The MRI provided an opportunity for a little nap punctuated by the sounds of a wild jungle (aka MRI machine).  Then, lunch break.  Then the doctor meeting . (Jokes were prepared and practiced at lunch. Jokes did not land. Clearly brain surgeons lack senses of humor.).

The good news is the surgeons are confident the surgery was successful, and imaging looks good, and I don't need to come back for a year .  The not as good news is that full healing is just gonna take a while - but they expect me back to my normal hilarious self in one year (I am almost positive I'm still hilarious now, FYI.)

My little devil of a tumor is still hanging on - but is very small for now, only maybe 3 mm x 2mm- it's the portion they were unable to remove during surgery . It's on the bottom of the 7th cranial nerve - the facial nerve , which is why they couldn't mess further with it (to avoid facial paralysis).   These tumors usually grow very slowly and since the cyst from the bigger tumor was removed, they expect this to behave more normally .  So, for now, it's just - I have a little baby brain tumor and we will just watch and wait and hope it doesn't grow fast or grow at all.  A little unnerving .. but there is also a decent  chance it will never grow.  If it does, they don't think it will affect my facial function but I will  need radiation.  They say it's most common that if there is going to be regrowth, it will be in 2-3 years.  

As Mentioned in my last update, I finally contracted Covid about a month ago  - which knocked me out for a couple weeks and slowed my recovery.  After Covid, my brain fog, dizziness, and balance problems that had improved became noticeably worse.  The good news is that I am on the path to recovery; the flip side is that the process is slow. With the single sided deafness and tinnitus- I have learned that crowds and background noise is tough.

The surgeons said part of the recovery is to retrain and challenge myself with unusual activities - not just the same walking route I had been doing - anyone want to go skydiving?! In all seriousness (cause there is no way in hell I'm ever gonna jump out a plane), the only way to fix the vestibular issues are to really challenge yourself - as with anything (the doc used a LeBron James analogy - because clearly we have the same training program. He literally compared me to LeBron.  Absent the height differential, I totally get it 😂).  So, I will be doing some vestibular therapy and other activities/training (much like LeBron).  My surgeons said I should expect significant fatigue and to expect a ramp up period/gradual increase in stamina for ALL new activities (from work to going to the mall to sky diving to preparing for my NBA debut).   It will take practice and repetition.  I am excited to conquer the challenges ahead and anxiously await my recruiting call from the Timberwolves.