Hi all! I’m here to update you on the pain in Emily’s neck.
I’m doing good.
Oh.. wait. I’m now hearing that I’m supposed to tell you about the tumor. I guess that makes more sense. So, here goes:
Right now, they are identifying it as an Astrocytoma Glioma. It’s a brain stem tumor of crazy glial cells. As far as tumors go, they’re pretty rare with fewer than 200,000 cases per year, so, you know, my wife is hella special.
The thing is, they’re not entirely sure (just mostly sure), and that’s kind of the frustrating bit. They’ve been doing just about every test and scan imaginable. They started with the least invasive procedures first, thankfully, but this morning, they found themselves brave enough to do a bedside spinal tap in the hopes of discerning if it’s an autoimmune issue or not.
Spinal taps suck… ASS!
As it stands, if they can’t identify it or rule things in or out after the lumbar puncture (Not fooling anyone! Still sucks just as much ass calling it an LP), it looks like they will try to do a biopsy on Friday, and that should really settle the naming of this thing once and for all. Unfortunately, due to the location on the brain stem, it’s a very delicate procedure. That’s why they saved it for last. Yay!
I will say, her doctors and nurses are utterly amazing. I’ve never seen a more thorough and dedicated group of people. Her doctor specializes solely in these sorts of brain stem tumors, and though it bothers me not being able to do anything, I’m more than confident she’s in very very good hands.
Also, your words of encouragement and comments and everything have helped more than I can even begin to explain. They serve as wonderful moments of distraction, comfort, normalcy and motivation, and they’ve become a quick and constant source of smiles when we find ourselves needing them most. I simply can’t thank everyone enough.
Okay… I think that should wrap it up. I’m kind of beat from driving and running around riding hospital elevators for the last couple of days. What can I say? They’re fun!
Wheeeee!
