Hey Everyone!
Surgery on Friday went really well. The surgeons were able to resect 95%+ of the tumor, which was confirmed to be a chondrosarcoma (still waiting on grading, though). I spent one night in the neuro ICU, the worst part of which was waiting for the catheter they put in for surgery to be removed. I was moved to a private recovery room the following morning after proving myself capable of standing and walking short distances to the bathroom, and spent one more night there. Sunday, I was tested by a physical therapist to ensure I could walk and climb stairs, and then was released at noon to go home.
Right now, the main discomfort I feel is my nose, which is very stuffy and has a lot of crusties in it that aren’t coming out anytime soon. I can’t blow my nose and need to avoid sneezing (if I do have to sneeze, I must do it mouth wide open), so there’s no real way to get them out. I also have an incision right below my belly button where they removed a bit of belly fat to plug up the hole they made in my sinus/dura area, so that has a bit of tenderness as well, but really isn’t too bad. Energy-wise, I’m pretty fatigued—it feels like a mid-range cold in terms of how much I want to get up and do things (which I shouldn’t be doing anyway, so no problem there) and how my head feels (a bit scattered and unfocused).
I have a follow-up appointment on October 2nd, when I assume I’ll learn more about the grade of the chondrosarcoma they removed and next steps like proton beam therapy (my surgeon talked to me about this briefly after surgery, but I was still waking up from anesthesia so my recollection is a bit murky). Overall though, a tremendous outcome 🙂
I should be back to writing soon, and recording the next podcast. My tongue already feels better, and hopefully I’ll be able to get back full function in a few months.
Cheers!
Brian
