GOOD NEWS...and Two Down, One To Go

Yesterday was a really good day.  Everything went just swimmingly at my appointments yesterday.

Okay - almost swimmingly.  At my 1st appointment of the day with my Neuro, we had the one hiccup of the day when we discovered that the scheduling gal at his office had failed to order a scan of my neck.  Which the doctor had specifically stated.  In his written instructions in my chart.  On a separate line so it wouldn't be missed.  Nice.  Anyway, as for the tumor at the base of my spine, it hasn't grown since we last checked on it two years ago.  Good tumor!  The gal who mixed up my MRI order called me within an hour or so with a time to go in on Monday for the MRI on my neck.  In spite of the stinky-ness of having to have another scan, it'll be good to finally have it done and my Neuro is just going to call me that afternoon with the results so I don't have to go in for another appointment.

We had enough time after meeting with my Neuro to run a quick errand and then get a very yummy lunch at The Dodo.  It was so nice to have a break between appointments...especially considering that we got to go out to lunch without kids and actually enjoy the meal without interruptions.  Ahhhhh!  Oh - and I finished off my meal with a Valium in preparation for the next part of the day.

Next it was up to the university for the MRI on my brain.  I had been informed beforehand by a couple of people (at my ENT's and at the imaging place) that the MRI would be about 45 minutes long...just right to finish up and hurry up to the hospital for my hearing test and meeting with my ENT.  I finished up my paperwork and got changed right as the tech came to get me.  On the way back he informed me that I'd be done within 10-15 minutes.  What?!  Turns out that my ENT ordered a fairly basic scan without the usual 2nd part with an injection of contrast.  True to the tech's word, I was done in less than 15 minutes.  I totally could have done that fast of a scan without Valium.  What a waste of a perfectly good pill.

Up at the hospital my hearing test went well.  No change since last year - I have very good hearing in my right ear and I couldn't be more grateful.  As for my ENT, he was happy to tell us that the tumor in my brain/inner ear hasn't grown since last year.  Additionally, since it hasn't grown since I was diagnosed 4 years ago, he is now comfortable with extending my checkups to 18 months apart rather than a year.  I can certainly handle that!  This means that I won't have to have another MRI or appointment (besides the scan on Monday) until April 2013 and Fall 2013 unless I have problems.  Hurrah!

I am so grateful for how everything went yesterday.  Even though there was a mix-up with my scans and I have to go in for an MRI Monday, the doctor (and therefore we) are assuming that since my other tumors haven't grown, the one in my neck is likely to have stayed the same was well.  I'll definitely be posting the results once I have them.

Blessings from heaven...