An Inconvenient Tumor

Bryan had his 3rd post-radiation MRI today. We're more excited than nervous this time for the results, which we get on Friday. Typically we get the results right away, but we couldn't schedule our doctor's appointment right after the MRI. So we wait...

Results aside, there was already a big difference between August's MRI and today's MRI. Unlike Bryan's last two visits to Cedars-Sinai Imaging Center, today he walked in on his own volition. No wheelchair or walker necessary. He held my hand, but only because he wanted to. :)

It's been a little while since I gave a detailed update on Bryan's progress and that's simply due to the fact that we just haven't had time. It's a really good thing. We've been so busy, but not at doctor's appointments or pharmacy visits or therapy sessions. We've been out and about actually catching up on LIFE...going to lunches and dinners and countless nights out with friends. We've gone on spontaneous romantic dates all over town; lunch dates, dinner dates, movie dates, football dates, happy hour dates. And when I say romantic, I don't mean wine and candles...although we enjoy that, too. We can make a sports bar romantic. It's just about spending time together and celebrating Bryan's return to health. We don't take one single second for granted, and I guess it shows.

We've been stopped by several people over the past few days, from our bizarre neighbor to the woman in the MRI waiting room to completely random strangers, who have told us, "you two are just so tender and loving to each other. It's so nice to see." All we can do is smile and say "thank you."

It's so wonderful of these people to stop and share these sentiments with us, because every day we acknowledge and affirm our love for one another. We feel really lucky to be together; we always have. The best news is that we're slowly but surely getting back to how we were pre-tumor. Or rather, before we KNEW about the tumor. After almost seven months, it's about time, because we've got life to live.

After my fabulous procedure last week, Bryan and I went to the grocery store on a fiber hunt. Exciting, I know. But this time, rather than me making the decisions about which aisle to go down or which products to get (as I've had to do since April because of radiation effects to Bryan's brain), Bryan was totally back to normal and took control of the situation. I have to explain that Bryan used to work in a grocery store in the Bay area and therefore knows every insider secret and trick there is to know in grocery stores. On this particular day, he was looking down each aisle, analyzing the nutrition facts on each box and telling me what we were going to get and why it was good for me. It may sound odd but this was an aspect of our lives I had missed tremendously. Over the past several months, Bryan was barely able to walk into a grocery store, and when he was there, he was in no shape to make a decision. Simply being around a crowd of people was overstimulating and exhausting for him.

Not anymore. Because he's back, teaching me the ways of the grocery store world.

For example, did you know stores arrange their wine selection from the most expensive on the top shelf and the least expensive on the bottom shelf? Did you know milk and yogurt are two of the items that get replaced the most often? Did you know that grocery stores have their freshest fish selection in the back, rather than in the fish case? But you have to ask specifically for it. I didn't know, until Bryan enlightened me. Doesn't matter that they're totally mundane facts, because they fascinate (the nerd in) me.

So anyway, the point is to say that cognitively, Bryan's totally back. Even our therapist noticed last night, telling him he was much quicker with the banter and the snappy comebacks. When Bryan wanted Gatorade and I brought the wrong flavor from the kitchen, he announced that my "reign of Gatorade terror was over" since he can now get into the kitchen all by himself and get the right flavor. Oh, thank God. He can discern between "Frost" and "Ice Storm" and whatever else the various shades of electric blue Gatorade flavors are. That's a task I will definitely not miss.

We've extended our daily trips beyond the supermarket though. They were great "in the community" therapy sessions since it was practice for him to be out and about in the real world rather than in a therapy gym or at home. But since he's walking so much better and talking almost normally, we're just going anywhere that strikes our fancy. Granted, it's not like we're going hiking or swimming or running on the beach. But his cognitive functionality is 100% back. Now we just need to get the strength up in his left leg and extension in his left arm and continue to stretch and practice his coordination. He has therapists coming to the house 3-4 times per week and the results are fantastic. We also have a fantastic deal going with these lovely young therapists; they refuse to take our money and instead asked that we "feed them from time to time." So this week I baked homemade pumpkin pecan spice bread, wrapped it in cute packaging tied with raffia and gave it to them still warm out of the oven. They are going to be my cooking guinea pigs for recipes I've always wanted to try. Bryan gets therapy, I get to cook/bake and the therapists get fed. It's a total win-win all around.

The other thing we've been focused on is Bryan's fundraiser, called "Laughs for Bald Bryan." We have an absolutely fabulous event planner who came to us via email a few months ago. She is a professional cancer fundraiser and lost her best friend to a brain tumor about eight years ago. She was the primary caregiver (aka the "me" to Bryan) and knows exactly what we're going through. This is her personal passion and she's taken on planning our event with absolute gusto. It's scheduled for Friday, November 20 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles. It will be a comedy show with fantastic talent and potentially even a band at the end. We're talking to corporate and personal sponsors, hosting a silent auction and maybe even raffle giveaways for guests. It's going to be such an incredible evening for all involved and Bryan and I are completely overwhelmed at everyone's generosity and compassion towards us and our story. We are looking forward to meeting everyone at the benefit and finally being able to say thank you to so many of your faceless names out there.

In the meantime, like I said, we're just enjoying time together. We're going to wait until the new year (let's just get 2009 over with already; we've had enough) to look into getting back to work. Right now, we're watching plenty of football, sleeping in late, and doing whatever tickles our fancy. We're not 100% back to normal, but we're relishing each moment that reveals Bryan's continued progress. Our short-term goal? Getting to a USC football game before the season is over. Well, maybe not the game because the seats and stairs at the Coliseum are treacherous for regular folk, but definitely a tailgate with our friends. That would be great.

Before we get there, we'll get Bryan's MRI results on Friday. This time we're positive it will reveal great news. Maybe I'm biased, but I think we deserve it.

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