Clean Brain Scans

Aside from the cold that she picked up this past week, Kristine is doing very well. Her temperature increased a couple of times over the week, which of course had us both pretty nervous given the linkage to her risk of seizure. We were able to manage her fever down though with a little Tylenol.

We met with Kristine's neurosurgeon, Dr. Lee, on Monday to discuss Kristine's MRI results and the medication he initially recommended after her seizure. He had nothing but positive news for her. He said that the area around the removed tumor in her brain looks clean of any disease and that the second tumor that received Gamma Knife Radiation is shrinking (a sign that the tumor cells are dead and being destroyed by the body). And contrary to his original position, he did not feel that it was necessary to do any additional Gamma Radiation on the first tumor location since it looked so good in the scans.

Dr. Lee also agreed that it was not necessary for Kristine to take seizure medication if it decreased her quality of life and her ability to recover physically. He said that she just needed to be careful to avoid stress on her body. Fever, illness, exhaustion, dehydration and lack of sleep among other things could trigger another seizure.

Kristine surprised Dr. Lee when she moved her hand after he asked how she was progressing. He had not expected this kind of progress so quickly. He was also pleased to see how well she could move her leg when she walked.

Our friend Shannon is in town this weekend visiting. She and Kristine got to catch up, watch bad TV and give me a little break from our routine. Fortunately we do not have any doctor's appointments this week, Kristine just has her standard physical therapy schedule. At some point in February she is planning a trip to see her parents in Texas. She will miss therapy for a few weeks but the sunshine and warmth will do her some good. Plus, as attentive as I am to her needs, her mom will undoubtedly be much more diligent at following through with her stretching routine.