My Life - - recently

This post is about me...
Today I visited a new Neurologist and scheduled surgery for Monday. I will be getting a shunt put in to drain excess spinal fluid to my abdomen. I have to be to the hospital for 1 and surgery is scheduled for 3. They said they need to shave half my head for the procedure, but I will be telling them to shave the entire thing. I refuse to walk around with half a head of hair. Today was a rough day for me as I feel like this has been coming for a long time, and finally I will feel better soon.

The first time I saw a doctor for the symptoms I was having was June 15th. The symptoms had already been around for almost a month by then and I "gave in" and went in. I was referred to an ophthalmologist who I saw the following week. Her name...Dr Swim. She has in the past couple months become the doctor I could speak easiest to and in the end, the one that pushed the most. She told me at my first appointment that my Optic Nerve was swollen and referred me onto a Neurologist. Before I made it to that appointment, things got worse (vision-wise) and I ended up at the ER for 10hours and left with my diagnosis. Pseudotumor Cerebri or False Brain Tumor. The following week I went to see the Neurologist that I had been given, Dr Ubade. He became my least favorite person...someone that I wouldn't send my enemies to. I felt as if to get anywhere we had to keep after him and that he wasn't "on my side" at all. In fact, at the appointment following a battery of blood work... I had to ask him for my results. These same results that have me now seeing a hematologist!


Anyway...back onto subject. So since June 15th I've been going to and from several doctor appointments, waiting for my Neurologist/insurance to get me back on medicine I shouldn't have been without, and all the while...trying to keep moving forward. Yesterday (August 2) I saw my Ophthalmologist for testing to see how my eyes were doing. When she came into the room she gave me news that I didn't want and that I'm sure she hated giving. I've lost some vision. We don't know if it will return, but the longer the Optic Nerve is swollen, the less likely it will return. It is at this point that Dr Swim said she didn't know if the medicine that I'm on will work fast enough and the point at which I started crying and saying that I didn't know what to do and spilling how frustrated I am with my Neurologist. She listened. And said that she was going to make a couple calls.
(The black edges are lost vision. the spot-like is my blind spots....everyone has them.)


When she returned she informed me that she had spoken with the head Neurologist in Ubade's office and that I would be having an appoint the next day with a different doctor and I would be having surgery. The surgery part scares me a little, but I'll do it if it fixes things. However... She is my hero at the fact that she got me a different Neurologist!

Since I will be having surgery and shaving my head in 2.5 days, I decided to have some fun...with the help of Kelli, that is.

First we bleached my hair.

Then we colored it. Why not....eh??