Journal entry by Jennifer Marie —
It's been a while, hi friends!!!!
I figured the best way to celebrate my 1 year brain surgery anniversary, is to share my 'stable' bill of health! (Stable, in this journey, is a VERY good thing!)
Tuesday, March1st, was spent at Mayo for my brain MRI, vision testing, Neurology & Neuro-Opthamology appointments. Per usual, the well-oiled machine that is Mayo, my day was long but busy. Everyone is so helpful & friendly it's hard to be a nervous wreck...(but I do manage to fit some of that in too ha!) 😬
The MRI showed no post-op change to the residual tumor on my optic nerve/pituitary gland - a HUGE victory!!! The acoustic neuroma that was incidentally found last September, was also noted to remain the same...Tiny and minding it's own business;)
My 3 hours spent in vision testing went well too!! I'm not sure I mentioned this before, but prior to surgery I was legally blind AND color blind in my L eye. With the return of most of my vision, my L eye can also now see color! Another win! My pupils reacted wonderfully (they hadn't before) and the Dr was pleasantly surprised in all of my testing. My optic nerve is still severely damaged, which it will always be, but it was also noted to remain unchanged. Prayer hands up!!!!!
The neurologist was happy to see these results also. We did a lot of what I call "weird" neuro testing...like marching with your eyes closed, sticking your tongue out, smiling big and checking all the reflexes. All went well!
I am headed back to Mayo in May (which happens to be brain tumor awareness month:) for yet another MRI and to meet with the neurosurgery team. I then go back in November to repeat all of the above. (Sooner if I note any changes)
It gets to be a bit overwhelming still, but I'm definitely adjusting to my new normal!! It's so important to have these tests more often than not, in the event of even the most minute change, it will be caught right away, and handled by the very best medical team in the world!
To end this, I'm again shouting THANK YOU SO MUCH for your thoughts, support, love & prayers. Thankfully our prayers don't expire, so I've been stacking them for a good year+ now. They've absolutely carried me thru this journey and the only way I can think to repay this is to return the favor of love & prayer for you all.
No news is good news, but you'll be the first to know if there is anything newsworthy!! ❤️🩹❤ I love you all.
Take care, and THINK SPRING!
💕 Jen
I figured the best way to celebrate my 1 year brain surgery anniversary, is to share my 'stable' bill of health! (Stable, in this journey, is a VERY good thing!)
Tuesday, March1st, was spent at Mayo for my brain MRI, vision testing, Neurology & Neuro-Opthamology appointments. Per usual, the well-oiled machine that is Mayo, my day was long but busy. Everyone is so helpful & friendly it's hard to be a nervous wreck...(but I do manage to fit some of that in too ha!) 😬
The MRI showed no post-op change to the residual tumor on my optic nerve/pituitary gland - a HUGE victory!!! The acoustic neuroma that was incidentally found last September, was also noted to remain the same...Tiny and minding it's own business;)
My 3 hours spent in vision testing went well too!! I'm not sure I mentioned this before, but prior to surgery I was legally blind AND color blind in my L eye. With the return of most of my vision, my L eye can also now see color! Another win! My pupils reacted wonderfully (they hadn't before) and the Dr was pleasantly surprised in all of my testing. My optic nerve is still severely damaged, which it will always be, but it was also noted to remain unchanged. Prayer hands up!!!!!
The neurologist was happy to see these results also. We did a lot of what I call "weird" neuro testing...like marching with your eyes closed, sticking your tongue out, smiling big and checking all the reflexes. All went well!
I am headed back to Mayo in May (which happens to be brain tumor awareness month:) for yet another MRI and to meet with the neurosurgery team. I then go back in November to repeat all of the above. (Sooner if I note any changes)
It gets to be a bit overwhelming still, but I'm definitely adjusting to my new normal!! It's so important to have these tests more often than not, in the event of even the most minute change, it will be caught right away, and handled by the very best medical team in the world!
To end this, I'm again shouting THANK YOU SO MUCH for your thoughts, support, love & prayers. Thankfully our prayers don't expire, so I've been stacking them for a good year+ now. They've absolutely carried me thru this journey and the only way I can think to repay this is to return the favor of love & prayer for you all.
No news is good news, but you'll be the first to know if there is anything newsworthy!! ❤️🩹❤ I love you all.
Take care, and THINK SPRING!
💕 Jen
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