It's not a TUMOR! or is it?
About a year and a half ago, Mol started to get some numbness in her face. Over a period of a few months it progressed bilaterally across her face and down from the cheeks to the jaw. The intensity of the numbness increased as well, to the point that if she isn’t careful while eating, she will bite herself. She’s given herself a couple nasty bites in the past. Over this period of time, we’ve been seeing our normal doctor and trying to figure out what’s going on. First our Dr. thought it was TMJ (Temporomandibular joint Disease). Turns out Mol does have TMJ. We got her a “device” and have been treating the TMJ, which has gotten better. The facial numbness hasn’t improved at all though.
Shortly after the facial numbness, Mol started to experience numbness and tingling in her hands and feet. More so in her hands than in her feet, her hands would turn white, then purple, and then she’d have a lot of pain. Eventually the pain would subside and the color would return. We talked to the Dr. about this and it turns out to be a vascular problem called Raynaud's Syndrome. Nothing can be done about it. Just live with it. Ok, moving on.
The facial numbness is still at the same severity. No more no less. We finally get a reference to go see a neurologist. He runs through his tests, sits down to talk with us and this is what he had to say, “It’s one of 3 things. 1. an occlusion of some sort In the brain and or brain stem, a tumor, a cyst, or abnormal growth. 2. a systemic immune disease, like Lupus or 3. I don’t know.” Which he added does happen with situations like these. Apparently tracking down the cause of numbness is rather difficult and once all the tests have been exhausted and noting is found, they have to just say, “I don’t know what it is”. Typically, when this happens, the person just has to live with it. Sometimes the feeling is regained.
Anyway, Mol goes in for the first of her tests today, an MRI. An MRI is like a catscan. They will take several images of her brain in layers from top to bottom. These images are very detailed and allow the Dr. to look at what’s going on inside, right down to the nerves.
Having been a Paramedic and having a medical background helps to deal with all of this. I can be in these situations and look at everything objectively and stay very calm. However, when you hear the words “brain” and “tumor” used in context with someone that you love, well, I don’t care who you are, it’s difficult. Even knowing that option #3 is the most realistic outcome, it’s still a lot to take in. Is it a brain tumor? No, it’s not a tumor (in my best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice). Ok, is it a rheumatoid immune disease? No it’s not that either. Some big fucking hurdles to jump over, just to get to, “I don’t know what it is, so deal with it”.
I called my mom today to let her know what was going on. She works in Radiation Oncology, so she has a healthy perspective as well for this stuff. Although she didn’t want to and made a good effort not to, she started crying. After hanging up, I guess I allowed the first real twinge get through of how serious this could be.
Shortly after the facial numbness, Mol started to experience numbness and tingling in her hands and feet. More so in her hands than in her feet, her hands would turn white, then purple, and then she’d have a lot of pain. Eventually the pain would subside and the color would return. We talked to the Dr. about this and it turns out to be a vascular problem called Raynaud's Syndrome. Nothing can be done about it. Just live with it. Ok, moving on.
The facial numbness is still at the same severity. No more no less. We finally get a reference to go see a neurologist. He runs through his tests, sits down to talk with us and this is what he had to say, “It’s one of 3 things. 1. an occlusion of some sort In the brain and or brain stem, a tumor, a cyst, or abnormal growth. 2. a systemic immune disease, like Lupus or 3. I don’t know.” Which he added does happen with situations like these. Apparently tracking down the cause of numbness is rather difficult and once all the tests have been exhausted and noting is found, they have to just say, “I don’t know what it is”. Typically, when this happens, the person just has to live with it. Sometimes the feeling is regained.
Anyway, Mol goes in for the first of her tests today, an MRI. An MRI is like a catscan. They will take several images of her brain in layers from top to bottom. These images are very detailed and allow the Dr. to look at what’s going on inside, right down to the nerves.
Having been a Paramedic and having a medical background helps to deal with all of this. I can be in these situations and look at everything objectively and stay very calm. However, when you hear the words “brain” and “tumor” used in context with someone that you love, well, I don’t care who you are, it’s difficult. Even knowing that option #3 is the most realistic outcome, it’s still a lot to take in. Is it a brain tumor? No, it’s not a tumor (in my best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice). Ok, is it a rheumatoid immune disease? No it’s not that either. Some big fucking hurdles to jump over, just to get to, “I don’t know what it is, so deal with it”.
I called my mom today to let her know what was going on. She works in Radiation Oncology, so she has a healthy perspective as well for this stuff. Although she didn’t want to and made a good effort not to, she started crying. After hanging up, I guess I allowed the first real twinge get through of how serious this could be.