I just want to start off this post with a big thank you to everyone for all of the words of encouragement and putting me in your prayers. I am very grateful to have such a great support system and I appreciate your thoughtfulness more than I can express. Both my parents and I have had our spirits lifted with your kind words.
Today was a long day that included me reciting my full name and birthday at least 10 times. I was joking with a nurse that if I didn't know my birthday before today, I sure as hell do now! I started off the morning at 6:15am with what is a called a functional MRI. The purpose of this MRI was to map out the different speech centers of my brain so during surgery tomorrow the surgeon will know what areas to avoid and whether or not they are located in the same place as the tumor. This was a rough start to my morning because it was 3 hours long and I wasn't able to move! I was pretty antsy by the end.
After our morning session my parents and I went and got some breakfast and then walked around the outside market in downtown Rochester. In the afternoon I saw my neurosurgeon and we went over my big day ahead. I was told that I will be in surgery for approximately 8 hours (when you include prep, MRI's, and transportation) tomorrow but the majority of the procedure will be mapping out my motor functions and language centers. I am extremely confident in my surgeon (Dr. Ian Parney) and he did a great job of answering all of our questions.
Although I have been feeling generally strong through this entire process, I have begun to feel a bit scared about the whole thing. I had my first moment of complete weakness when we got back to the hotel after dinner but luckily my parents were with me to comfort me and cry with me. It was a total "pity party" for myself but I felt as if I deserved one and since, I have begun to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know that everything in life happens for a reason and only good can come of this surgery. Seeing so many people in this city with much worse health conditions and possibly a poorer support system, I can be nothing but grateful for all that I have. I strongly believe that positive attitudes help people heal better and fast so I have tried my best to find the good.
Tomorrow will be a long day for both my parents and I. The doctor suggested that my parents shouldn't just sit in the waiting room all day and they should get some air but knowing my mom, that will never happen. Of course my dad is joking about going to play golf and checking out the music store down the block! (typical) Also my aunt Amy will be driving up tomorrow morning to spend the weekend with us and be yet another support system. I am very glad she will be with us! As for the blog, don't expect an update until sometime tomorrow night. I will be spending the night in the ICU and I'm sure my parents will be exhausted but they will try their best to update as soon as possible!
Once again thank you for all of the support and I look forward to seeing you all once I recover!
Love,
Ali
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