Christmas Eve! (And the Week in Review)

**This post is for you, Corinne! :)

December 24^th has always been my favorite day of the year.  No school, no work, no worries.  The Christmas tree lights are on and there is usually some type of claymation Rudolph/Frosty/Santa Christmas special playing in the background on TV...  And then there is the pure anticipation of the excitement that the rest of the day will bring: Getting changed into the “Christmas Eve outfit”, trekking to church against my will for the 4pm Mass in the overcrowded gym of the Catholic school, and then FINALLY making it to my grandparents’ house to await the shrimp cocktail (Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes) and gifts!  The details of this description of course have been fluctuated and been modified over the years, but in short, that is Christmas Eve to me and I love it!

This year we’ll dress up as usual, go over to my gram’s house, and then THOROUGHLY pick our way through the “7 (i.e. 10-30) Fishes Dinner” which in our case includes shrimp cocktail, (I wasn’t lying), and various dips to start the night with.  The party is then moved to the kitchen tables where we park it for the next 2-3 hours.  This rigorous time-frame often presented a rather torturous feeling in me and my cousins from the ages of 3-10 because it took away from precious gift-opening time, but now I could probably sit and eat for 5 hours and be happy as a clam… *spoiler alert*.  Anyway, back to the food…  The rest of the lineup includes antipasto, smelts, baccala soup, pasta with white clam sauce, stuffed squid in cream sauce, crab casserole and scallops.  The meal is topped off with a final dish of some sort of white fish baked in another scrumptious cream sauce.  Can you tell why this is my favorite day of the year?? Thought so…

So that’s what’s going on for the rest of the day today, but I wanted to spend some time now updating everyone on what’s been going on with me in the past few days because APPARENTLY I’ve been slacking on filling you guys in on the fine details of the happenings of my life.  I thought this was MY blog, guys! [winky face].  No really, I did want to do this anyway, I just honestly haven’t had a chance to get to blogging about it yet!  So here ya go!!

First, enjoy a random assortment of pictures taken over the past week of some of the awesome flowers, gifts and arrangements I’ve received… 
[Sorry for the horrible placement of these photos]

 

  

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Now let’s show some pics of the visitors that were lucky enough to have their photos taken while here J…

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Some other fun events captured on film: Event #1 – Christmas/Birthday Party at the Chelsea Sun Inn on Tuesday night hosted by an assortment of fine and beautiful people!  Many good times were had seen here:

And check out the lovely Kat’s blog for more amazing photos of the event!!

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Even though it was not a "main event", Wednesday afternoon I enjoyed visits from 3 of my favorite people who had just returned home for the holidays the night before!!!!  It was so fun and comforting to see them, and something I had definitively been looking forward to!  No visual aides go along with these visits, they were just definitely worth mentioning!!

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Main Event #2 – Christmas Dinner at Stroudsmoor With the Ladies was on Wednesday Night!  In substitution of exchanging Christmas gifts over the past few years, we have been doing a holiday dinner instead!  Here’s a few gems from that night…

Expect the Unexpected: Post-Op Meeting With My Surgeon

I can see how you might be, but don’t be disappointed by this statement: We do not have a definite answer right now.  (Are you surprised? I didn’t think so…)

Nothing bad came out of the appointment with my surgeon today.  If anything, we got what we were ultimately looking for:  For the doctors on my case to do ALL the searching they could possibly do and NOT tell us anything until they were absolutely sure of my diagnosis.  Currently my surgeon is using his connections at other hospitals to get me second opinions on what could be happening pathologically in my brain.  He is working fast and as hard as he can to do this for us and gears ARE turning.  We set up appointments tonight to get things going on our end in preparation for the diagnosis he, (Dr. Moulding), and his colleagues come up with in the next few days.  I could get into the details of the two possible pathology results the doctors are discussing, but it would be irrelevant at this point to do so until the guys who know what they are talking about, are SURE.  My family and I are feeling very confident that things are headed in the right direction and I WILL update everyone as I come to know more info.  As always, your positive energy, support and prayers are the best thing YOU can send my way right now!  Much love!

*Casey

Hi! Getting Ready to Go Out!!

Hi friends!


Just wanted to post a quick "hello" before I leave the house to go to dinner with Elaine and Alison!! 

As you can see, I'm EXCITED to get out of the house for a little bit -- cabin-fever is setting in!!! Ahh!


I'll be back in a little bit with the girls if anyone wants to visit tonight.  Just give a call and stop over!  I'm looking forward to posting again tonight or in the morning to update about some of my favorite news, visitors and gifts I've received over the past few days!  Tah-tah for now!


*Casey

An Update on the Lack of Updates ☺

Hi All!

Thank you for being so patient with me over the past few days.  I know there are many people reading along with this blog and eagerly awaiting posts, but it has been HARD to get on here to actually do it! Between the constant flow of, (very welcome), visitors in and out of my house and the lack of concentration to write coherent sentences, it definitely has made it hard to find the time to blog.  Further, it is frustrating because I really don’t have any updates to give since being sent home from the hospital, and I will not have official results of my lab tests until I go back to my follow-up appointment with my surgeon next Tuesday, December 21^st.  All we KNOW right now is again, that the on-staff pathologist present during my surgery felt that by looking at the tumor and cells removed from my brain, that some sort of abnormal cells still remain in my brain and couldn’t be removed at that time.  These abnormal cells couldn’t be removed then because they are located in an area of my brain that is tricky to reach with surgical tools, (from what I understand).  Whether these remaining cells are just abnormal cells with the potential to develop into something more serious OR… (dare I say it, cancerous) could not be determined at that time.  So that’s where we are currently – waiting to have a face-to-face meeting with the surgeon on the 21^st to get my “diagnosis”.  At that time I will be set up to work with a radiation oncologist who will develop a plan of treatment for my specific case.  I trust that my surgeon and his colleagues at St. Luke’s will be able to steer me in the direction I need to take to get the best treatment available.  That is not saying that in the meantime we are not actively looking into other facilities that have better equipment to treat me when it comes time for radiation.  But if the same equipment that’s going to help me is available in the Lehigh Valley that another facility across the country also has, it definitely makes more sense at this point to stay close to home where my support system is.  Am I getting too ahead of myself with this explanation yet?  I just want to do my best to clear up any confusion about this already very fuzzy situation… One day at a time, right??

Many people have been asking how I’m feeling physically since being home.  Overall, I’d say that I feel GREAT for having brain surgery a week ago today!  

*My main complaint is that I feel groggy and that it is hard for me to get my thoughts together sometimes.  For those of you who know me well, you know that I don’t like to do something until I am confident that I can do it well enough so that I don’t look like an idiot :).  Call it what you want- minor OCD or a constant pursuit of perfection that has always made me, ME!  I'll admit it, maybe that is another reason I haven’t posted on here since last week.  But alas, I need to let go of some of that pride and fear of failure and tell it like it is… That being said, YOU'RE WELCOME for my vulnerability! :)

*Short-term memory is out the window for me right now – if I don’t do something right away when I have a thought about it, it’s long-gone for another time.  I’d imagine I am acting a little scatter-brained because of this. 

*Up until this point I have experienced minimal pain at my incision site, (which is about 3 ½ inches, by the way).  It runs vertical from the top of my head down the left side until just above my left ear.  It’s rather clean and pretty from what I can see, but I will spare you an unwelcome visual aide at this time.

*I have headaches occasionally, which I am taking Tylenol for, but they haven’t been bad at all.

*I have some jaw pain resulting from a few pre-surgery factors combined with the perils of surgery:  Let’s just say pre-existing TMJ + my mouth being open for 4+ hours during surgery + surgeons stretching the jaw muscles located at surgery site = SORE.  This does not affect my eating, however.  Hallelujah!!

*Sleeping has been insanely better since leaving the hospital, that’s a given.  Since I am still on a heavy dose of steroids however,  (and steroids keep you awake), I do not really feel the need to sleep a lot during the day.  I have been waking up at 8am every morning, eating, showering and then awaiting my visitors J.  I take my medications for the last time at night at 10pm and then some time after that I make my way to bed by midnight.  I will sleep about 5 hours, wake up to take more meds, and then sleep off and on another 2-3 hours.  As time passes, the amount and types of medications I am taking will balance out and I will get back to a normal sleeping pattern…

Well, my brain is finally spinning in attempt to post a coherent entry for you guys!  haha!  I just wanted to take a final minute to again THANK everyone for their positive thoughts, prayers and advice that you’ve been sending my way by means of emails, cards, gifts and visits!  Bear with me while I sort through all of the above and thank you personally!  Honestly though, how will I ever re-pay you all?  

The past few days have definitely been a WHIRLWIND of different thoughts and emotions with a Twilight Zone-twist for me.  I could blame it on the meds, swelling of the brain or the adrenaline that is coursing through me, but really I have been making it through these days on pure and utter LOVE from ALL OF YOU!  So THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!  Check back for further updates and I will see you all soon!

xoxo,

Casey

On My Way Home...

Real original post title, eh??


Alas, I have been discharged, and my mom and I are currently waiting for my dad to get here with the car. Then it's off to O.W. Road and into my own BED!  Right now I'm thinking I might be sleeping for the majority of the day/night so be prepared if I don't answer texts or phone calls for a while.


All I can say for now is THANK YOU for the outpouring of well-wishes! I have not been able to get through all the texts, comments, posts and e-mails yet because I am overwhelmed by the amount!  You guys are the absolute BEST! 


See you all soon!
xoxo, 
*Casey

I'm Coming Home Tomorrow!

About an hour ago, during a visit from friends and family, my surgeon Dr. Moulding came into my room for an update... I'm coming home tomorrow! Woo hoo! We are celebrating...

xoxo, 
*Casey

not coming home today

The PA from neurology surgery was just in and told us that Casey will not be coming home today. Brain surgery patients usually stay in for at least 4 days so we are probably looking at Saturday. Of course Casey is disappointed but understands. She is tired today, but is resting up for another party in room 905!
Love,
Ro

Wednesday night update

Casey went in for a follow-up MRI around 5:30 p.m. which interrupted her dinner. She's up and walking around, but tired, and chomping at the bit to go home.

She's in good spirits and looks forward to getting some rest. It's looking like Thursday or Friday will be the day she gets to go home.

Again, she'll be meeting with her surgeon in two weeks to get the results of the pathology test.

Continued thoughts and prayers are very much appreciated.

-Alison

Latest update Wed, Dec. 8

Hi All,
So Mom is giving this a try, so bear with me. Casey spent the night in ICU with some discomfort but they say is doing well.  She will be moved to a room sometime this afternoon. She had a CAT scan this morning and all is normal. We wanted to meet with her surgeon before updating you and apologize for being so vague in giving Allison information. Unfortunately the tumor is not benign but we will not get a final pathology result for about two weeks. Casey will be facing radiation once she is healed from the surgery which won't be for several weeks. She is very positive and is asking the surgeon great questions. Her father and I have always been so proud of Casey and the way she is handling all this makes us even prouder. So PLEASE continue praying for her. The support you all have show will help with her recovery.
Love from all of us,
Ro, Glenn, Casey, & Katelyn

Update numero dos: She's awake!

I'm so glad to be able to bring everyone good news after an incredibly long and nerve-racking day. Casey is now in recovery and is awake, alert, and talking! Her mom said she looks good for having had surgery only a few hours ago. Obviously, anyone who knows Casey is not be surprised by this!

She is in a bit of pain due to the operation itself, so they've put her on some morphine. She had a tube down her throat during surgery which is also causing some discomfort in addition to making her really thirsty. I'm sure, however, the morphine is helping with this as well.

At some point tomorrow she'll be moving from the ICU to the normal recovery section of the hospital and will most likely stay there tomorrow night. She has an appointment with the doctor around 9 a.m. tomorrow, so be sure to check back for an update.

Again, I know Casey and her family and friends appreciate the outpouring of love and support they've received. Please keep praying and sending positive energy her way as she begins her journey of recovery.

-Alison

Update: Out of surgery

Hi all,

Casey's mom gave me a call a little before 6 p.m. tonight to let me know Casey is now out of surgery and in recovery. Her family has not seen her yet but her mom promised another phone call with an update after they're able to visit her.

I will post additional updates as I get them.

-Alison

Surgery delayed...again

I spoke with Casey's mom around noon. The surgery was slightly delayed again, and Casey had just went into pre-op to get the anesthesia going and to have the part of her head shaved where they will be operating. This takes about an hour. Her mom expected the actual surgery to start somewhere around 12:30 p.m.

The time in the operating room will be 2-3 hours, with an additional hour for recovery. We will hopefully hear something around 4:30 p.m.

On a side note, Casey mentioned in her first post that she has her very own "Dr. McDreamy." Her mom informed me that the resident doctor at the hospital is pretty easy on the eyes as well. I think it's only right we call him "Dr. McSteamy."

Your continuous thoughts and prayers are very much appreciated!

-Alison

Thumbs DOWN For Later Surgery :(

Hi All!


So I'm currently in my "holding cell" here at the hospital.  We arrived at the hospital promptly at 6am, were transfered to a random room, and were told... My surgery would NOT be the first of the morning like they told us last night! Grrrr... 


I already went for an MRI where they put these sweet sensors all over my head:

I'm told the sensors are used as coordinates which guide the surgeons when making their incision.  


Thumbs DOWN for waiting here 2 hours longer than I expected!  At this point I will be going to the operating room between 10 and 10:30 so surgery should be over by 1PM.  Stay tuned for updates!


*Casey

Our Home Address

Some people have been asking for my home address.  I had it up here for the past 3 weeks, but for the sake of privacy now, (this blog currently has over 7,000 views all over the world), I'm going to take it down.  I'm sure it's still floating around in the interwebs somewhere -- afterall we are in the "book", but I'll just feel better that it's not AS easily accessed by some of the randoms :)


If you want my home address, feel free to e-mail me personally at cem1414@gmail.com

And again, PLEASE don't feel the need to send anything -- Your comments left here, e-mails, and your LOVE is all I need [cue The Beatles...]

My Story...

October 23rd 2010 was a day for the books and where this story begins!  It’s hard to believe that after 6 weeks of experiencing the following, I have yet to get my story trimmed down into a concise summation of the details.  But alas, I have not.  Believe me, I’ve written and re-written this background story about a dozen times and what I’ve come to realize is that you are all at this website because in some way, you heard or read that I am having surgery on Tuesday, December 7^th 2010.  So let’s just start there… 

Yes, at approximately 8:00 am on the 7^th, I will be having BRAIN surgery at St. Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem, PA to remove what doctors think is a benign brain tumor, (also known as a meningioma), from my…brain [insert winky face].  

Some of you have known that this has been going on in my life for the past 6 weeks, and some of you just now -- I’m talking in the short time since you started reading this post-- found out.  I apologize for not filling the latter group in sooner, but let’s face it, a lot has been going on with me since October 23^rd including seizures, 4-hour migraines, potent medications, not being able to drive, text, type, talk or write! (Just to name a few).

As you can tell by the above list, I have experienced several specific physical limitations in the past few weeks that has made it very difficult for me to contact people directly.  I’ll explain a little more:  Basically, the tumor in my brain and the swelling surrounding it is located in the motor cortex of the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere of my brain. PHEW! HELLO Anatomy and Physiology, 101!  The location of the tumor causes me to have what my doctors are calling partial “seizures,” contrary to the grand mal seizures people usually associate with the term.  With my seizures, I don’t convulse or even lose consciousness. What happens to ME when I have a seizure, is that the right side of my tongue, lips and cheeks start to go numb and I have little control over them.  This, in turn, causes my speech to become unintelligible.  I know what I want to say but it doesn’t come out right.  Another side effect of my seizures is that I lose sensation and control of my right arm and hand, making it very hard to pinch, write or do anything else requiring fine motor skills.  Can you see that this could be an extremely frustrating problem for anyone, let alone a person whose entire line of work depends on her ability to not only talk and write, but do these things well!?  Yikes!  So, after about 4 weeks of experiencing these seizures almost every day, I decided, along with much-needed input from my parents, friends, classmates, family members and professors, made the decision to enter into the “journey” of surgery to remove my tumor, that I begin tomorrow morning…

So I leave you with that fraction of information for now.  (And when I say fraction, you should be thanking me that I didn’t just post the nearly 5-page, research-paper-like entry I originally began this blog with).  Tomorrow morning we will be reporting to the hospital by 6:00 am, looking FORWARD to a speedy recovery.  The doctors describe the surgery as one of the simplest BRAIN surgeries that are done.  It should take approximately 2 hours to complete and I could be home from the hospital as quickly as Wednesday night!  I’m not getting my hopes up for that one, but WOW! – how amazing is that if it can be done!  During my time spent in the hospital over the next few days, this blog will be updated by my dear friend, Alison and my mother (Lord, help her!).  As I grow stronger, I will also be updating with posts, pictures and videos of how I’m doing so that those who can’t visit, can follow along!

Thank you all SO much for all the well-wishes, prayers and positive energy that has already been sent my way in preparation for the surgery.  You truly don’t know how much it means to me!  And while you’re at it, please send some of those good thoughts and wishes to my PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, FRIENDS and FAMILY MEMBERS who have been BEYOND supportive, (not to mention worried), about my situation. 

They could use the prayers too!  Thanks!

Until next time friends!

xoxo,

*Casey

PS- Big props to my very own “Dr. McDreamy”—neurosurgeon Hugh D. Moulding MD, Ph. D. at St. Luke’s Hospital.  Thanks in advance, doc! 

(Really? When did this become an acceptance speech for the VMAs? :) )