The Months in Review... December+

Now that we are nearly through December, I have realized that I didn't put a month in review for November. I do apologize for that. So, I guess I will do a months in review for December now and maybe you will be treated with an additional update at the end of the year. :)

• I am 18 months past the partial resection of my grade three brain tumor.
• It has been 14 months since I completed external beam radiation.
• It has been 6 months since my complex partial seizure and I am happily behind the wheel again!
• It has been 2 years and 4 months since my brain tumor was discovered accidentally.

Medically - I am still waiting for the MRI that was supposed to be scheduled two plus weeks ago to get scheduled. Apparently my insurance company is being a pain and didn't want to accept the orders for the MRI that Mayo sent so I had to see my Neurologist here locally first. Pretty stupid in my opinion since they will have to be paying for the extra unnecessary visit that lasted about five minutes and was basically. "They want you to have another MRI. I can agree with that. Are you still on the following medications? Ok, I'll have the nurse get this scheduled." While this also meant it cost me $30 that was not necessary, it's going to cost them a lot more. Insurance companies can be a pain.

On the positive side, I've been officially cleared to drive again!!! It's great to be back behind the wheel! It's been so nice to have my "freedom" back. It's probably a good thing too because this past week would have been nuts without it.

In the final medical portion of the update... I am fighting sinus issues and what is trying to become bronchitis. It's the typical yearly battle of my need to prepare for Christmas and my bodies need to fight being sick. It just wouldn't be Christmas without me hacking up a lung and unable to breathe!!! LOL

Emotionally - Mostly I've just been overwhelmed with things this past few months. Lots of things going on at work, getting ready for Christmas, and just day to day struggles has not made me a pretty sight but I've been able to keep relatively stable in the emotional front. Not sure if my boys would agree or not but I feel I've held up fairly well. The one major down I had was when it was looking like I might not get my license back when I was able because of some delays in paperwork but that worked out in the end and I'm in a much better mind thanks to it.

Mentally - I think at least some of my sharpness is beginning to return. I'm still having memory issues but I think those will never go away. Otherwise, some of my mental sharpness has returned although I fatigue a lot easier and I'm usually only able to focus on a task for about an hour before I have to remove myself from it to get my focus back. However, that is much better than the ten minutes or so I was at previously. I guess it's an improvement. :)

Physically - The sinus issues are zapping my energy and physically I feel like crap. Yesterday, I walked from one end of the house to the other and had to do my inhaler because it has my reactive airways aggravated. Luckily, harvest is nearing the end so John should be home more often really soon. This will help me A LOT! Of course, I'm not off until the 4th of January so that should help me recoup as well and hopefully start the new year with renewed energy. The plan is to work around the house and rest a lot so hopefully the efforts will pay off in the end. John will also be home with us after Christmas until the first of the year.

Work - On a good note, John has had a change in his employer sponsored health insurance and the plan will be really good for us when my plant closes down. It will be a lot less out of our pocket each year so if I do go the part-time route, I will have to work even less than originally anticipated. This, of course, is very good if I should have to go on temodar (chemo) if my MRI shows definite regrowth. It also means that I need to put less back in preparation for medical costs going into the new year. His plan will save us thousands of dollars in the long term.

My projects at work are doing fairly well so far. I had a very good kick-off meeting for the larger project that I was concerned about. I will be working with a very good group and they seemed to like some of my ideas and the spreadsheet I created for the project has been adopted by the entire project so it feels good that they trust my abilities enough to see that it was a near perfect fit for what we are doing.

Family - We are working on getting things ready for Christmas. We have the tree half way up (it's up but not decorated) and all the presents we've bought are wrapped except for my son's. I still have a bit of shopping to do but it shouldn't take that long to finish what I have.

Harvest is finally starting to slow down so it won't be long before I get my hubby back. :)

The good news is that he's almost finished the floor in my bathroom so maybe I'll have my bathroom back as well. LOL We've had to share my son's bathroom for the last month because of a leak in our toilet that turned into a mess so we decided to replace the bathroom floor for the second time. This time will be the final for a long time. It looks really nice so far and it's a much better setup than the cheap tiles we put in there last time. For those that don't know, the reason we had the cheap tiles in there in the first place is because our Master Bathroom had carpet in it. Carpet just doesn't work well in a bathroom! Therefore, we are now replacing the quick, cheap carpet replacement with a nicer and more permanent solution.

My son is still struggling with some things but I think he is finally starting to understand that school is important even if he doesn't realize it at the present. Hopefully this new found attitude will carry him through in the new year and his grades and attitude will improve.

Well, my sinus pressure is making my eyes water and difficult to think/see so I'm going to wrap this up a few categories short. I wish everyone and their families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays!!!