Welcome back to the next Thriving
Not Just Surviving blog post. I initially planned for a blog post this week
that discussed how no news was good news. However, the events of the past few
days have dramatically changed that plan.
On Sunday evening as I was falling asleep in bed I experienced two fairly severe seizures. Each one was about a minute in length and a minute apart. The only recollection I have is being unloaded from an ambulance at the emergency room. A CT scan of my brain later in the night revealed nothing imminently wrong. After I was discharged a few hours later Maureen and I departed for St. Louis to be in closer proximity to my cancer medical team.
On Monday I underwent a full brain MRI to check for brain tumors. Fortunately, the MRI came back clean. This is very good news. With the exception of actual brain cancer, lung cancer is the type of cancer that most often spreads to the brain. It’s not uncommon for lung cancer patients to have numerous tumors throughout their brain once they start exhibiting the common symptoms of brain tumors. Seizures are one of those symptoms.
The bad news is that we don’t know the cause of the seizures. According to the neurologist we visited with, 60% of people that experience a seizure never have them again. I hope that I’m part of the 60%. However, I am restricted from operating a motor vehicle for at least 6 months. This is a precautionary measure for my safety and the safety of other drivers. This piece of news was very frustrating, but I am thankful that I should still be able to live an otherwise active life.
Muscle pain is the only residual effect from the seizures. I saw an orthopedic surgeon on Wednesday and he x-rayed my back to check for fractures. The x-ray came back clean, but he prescribed several rounds of physical therapy to manage the pain and regain my range of motion.
Obviously this has been a tough week. Over the last few weeks I felt that I had put the lung cancer in the rear-view mirror; at least for the next few months. Now I have to manage lung cancer AND the potential of future seizures. As frustrating as the seizures are, I’m confident that I can put this behind me as well. I’ve beat back terminal lung cancer over the past year which was significantly more serious than an episode of seizures.
Over the next few weeks I will be in St. Louis to complete my physical therapy and for follow up appointments with various doctors. I can’t overstate the gratitude that Maureen and I have from the outpouring of prayers and support.
On Sunday evening as I was falling asleep in bed I experienced two fairly severe seizures. Each one was about a minute in length and a minute apart. The only recollection I have is being unloaded from an ambulance at the emergency room. A CT scan of my brain later in the night revealed nothing imminently wrong. After I was discharged a few hours later Maureen and I departed for St. Louis to be in closer proximity to my cancer medical team.
On Monday I underwent a full brain MRI to check for brain tumors. Fortunately, the MRI came back clean. This is very good news. With the exception of actual brain cancer, lung cancer is the type of cancer that most often spreads to the brain. It’s not uncommon for lung cancer patients to have numerous tumors throughout their brain once they start exhibiting the common symptoms of brain tumors. Seizures are one of those symptoms.
The bad news is that we don’t know the cause of the seizures. According to the neurologist we visited with, 60% of people that experience a seizure never have them again. I hope that I’m part of the 60%. However, I am restricted from operating a motor vehicle for at least 6 months. This is a precautionary measure for my safety and the safety of other drivers. This piece of news was very frustrating, but I am thankful that I should still be able to live an otherwise active life.
Muscle pain is the only residual effect from the seizures. I saw an orthopedic surgeon on Wednesday and he x-rayed my back to check for fractures. The x-ray came back clean, but he prescribed several rounds of physical therapy to manage the pain and regain my range of motion.
Obviously this has been a tough week. Over the last few weeks I felt that I had put the lung cancer in the rear-view mirror; at least for the next few months. Now I have to manage lung cancer AND the potential of future seizures. As frustrating as the seizures are, I’m confident that I can put this behind me as well. I’ve beat back terminal lung cancer over the past year which was significantly more serious than an episode of seizures.
Over the next few weeks I will be in St. Louis to complete my physical therapy and for follow up appointments with various doctors. I can’t overstate the gratitude that Maureen and I have from the outpouring of prayers and support.
Thanks for the update, Greg. Your strength and positive attitude are amazing. You'll beat this last thing, too.
ReplyDeleteVery Nice Article, here you can check Lung Specialist in Jaipur
ReplyDeleteGreg, thanks for posting this. We will up our prayers for your healing. Please, let us know if we can help in any way. The Lanari Family.
ReplyDelete