Ho Ho Hopeful for a Happy New Year!

Seasons Greetings!

Life, as it does, has taken off and kept me busy as can be. Now, as the holidays approach I figured it would be a good time to sit down for an update and reflection on the past year. What a wild ride it has been!

First an Update

At the end of October I returned to my full time job as a physical therapist where I help seniors in a retirement community stay healthy and active. I have about 200 adopted grandparents and I love them all! The community and staff were thrilled to have me back- healthy and happy. They only tease me a little bit my wonky eye but I tease them back, usually about being old. Mentally, it's been good to return to some sense of normalcy.

Physically, I am doing very well. I'm amazed at how different it feels to have the majority of my tumor evicted. Overall, I have more energy, no more headaches, and no brain fog. My scar is healing beautifully and with that the hair that was shaved is growing in quickly.

My right eye issue is the only the remaining post-op complication. I have yet to exhibit any kind of recovery in the rightward movement of the right eye and continue to have double vision. The nerve to that muscle was most likely irreparably damaged during surgery. At the end of February I will go to an adult eye motility disorders clinic at UCSF to determine if I am a candidate for strabismus surgery. If you are unfamiliar with that, surgeons essentially recenter the eye in the socket by manipulating the length of the small muscles for eye movement resulting in the return of single vision. Very fascinating.

Aside from work, Steve and I have gotten to enjoy several trips including a visit to San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco. All pain free!

MRI Results

On November 17th I had my 3 month post-op MRI. I am happy to report that Monica and Phoebe are behaving. The remaining tumor pieces are "stable". My next MRI to monitor the situation will be 6 months out!

What a Year

It's crazy to look back on 2025 and think that for the first 4 months of this year, I didn't know I had a tumor. Then I spent the following 4 months knowing I had a tumor and trying to figure out what to do about it. Finally, followed by 4 months of recovering from brain surgery!

As I've mentioned, getting diagnosed with a brain tumor was not on my bingo card for this year. However, at the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025 I just had a hunch something wasn't right. I feel fortunate to be in the medical field and know what signs and symptoms to report to the doctor and when to push for further testing. My advice to anyone, in the field or not, is to make sure you advocate for yourself. If you are having new symptoms or something doesn't feel right, speak up! Many problems won't be diagnosed with a simple yearly doctor's exam or routine labs. You know your body better than anyone. Say something.

Throughout this process, I'm not only thankful for the knowledge I had but also the people in my life. Friends and family have been so supportive. My husband, Steve, I am the most grateful to of all! He has been at my side all the way through this. I cannot imagine if the roles were reversed... I would have lost my mind if I had to wait for him to go through a 14 hour brain surgery!

With 2026 upon us, I'm not sure what to expect! I don't really do New Years resolutions as I feel like we can always work towards being better people, no matter the time of year. Really, I am just truly grateful that I'm here. That this tumor, though life changing, is not life threatening. Hopefully, I'll be back to seeing single vision by the end of the year. And I wouldn't mind a trip to a beach to just relax and read a good book!

Thank you all for following along with me on this wild ride and supporting me along the way. Wishing you all the very best in the New Year!