I am so terrified!
#2 daughter came home from college on 12/18 with a violent headache, nausea, neck pain and great fatigue. We took her to the Dr. on the 20 and again on the 21st as she had kept nothing down for 3 days. (Meningitis was ruled out.) Well, the nausea and vomiting subsided somewhat in another 2 days, so we did not have to hospitalize her for IV fluids, but the headache remained, just not as severe, and she had dropped 15 pounds in 5 days!
As some of you know, after Christmas, I travelled down to Texas, while the rest of my family went visiting in Connecticut and Colorado. When Lena got back home, she attended a party on New Year's Eve where a friend noticed that her face looked strange. Half of it was expressionless. She still had a dull, persistent headache and her neck still hurt.
Fortunately, I had left Texas earlier than planned, so when I heard about the facial weakness via cell phone on Sunday, I was concerned. Jann and I drove straight through (thanks to Jann -- I was too exhausted!) and on Monday, our family doctor thought it might be Bell's Palsy brought on by the viral infection, but decided that Lena should have an MRI to rule out anything else in the brain that might be causing the facial weakness.
Yesterday morning, Lena had the MRI, and the report was sent to our family doctor immediately. We got a call within about an hour that we should take the films and go directly to a neurosurgeon who was fitting us into his schedule. This is the doctor who did my back surgery several years back and who also saved the life of my former boss by diagnosing her quick-growing tumor when I dragged her in to see him. So I have a great deal of respect for and confidence in him.
The neurosugeon thought the tumor a bit odd, because its density was not uniform throughout. He wants a neuroradiologist to look at it this morning before giving us a diagnosis. "I'll let the neuroradiologist make me look smart," said he. There are several possibilities as to the type of tumor, but it appears that surgery or irradiation with a Gamma knife are going to pretty much be the treatment options.
We are still impatiently awaiting the call from the neurosurgeon's office, and we have an appointment with him for tomorrow at 3 PM EST, but for the moment, we are "shrekking" (as he put it) and I've had an almost sleepless night.
I need some hugs.
Brenda