colour - pink/purple
G: Gold or silver - platinum. Oh non-jewelry? Gold
H: Height - 5"6
I: Instruments - air piano
J: Job title - teacher
K: Kids - Fur mother to Bobo
L: Living arrangements - currently in my childhood bedroom at my mom's house but I do have a home in Wemindji as well #baller
M: Mom's name - Philippa/Mummy
N: Nickname - Nadz
O: Overnight hospital stay other than birth - is this a joke?
P: Pet Peeves - people who don't use the indicator, people who don't empty the trash, people who don't turn off the windsheild wipers long after the rain has stopped, people who do use their indicators but don't turn them off after changing lanes, people who wait until the end of the merging lane to merge, people who park too close to me. Soooo, people I guess...
Q: Quote from a movie: "It's not a tumor." - Kindergarten Cop (1990)
R: Right or left handed - left
S: Siblings - 2 younger sisters
T: Time you wake up - whenever my mom decides to reorganize the pots and pans cupboard so, weekdays 6am???
U: Underwear - whatever Walmart has on sale. Those days of my life are over.
V: Vegetable you dislike - again, a joke? I'll keep it short since my hands are getting tired. Onions, tomatoes, red/yellow/orange peppers, olives, eggplant, zucchini.
W: What makes you run late - I'm not usually late, if I am late it is because of the inability of others to be on time :)
X: X-rays you've had: Recently?? LOL.... well lets just say I've had my entire body scanned one way or another multiple ways and for various reasons A LOT in the last several months and will continue to do so forever and ever amen.
Y: Yummy food you make - anything that is bad for you I can make with alarming ease.
Z: Zoo favorite - Pandas are pretty cute.
