Four weeks from today I’m scheduled to have brain surgery to remove my brain grape.
Wednesday, October 15. It’s scheduled for 7:30 am (although they’ll call me the day before to confirm the time). Arrival time at the hospital is 5:30 am. Yikes! So early!! I keep wanting to say my call time is 5:30 am like they say for actors on a movie set. It’s my show time!
The procedure is called a craniotomy, which actually sounds terrifying. So I don’t like to use that. Brain surgery sounds gentler. The former term highlights the fact that my skull will need to be cut open for the surgeons to have access to my brain. Ugh. The surgeon gleefully described the process, and I tuned out. Apparently they even have a video on their website. Um why??!! It’s not like I’m planning to do it myself! As long as the surgeons know how to do it, that’s what counts! And I say surgeons, because I’ll have two neurosurgeons. My main surgeon specializes in treating neurovascular disorders (strokes) and doing endovascular procedures, so he’s bringing in a colleague who specializes in tumor removal and has done hundreds of these!!
I scheduled this surgery on July 11. So it’s already been two months of planning and coming up with questions and pondering.
I think I’m mostly excited by the adventure and challenge. You always hear that saying: “Well it’s not like it’s brain surgery!”
And in my case, yes it IS brain surgery!!
In preparation for my time in the hospital, I’ve been accumulating music and one audio book on my mp3 player. I can’t use my phone because the battery barely makes it through a day as it is.
The audio book is: More Myself by Alicia Keys. I already listened to it via the library. Then I bought the CDs (yes I know, so old fashioned) and have been ripping them. She has such a comforting, calming voice!! I feel embraced and at home when I listen to her read her book. So I figured with all the stimuli of being in a hospital and the likely headache I will have after my tumor is removed (the surgeon said I should expect headaches as my brain adjusts to having the brain grape gone), having some comforting, calming audio will be just right.
I also got a large print edition of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s memoir My Own Words from my dad for my birthday and I am saving that for the hospital too.
I have been steadily working on some handouts to give to the hospital staff about my various health needs. I love office supplies and thanks to my partner, I now have page protectors and folders into which I can put those page protectors. And I plan to make folders for the hospital staff, and for me and my partner. It will be a “Care of Katya” booklet!
My other big goal before surgery was to share my blog, which I have done and I am incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support, and have been stunned by how many people actually clicked the link in my Facebook post and came here to visit. Thank you 💗
My final creative goal prior to my surgery is to put out a song on YouTube.
I wrote the lyrics myself, but to the melody of an existing song. So that is to come very soon.
Sending love into the world 💜
We are Here. We are Now.
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