As I think many of
you know, one of the ways Kelly and all of us geeks deal with this
stuff is by geeking out about the science. Ooo cool- look at the CAT
scanner! Or "I have the digital images from my own brain MRI!"
Often, we run
into another geek. Like the hospital pharmacist, who happily
discussed steroid blood levels, ½-lives and tissue persistence for
this particular drug, while answering geeky questions about timing
medication doses. I am guessing most patients don't ask that, but he
went with it. I love that.
Picture this. We
are at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, the preeminent research and
treatment facility in several states. These doctors are the best.
And my lovely wife
interrupts the neurological exam, so she can tell them a long
disjointed account about how when the tumor had paralyzed her right
hand, not only was her hand paralyzed, but also the mental
function of getting words to come out of her left brain onto paper or
keyboard. She could not type or write with her left hand either-
unless she said the letters out loud, to download the letters into the other side
of her brain. As the steroids reduce the inflammation around the
tumor, the hand is mostly back. And so is the written language- “Now
I can type pretty well again, and write big sloppy notes. Isn't that
cool?” she asks, a
little breathless. And the
neurosurgeon, and the neuro-oncologist shoot each other a look. I am
thinking to myself “They think Kelly's nuts, and off topic...” But
no! “That is
interesting” she says. These people are the biggest neurology
geeks on the planet! They get it!
So
that helps. Kelly whupped breast cancer by brute force, Polyanna
attitude, and geeking out. And we are applying the same tools to
brain cancer. So there.
Thank you so much for sharing this interesting take on something that can be so life changing. Appreciate the honesty. Laurie Geraw
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ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you are sharing this unfolding adventure with us here. We all need to know how others we know and respect cope with life-alterating change when it comes into our lives. Friday night I was having the time of my life whirling and twirling at the Mad Robin contra dance, but by Saturday morning I found myself at the ER at Porter in Middlebury rolling around on a gurney getting x-rayed and ct-scanned with what turned out to be appendicitis. Kelly's eagerness to share her geeky insights into the process of brain function was a lot like my asking the surgeon before committing to the surgery," What do you suppose the evolutionary function of the appendix is and Is there a reason I should want to retain it?" He did a double-take but appreciated the question and elaborated for about ten minutes on recent research. Geeks love geeky questions and observations that shine light on their area of interest it turns out! Knowing Kelly, she is a blazing torch of light wherever she goes and that torch will surely shine her way through this maze of brain cancer! <3 <3 <3 Beaming love to you all.
ReplyDeleteYou geeks are the best!
ReplyDeleteYou geeks are the best!
ReplyDelete