That darned meningioma...
Well, mom went to physical therapy today. This coming Friday is her last session. She's come a long way. After the surgery, she was bed bound. And before they moved her to a room on the rehab floor she had just started sitting up. Today she got to play with the "balance board." It was a round board, with a round (very large) dowel underneath. Think like a seesaw for the feet. You're supposed to stand on it.
I joked with some of her friends when she was moved to the rehab floor that it sounded like she was in the hospital for something else entirely. LOL!
I can't remember when she was moved from the "intermediate care room" in the neuro science care floor to the rehab floor. But in rehab they did physical therapy twice a day, six days a week. At first she could barely sit up right without wanting to fall over. And that darned left foot was nicknamed "Floppy." She had lost a bit of feeling in that foot.
Now in the shower she can sit just fine. She sits on a tub bench. I still help her wash her feet, but it used to be that I had to hang onto the left one or it would dive off the edge of the tub. Now she can keep it there.
The left foot (it had lost sensation) now it's oversensitive. The phys therapist said that it needs to get used to sensation again and recommended she do things to desensitize the left foot. I got her a foot massaging strip but she hasn't used it.
Meningiomas don't respond to much, and while you can apparently nuke the he77 out of the brain, the spine doesn't take radiation very well.
The oncology doc said that he has researched her case and that there is one other case of a meningioma in the spine. That one they gave the patient a higher level of radiation than recommended for the spine (about 25% more than he would be comfortable giving her.)
My mom asked how the patient was now. The oncologist paused, then said, "Oh, they're okay."
Now wondering what's "okay." Of course I can see if the patient was willing to take a higher dose of radiation...
Anyway, he said the lead doc at UT Southwestern said that he, the oncologist, could go ahead and give her a low dose of radiation.
She wants to talk it over with her neurosurgeon. So tomorrow we go to see the neurosurgeon. We'll see what he says.
I think my mom is leaning toward going ahead and having the radiation. At least they can use the information for the next spinal meningioma.
Hmmm... now I'm wondering if they write about her case in a medical journal how I would get a copy. I'd actually be interested in a copy of it.
I joked with some of her friends when she was moved to the rehab floor that it sounded like she was in the hospital for something else entirely. LOL!
I can't remember when she was moved from the "intermediate care room" in the neuro science care floor to the rehab floor. But in rehab they did physical therapy twice a day, six days a week. At first she could barely sit up right without wanting to fall over. And that darned left foot was nicknamed "Floppy." She had lost a bit of feeling in that foot.
Now in the shower she can sit just fine. She sits on a tub bench. I still help her wash her feet, but it used to be that I had to hang onto the left one or it would dive off the edge of the tub. Now she can keep it there.
The left foot (it had lost sensation) now it's oversensitive. The phys therapist said that it needs to get used to sensation again and recommended she do things to desensitize the left foot. I got her a foot massaging strip but she hasn't used it.
Meningiomas don't respond to much, and while you can apparently nuke the he77 out of the brain, the spine doesn't take radiation very well.
The oncology doc said that he has researched her case and that there is one other case of a meningioma in the spine. That one they gave the patient a higher level of radiation than recommended for the spine (about 25% more than he would be comfortable giving her.)
My mom asked how the patient was now. The oncologist paused, then said, "Oh, they're okay."
Now wondering what's "okay." Of course I can see if the patient was willing to take a higher dose of radiation...
Anyway, he said the lead doc at UT Southwestern said that he, the oncologist, could go ahead and give her a low dose of radiation.
She wants to talk it over with her neurosurgeon. So tomorrow we go to see the neurosurgeon. We'll see what he says.
I think my mom is leaning toward going ahead and having the radiation. At least they can use the information for the next spinal meningioma.
Hmmm... now I'm wondering if they write about her case in a medical journal how I would get a copy. I'd actually be interested in a copy of it.