All the hand-holding and hoping helped. Something certainly helped. Likely the good stuff as anything else.
The doctor I saw said that if he was advising his sister, he would tell her to leave things alone--not have the surgery. And even if he thought I should have the surgery, he wouldn't operate on me now. I'm in no shape to be operated on. Looking for trouble, said he.
A reprieve. Yes, the meningioma is there, but it's not considered a brain tumor. These are usually benign tumors near the brain. This one is touching my brain, but is likely not causing any harm. We discussed my "amnesia episode." He's skeptical that the tumor caused that. Wrong symptom for its location. A doctor at the hospital was also skeptical. The fact that I had been on heavy-duty steroids for asthma for over a month are as likely a candidate as the tumor.
For now we will do nothing. I'm not keen on walking around with something in me I know isn't supposed to be there. But for now, I'm going to leave it be. He told me that if I decide to have the surgery, just call.
And should there be another amnesia episode, I should go to the emergency room.
While I was waiting (almost three hours), I noticed that a Bon Pain had opened in the lobby of the hospital. I used to eat at this place many years ago, and I liked it. I asked the doctor if he'd tried it. He said yes, it's good but expensive. I said, "Well that lets me out."
Hold onto yourselves. He arranged for the money I paid for the visit to be refunded to me. In a sense he treated me to lunch. Here comes another thud, but a good one. Thud.
Ended up passing on the lunch. Too much I wasn't sure I could eat.
All in all not a bad day.
Now that the surgery is no longer hanging over my head, I must try to move forward and figure out what I'm going to do, professionally, that is.
I may wait until next week for that. Right now I'm reveling in my reprieve.
