READY FOR HEALTH AND RESTORATION

Well, I promised a report on my Gamma Knife radiation and here it is: I SURVIVED IT! God showered me with a peace and calm that truly did pass all understanding.

The neurosurgeon, who told me he was from Cloquet, MN, came into my room and inserted 2 of the pegs (pins I guess they call them). (Yes, they numbed me up well.)

This pic is of half the "cage" they locked me into. The other half is attached like a football helmet with another two pins in the back of my skull. They did not give me sedation for the Gamma, but a sedative enough to make me dopey and mostly unaware, but I could still talk to them. I laid there for 2.5 hours without moving. That is another God thing. When it was over, they bandaged me up and sent me on my way.

I must say I had the greatest nurse ever. She stayed with me for the entire day, (as well as the day before when we did a CT and an MRI), tending to my every need with a huge smile and oodles of sweet compassion. She and I just clicked......we hugged when I left and she told me to "ring the bell" for last treatment. (from her lips to God's ears)

So, the life after Gamma Knife:

1. My entire head/skull is completely numb. I can't feel a thing, not even my hair. It may be weeks or months before it comes back. It is, friends, the weirdest sensation I think I've ever felt.

2. I have to sleep on 2 pillows for at least a week to keep my head elevated. For someone who uses a limp goose-down pillow every night (which means I'm almost flat), this is a real challenge. I have maybe gotten 3 hours of sleep each night. After tonight, only 5 more nights to go. 

3. My son has aptly dubbed me "Numbskull."

4. My skull itches and I have to rub anti-itch cream into my hair and thus making a mess when I lay against anything. I carry a towel around. Interesting that an unfeeling scalp can itch and that the cream temporarily helps.

5. Today I am in a new phase of beauty. The med is running down and pooling under my eyes giving me a lovely blue/purple hue and I have my 2 pin scars on my forehead that have to heal up and I have very trendy yellow betadine highlights around and on my hairline and eyes. (Scary mommy)

6. I have to rest and elevate my head for a week. I have not left the house for 6 weeks between the bronchitis and vertigo and bad eye problems. Why should I let Richie have to give up the honor of frequenting Walmart and doing almost all of the cooking.????

7. My vertigo is getting so much better. Praise God for that.

God gets all the glory for a good outcome to the Gamma Knife procedure. We won't know how effective the treatment was til my next scan. I was anxious about it and God's fingerprints were just all over it, giving me a great team, his amazing grace and peace, and a successful outcome.

I will have Richie take a picture of me post-recovery!! I am so ready to be healthy, feel healthy, and live a restored life!

Thanks to you all for the multitude of prayers for me before and during this time of stress.

Happy April. Let spring begin!!