Most of the following is what has been told to me because I have no memory of it whatsoever for various reasons.
On May 18th 2012 at approximately 3 a.m. I got out of bed went to the bathroom and got sick. I went back to bed. Then I got back up and did the same thing. This happened 1 more time. My fiance said after the 3rd time it sounded as if I was choking and she went in to check on me. She said that I was having a seizure. I am not epileptic or prone to seizures. She called 911 and asked for an ambulance. When they arrived, they incubated me and transported me to the hospital. I was taken to the C.I.C.U. I was given an MRI. 4 tumors had caused my brain to swell, which caused me to have the seizure. There was also bleeding. The doctor went into the room where she was and told her that I probably was not going to make it. The doctors did whatever they did to stop the bleeding and reduce the swelling.Obviously I made it. I thank God for this. I didn't wake up until Monday. That is the first day I recall somewhat anyway even though most of it is still fuzzy. I was given additional MRI's and PT scans. During this they found multiple masses (tumors) in my colon. They told me that they had to do a colonoscopy.This was done on the 22nd. They removed all of the masses and I was told that they were benign. I thank God for this as well.There are only 2 choices. Benign and cancerous. I was discharged on the 24th. Was scheduled for a biopsy on June 21st. In the meantime I was prescribed anti-swelling ( dexamethsone) and anti-convalescent ( phenytoin) drugs.
There is a lengthy list of side effects from the Dexamethzone and I have quite a few of them. About 1/2 at least. Muscle loss, weight loss, memory loss, short temper among other things. The hallucinations are weird. Earlier I saw the Google sign flashing across my monitor and my t.v. Mostly it's just seeing stuff moving that really isn't. Only a few times have I actually seen something that wasn't really there. I'm not sure if it's the drugs or the tumors, but my taste buds are out of whack. I am pretty sure it's the drugs since it only started after a while after I started taking them. A lot of things taste different. Some things that I used to like now taste either blah ( like cardboard) or I don't like at all now. I had a ham sandwich with spicy brown mustard. It had almost no taste at all. It didn't taste like a ham sandwich with spicy brown mustard. I could tell I was eating something, but there was no specific taste. Looks like I am going to have to experiment to find out what I like and don't like anymore. And to find out what just has no taste. It is so strange not knowing if you like something or not when you used to know. "Do you like......?" "I dunno....now....."
I was readmitted on the 21st at 7 a.m. for more testing before surgery. The surgery took place at approximately 3p.m. Instead of drilling a small hole and just doing a biopsy, they decided to go ahead and remove the whole tumor. After the surgery while in the recovery room I had three seizures. They doubled my meds to control them.The next thing I remember is waking up sometime Saturday afternoon. I was told that I was awake and answering questions before then , but I don't remember any of it.
Sometime after my release the first time my feet,ankles and knees started swelling up. Feet and ankles more so than knees. They became incredibly large and prosthetic looking. So big,I could not get them into my sneakers. They were much too tight. We figured it was most likely the side effects of the Dexamethasone. ( Oddly enough one of the side effects of the anti-swelling med was swelling of the hands and feet.) Or possibly a side effect of the issues I was having with my brain. After my surgery the swelling went away. They started hurting. It was a light sharp pain at first. It didn't take long for it to progress into a very intense sharp pain. It was the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. I was literally screaming for someone to help me. At that point I can honestly say it was so bad I did not care if they just amputated both legs. They gave me 2 Percosets. Since I am not a drug user,we figured that they would reduce/stop the pain. No. It had no affect at all. They decided to give me a Morphine push. This is what they give you through an I.V.. They injected it into the one that I had in my neck. We figured that on top of the Percosets should certainly do the job. Wrong. That also had no affect. At all. Then they gave me Vicodin. The combination of all 3 drugs knocked me out for about 1 1/2 days. That was the only way to stop the pain. Knock me out. I was discharged the next day.
I was told to schedule another appointment with my neurologist within 7-10 days. I am assuming he will check what was done and talk with me about additional surgery. I am also supposed to schedule an appointment with my oncologist. I am not sure if I will actually need an oncologist if everything is benign since they treat cancer patients. As far as I know that is the only thing they do. However, until I actually talk to him and get the facts of what is what, you can call me clueless. I know they treat cancer patients, but I don't know what else they may do in certain cases or what might have to be done.
I will be sure to keep this updated as events occur. I am doing this partially for myself ( my memory thing) and for others who may find themselves in a similar or other type of medical situation. Maybe it will give someone hope and give them the will to fight instead of just giving up. I completely understand that there are others who are much worse off than me and could give better stories of hope and inspiration. I just want to do what I can to maybe help someone else.