This is Leng’s husband Long. I know my wife really adores this blog and everyone that has been reading for the past few years, and I know she would want you all to know that she is doing ok. After 6 hours of surgery and 2 nights in the hospital, Leng is now home resting. The surgeon thinks he was able to get all of the tumor and he was even able to save her ability to smell out of her right nostril. Besides being a little swollen and having minor headaches, she’s doing very well. She’s is sleeping and resting a lot right now, but I know when she has the energy she will post.  Thanks to everyone who has been thinking and wishing the best for her. She and I do appreciate it.

Hi all, I just wanted to write up a quick post before the night is over. Again, I just want to thank so many of you out there who showed your support and commented. The idea that so many people out there all over the world care for me so much is just astounding. If I could I’d give each and every one of you a great big gigantic hug. It is times like these that shows what a positive community the blogsphere can be. MUAH!

But, moving on to more serious matters, I want to also say that I am nervous about the surgery tomorrow morning. (BIG HUGE SIGH!). I know the probability of the surgery being successful is very high, but I can’t help but worry now. I know…realization set in a little late for me. All of the packing and cleaning of the apartment is what probably got me really got me thinking seriously about the operation. Looking at my pets adorable faces doesn’t help me much either right now. Also, Long……poor guy. He is going to really suffer. He gets super stressed and has to take care of  not just my family, but his family and friends ALL AT THE SAME TIME. oh, and of course he is going to want to take care of me…I am glad that there is a nurse to take care of me though. He can relax a bit. In the end, I hope the operation goes well and I also hope that I will recover fast.

Goodbye for now. I hope to write a post soon…!

Long, my sister and I have decided to name this tumor of mine (did I just claim this tumor…?). Long suggested, “Toomy.” Samy suggested, “Joe.” I think I am going to go with Ningi instead because it is more similar to the scientific name for it. I know it sounds odd that we are naming this thing that is causing me so much distress, but it is better to look on the positive side rather than the negative. right?

Here are the up to date details below. Oh, but first, I wanted to mention that I have an funny shaped head, but please just bear with me….Long and my sister can’t stop making fun of me….(boo!).

I want to let you all know that of all of the tumors I got, I got the “best” one, Benign Meningioma. The reason why it is the best one to have is that it is benign, slow growing and is not cancerous. AND because it did not actually IN my brain. Yay! It’s sheer mass in my cranium is creating intracranial pressure within my head and giving me unpleasant symptoms that I previously mention. Tumors are categorized into grades with Grade I being the least threatening, which is what Ningi is. Recurrence rate after surgical resection: 10% after every 10 years (only if all of the tumor was removed).

The only bad is that after the surgery it is highly probable that I may lose my sense of smell. If I did lose my sense of smell or it is altered dramatically, I would be disappointed. I have already discovered a change in my palate. For instance, I find that coffee is not as good as it used to be for me. When I drink it, I can’t drink more than a handful of sips before I toss it out. I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I love coffee, but I do not like being dependent on it. Also, certain foods aren’t as pleasing to me anymore. Like regular foods are either bland or bitter. It is almost as if I had pregnant woman’s palate….sigh….I could also just be getting depressed too…uh…I won’t get into that…

If you look at the photos below you can see why—it’s located in a spot that has a lot of blood vessels and nerves to my nasal area. The Neurosurgeon says that it looks like it has been growing for several years in my head. SEVERAL YEARS! I was shocked when he said that. Something must have triggered it’s size recently because the symptoms did not start popping up until 2-3 months ago.

There is no complete cure for tumors and its cause is unknown. In fact, anyone could be walking around with one in their head for years—like me. That is kind of scary. My sister now wants to get an MRI and I think my Mom should get one too. She has had Schizophrenia (which is not related to brain tumors) for years. I wonder if there are any other complications that she is dealing with.

My surgery is scheduled for Thursday, October 29th, at 8 AM, but we’re checking in at 6 AM (they want us to be there early). I should be in the hospital for 2-4 days. I hope I get to go home sooner as the expense is high. The hospital is located Kaiser’s Redwood City building. Wish me luck. I will be thinking of you.

This is me standing and facing you. You can see the tumor right in the middle (the light area). It is about the size of a golf ball or a tennis ball…about 2 inches. It is located just above my optic nerves and is actually NOT located in my brain, but is right out side of it compressing it.

Me off to the side facing left. Ningi is getting LOTS of blood supply.

From the top. My head is facing upward.

I am overwhelmed with the amount of responses I received from my last post. You guys are just the sweetest group any girl could ask for and I THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH! I really do appreciate your support. ~~~HUGS~~~ to all.

I know everyone’s curious as to what happened at the appointment with the neurosurgeon yesterday, but I am sad to say that I can’t go into detail at this exact moment. I feel so icky all over. I woke up this morning freezing cold with a sore throat, nausea, body aches and the worst headache by far. I have no idea if my symptoms are due to my tumor or I may have caught something from the hospital. Well, whatever it is, I hope it goes away soon. I will fill you in within a couple of days along with the x-rays and details about my scheduled surgery. I hope you all understand…..take care and please know that I appreciate each and everyone of you.

Hi guys I know I have not been blogging for quite a while now. I have been preoccupied with school and a more serious matter. Lately, my vision has gotten worse that it is hard for me to see the whiteboard in class. I would write down 19 instead of 21, odd isn’t it? Those two numbers do not even look alike. In addition, I also have these terrible and painful daily headaches, white flashes, numbing of my lower legs, dizziness, odd hearing patterns. I didn’t know what it was and stupidly set it aside.

I went on with my life and worried more about my vision, so I called around to a few optometry places and realized that Costco was cheaper to go to for a routine eye exam. I have Kaiser, but I am not due for another eye check up until next year. I have double vision coverage. I am not sure how it works though…Anyway, at Costco, I was greeted by a very monotonous receptionist and a new optometrist that I have not met before…She ran the tests to see how much my RX changed—both of my eyes are in need of a higher RX. She then asked me about medications that I had been taking and why I was taking them. I told her that I had been taking Advil (Ibuprofen) for the past two months or so to ease my daily headaches. I did not tell her about my arm because I forgot, but she then went on to dilate my eyes to see inside. What she found has changed my life completely…I had err…have what she calls Bilateral Papilledema, which translates into swollen optic nerves. I knew there was something that was wrong when she kept saying, “hmmm” over and over again. I have been to the optometrist many times to know that something was just not right.

Before I left, I brought Long into the office with me so that she would be able to explain to both of us, in case I missed anything and also so that I would not have to explain it to him. Among the things she told us, she insisted that I see an ophthalmologist immediately. She also assured me that it was not something that would kill me or anything. After that I felt safe that it was really nothing and did no research that night on Bilateral Papilledema. Little did I know that this was a more serious matter.

The next morning, I called Kaiser’s Ophthalmology department, explained to the receptionist what my optometrist had informed me in detail and explained all of my symptoms. They admitted me in that very same day with an appointment to see my Ophthalmologist. The assistant seated me in a chair and ran more eye exams (vision), then the doctor came in to dilate my eyes. After my eyes were dilated he looked inside them, sent me to have the inside of my eyes photographed and to check my peripheral vision in more detail. Both exams took a while, but the one that was more painful was the eye photography—the bright light nearly blinded me and I was crying up a storm. This entire time I did not have any idea what was going on. The doctor and his colleagues did not know either. They said that the symptoms I was having did not fit the profile due to my young age and health. This worried me. I just kept thinking of my mom. She has schizophrenia and Type II diabetes, so it is highly likely that I will develop her condition as well. That night I went home after an argument with Long because he was, “being a jackass” (his words) because I ruined his plans. He likes to run on a schedule and anytime the schedule gets altered without significant notice he freaks out and is a grouch. Well, that night I received a call from my ophthalmologist informing me that I should go in for a CT scan of my brain to further find the cause of my swollen optic nerves. Once I was called to go in to get the scan at Radiology (Long waited outside), I was quite nervous. The technician told me to close my eyes, but I felt like I was going through a nervous break down. I was in a gigantic “donut” getting scanned with radiation. The warm beams did not ease my distress either. I was highly relieved when it was all done. Now, we just played the waiting game.

In the meantime, Long and I did much internet research of Bilateral Papilledema aka swollen optic nerves. Top hits came back for Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Diabetes and tumors. It was also a possibility that it was just nothing and that the symptoms would go away. But, we were thinking that it had to do with MS. It was confirmed later that night when I got a call from my doctor that I have a brain tumor about 4 cm in size. It is right in the center of the frontal lobe. Even as I am writing this, it still does not seem real…I can’t grasp the idea that after all I have been through, taking care of my health by eating healthy, getting routine doctor visits and avoiding dirty areas/people, I somehow managed to form a tumor in my brain.

I am scheduled to see the Neurologist on Monday the 19th at 10:45 AM in Redwood City to discuss my diagnosis and treatment options. I will update you further on this.

10.05.09—Monday

10.06.09—Tuesday

10.07.09—Wednesday

Miss Dottie has a boo boo on her head! Poor girlie! I do not know what happened!

Here is a video of Miss Dottie and her precious paper balls. Hope you like it!

P.S. I will be answering your questions and comments soon in video format. So, if you posted a comment, do not worry they will be addressed soon. I have not approved them yet just so I could keep track of them. If you’d like a reply sooner, you can always e-mail me.

10.03.09

10.04.09