Not a Stroke -- Just Epilepsy

A few years ago ... let's say March of 2001 ... I experienced my first inkling of what would become Absence Epilepsy. Of course I didn't know it was epilepsy. I thought I was having a stroke.

So of course I did the smart thing and drove myself to my doctor's office. Wouldn't you?

Eventually I wound up in the emergency room of a wonderful hospital. Being very bored I had to have something to do.

What you have to remember is I had had a seizure. A massive seizure -- all of my communication skills were gone, and my words, when I tried, I just stumbled. Finally, I was able to convey to the ER nurses I needed a phone and a phone book, which they were quick to provide.

Easily I was able to find people to call - though I don't remember whether I knew them or not. Speaking on the phone was not easy for me, and the people who answered their phones, had to wonder who was calling them.

I do remember calling people time and again. And, the phone I used was on the nurses' counter, so they couldn't really take it away from me, and they couldn't sedate me without a doctor's orders.

I had to have been a real pain for them, but they were always gracious and kind to me. Finally, the ER doctor came, sedated me and whisked me off to an MRI. While the ER nurses had a break from me, the neuro nurses had no idea what was coming.

Here it is eight years later -- and I never had a stroke, just epilepsy, a brain tumor, and brain cancer ... inoperable at that. After radiation and chemo I am so blessed to know and be able to praise the Living God ... I have no brain tumor, no brain cancer.

The aphasia that goes along with the seizures of abs-once epilepsy can be frustrating, and exhausting. Nothing like the other types of epilepsy, and for that I am thankful.

Biopsy, Dallas, & Glory To God!

After three days in Dallas I was more than happy to get home: my son, my dog and cat and home all needed my attention. I also needed to catch up on my soaps. They were just starting new story lines that were down-right interesting!!


OK. The biopsy went very well -- all was successful. The doctors knew what they were facing and what kind of treatment I was facing. In Amarillo, the Harrington Cancer Center was the epitome of progressive cancer treatment and exactly what I needed.



My doctors were remarkable. From a stereo-tactic biopsy in Dallas, I went to stereo-tactic radiation treatments at the HCC. Every day the staff assembled my head into this device so the radiation would hit the exactly right spot. That white thing is a mask that was made of my face before they could ever begin. There was a back to it that was clamped down so my head could not move. For anyone who had issues with claustrophobia, the mask would have been a problem. After the radiation treatments, I completed two six-week treatments of chemotherapy via pills.

I was so blessed. God never took His hand off me.

Once in awhile I had a little queasiness from the chemo, and certainly I lost hair from the radiation and chemo. But in the end, God prevailed. At my second MRI after the last chemo series, the tumor was declared mush and the cancer had no cells left.

Glory to God!! The divine healing was clear to the doctors and every MRI since is just as clear as the second. My healing is real. The Father was faithful and would not allow me to abandon my young son.

Today, every time I have the opportunity to share this wonderful testimony of the Father's grace and mercy, people are encouraged because they too can be touched as I was by the remarkable and divine love and miracle that the Father showered on me.

Who Said Airplanes Don't Wait For Anyone?

You should have seen me run! Remember I was tugging on luggage for three days ... plus my MRI x-rays. I was a sight. But, praise God. They waited for me, and I made my flight. My friend and I found seats towards the back of the plane and tried to get as comfortable as possible.

You should also know that I always try to have fun no matter where I am. That includes this trip to Dallas for a biopsy of my brain. So, I tried to find things to laugh about. My voice tends to carry. People either find my laughter contagious or irritating.

There was a man on the plane who found my laughter beyond irritating. He got up and found a seat further up the plane -- after turning around and giving me the dirtiest look I'd seen in a long, long time.

Given the fact I was on my way to have a loooong needle put into my brain I was not going to let this man change my mood. However, my friend and I did happen to bump into him later at the Dallas airport. He didn't seem to be so upset at that time. I really did consider apologizing to him, but he disappeared in the crowd rather quickly. So, to you Mr. Man, I am sorry.

The trip to Dallas was punctuated by a very successful biopsy, a dinner at a tasty seafood restaurant, and learning just how expensive taxis can be in Dallas! Truly, my friend and I returned to Amarillo after three days with no more incidents.

The biopsy showed the tumor had grown into malignant cancer that could no longer be ignored and sat across both communication lobes on the left side of my brain. Making the cancer and the tumor inoperable. As a writer I could not risk being left unable to communicate.

A Needle In My Brain - Just What The DR Ordered

The doctors decided that the something that what had to be done was a biopsy of my brain so they would have a better understanding of what was going on inside of my brain. That was a pretty scary time. Just thinking about the needle that they would need to sink into my brain would bring anxious times to me.

Because of the kind of tumor it was, and where it was, if they made one mistake, put that needle in the wrong place, my ability to communicate would be jeopardized. My oral and written communication skills could be gone.

That was when I had to remember who was in control. Not the doctors and certainly not me. It was my God, my Creator, my Father.

They explained it to me very clearly. The process was called "stereo tactic" due to the way my head would be held during the process. I was sitting up at about 90 degrees and my head was held within a frame ... and I was awake.

Anyway, after a lot of prayer, I was ready. My son was prepared and taken care of, and I was off to Dallas for three days.

Although I was running late to the airport, and even going through all the hoops at the security gate, and I just couldn't catch up. A friend was traveling with me and tried to tell them I was on my way and they didn't want to wait. Who knew??

But, wait they did. Once again, God showed His hand on my situation and the plane waited on me. It was just a couple of minutes, but it was all the time I needed to get through security and to the plane door!

Cancer

Cancer. It's such an ugly word. If you look real close at my picture you'll see the left side of my hair is thinner than the right side.

That's because just two short years ago I had inoperable malignant brain cancer. It was called parietal temporal and posterior frontal mass - aka: oligodendroglioma.

This picture shows how bad the radiation affected my hair. Eventually I had to have all my hair buzzed so it would all grow back at an even rate. Two years later, it's still unevenly growing.

Pretty scary stuff. Or it could have been. But I had great doctors, a great treatment center, and the best Physician ever.

There's a wonderful story about this blessing in my life. Yes, I do call this cancer a blessing because of all the wonderful people who I met, but more than anything else, it was an opportunity for me to have my faith in my Father strengthened.

One doctor gave me two to three years to live. My youngest son was just 13. It was one of the hardest times we had ever gone through. I came home, we sat on the couch and I explained to my young son in terms that he could digest, what the doctors had told me.

We cried and prayed and cried some more.

I started flying back and forth to Dallas every six months for check-ups with the best neurosurgeon in the nation. Bringing my MRI's with me on the plane, eventually it was decided the tumor had just grown too large and something had to be done.