[Breeze]

September 22, 2016

Gamma Knife day...The key to this day is to not only take care my two small spots, but given it has been about a month since the two we know about were found, to not have any new ones show up.

I get up at 4:30 A.M., get dressed and head to the radiologist. As I wait for the door to open I meet a guy who had Hodkins Lymphoma at 18, which he beat, then he got testicular cancer 6 years later which he beat, then about 6 years after that, he went to the doctor not feeling well, and found out he was eaten up with cancer all through his torso. He obviously had something in his brain as well because he was going for his 3rd Gamma Knife treatment.

He had such a great attitude and he knew all the nurses. I also found out when they assigned him to his room, that it was his anniversary, and the staff at the center had decorated his room for he and his wife

Upon arrival I was weighed (183 - which is down due to my changes in diet...I'll cover that more once I'm caught up on the timeline). Then I entered my room,, stripped down and put on the ridiculous gown and pants they provided. Then answered a million questions, had to repeat my name and date of birth over and over.

Finally an IV went in, and pretty quickly afterwards the joy juice. Then the neurologist and radiologist came in to attach the bracket to my head (while the nurse monitored my vital signs). They start by placing a couple of cushioned pins in your ears. Then line up the device to determine how it will fit. From here, the neurologist injected local anesthesia into two places on my forehead and two places in the back of my skull. Next the screwing started...It was pretty uneventful...some stinging in the back so more local anesthesia was added, and some real pressure in the front right (because the pin got close to the top of the eye socket). But once it was in I was fine.

Next step, MRI. So I was wheeled to MRI, where additional pieces to the head gear were added. It was odd, when the extra weight of the additional pieces were placed on the headgear, my teeth hurt. I'm sure was related to the fact my jaw was the only part of my skull that could still move freely and the weight seemed to settle there. Then I was given ear plugs for the MRI...which was a nice gesture but totally ineffective. Putting ear plugs in my ear, when I have 4 metal screws drilled into my skull and I'm going into a large magnet probably isn't going to help. The entire time I'm in the MRI (about 45 minutes), I'm praying, please don't let there be any new spots...over and over.

After the scans are reviewed by a team of 5 people (the two doctors already mentioned, 2 physicists, and the RN), I'm told that "there is nothing new...so this should only take about 30 minutes. The nurse came in and told me this his HUGE...that almost invariably a person comes in with two or three but after the MRI the day of the procedure, the total usually climbs to 8 or 9.

From here, I'm wheeled into the radiology room. The additional pieces of the headgear are added again (with the same strange sensation to the teeth). I'm rolled into the gamma ray tube similar to an MRI...and I - Fall asleep. You don't feel anything or hear anything, so I just collapsed and let the stress of the morning roll off of me.

After the treatment, they monitored me for about half an hour, then unscrewed the headgear, treated the holes with antiseptic and bandages and sent me home (where I crashed for several more hours).