*Q&A* with Russ!

This is dedicated to my brother-in-law Russ, whose questions about these things (the embolization) made me laugh out loud.  I wanted to post his exact words, but I'll just keep them to myself & Ethan.

Why go through the femoral artery to get to my brain? Well, not only does it curve quite nicely through the body, it can also be rendered pulse-less.  It is strong and wide enough to catheterize and used for all sorts of stent-related things.  Here's Wiki for the technical stuff, I assume it's somewhat accurate:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femoral_artery

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embolization

My procedure for Monday is partway down on the Embolism link.


So, next question is, if the tumor is not growing out of the brain, where in the world is it coming from? Well, my meninges of course!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meninges

And then the most broad definition of this kind of tumor:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meningioma

Read about the arachnoid layers! We do have cobwebs in our head.

And, since my tumor is too big for the Gamma Knife, Russ asks how big the incision will be to get it out, since the tumor is the size of an egg.  First, the Gamma Knife is for tumors smaller than 4 cms and that is what it is most effective on.  It pinpoints and zaps with precise radiation.  The doctor has told me they will use the stealth MRI sensors on my head and have these "pens" to mark exactly where they will do the incision, and like I wrote earlier, it may be an opening in the shape of a "U" or a question mark.  There will be a drill involved (ewwww) and something related to, uh...puzzle pieces.  Now I'm not feeling so well...I should wrap this up.  They will lift it out and put me back together again.

Lastly, what sort of physical therapy may I need?  Maybe some.  I may not have any strength on my left side but it is too soon to know if I would need a cane or physical therapy.  I would hope it would be something temporary, but I will think about that more this time next week!