Meningioma Stats from Dr. Rosenfeld, Concern from me

Parade Magazine asked Dr. Ira Rosenfeld “What Is the Prognosis for Someone With a Meningioma?” 

Most of his answers fit what I know about Meningioma.  The following comment, though, gave me something to think about: “The total removal of the meningioma is possible in about 80% of patients with benign tumors; about three-quarters of these patients survive at least 10 years without a recurrence.”

Hmmm, my meningioma tumor was only partially removed. Does that mean my chances of recurrence are higher? And why does10 years, all of a sudden, seems like an awfully short time.

Here’s a link to the article: http://www.parade.com/health/askdrrosenfeld/neurology/meningioma.html

And here’s Dr. Rosenfeld’s rather impressive bio: http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/personalities/isadore-rosenfeld/bio/#s=r-z

Michael J. Fox: at ease with his new normal

I struggle with the whole “new normal” concept. Every time I hear it, I cringe. Somehow the term reminds me that I’m not what I used to be.  I’m something less: less quick, less perceptive, less able to do the things I want to do.  Coming to grips with that loss, for me, is a daily struggle.

It seems that Michael J. Fox has gotten beyond all that.  In a recent interview for Parade magazine, he seems to have moved beyond feeling sorry for himself or embarrassed at the obvious physical signs of his Parkinson’s disease.

The article quotes him as saying “People ask me, ‘Does it bother you when you shake in front of people?’ No. It sometimes bothers me when I can’t do what I want, but I don’t give a damn how it looks.” According to the interview “his attitude is good-humored and accepting. He neither complains about what his illness has done to him nor frets about what lies ahead.”

I’m not sure how they came to that conclusion, but it’s sure a goal for those of us who’re wrestling with this new normal monkey on our back (or in our head).

I guess what I admire the most about him is that he’s raised $250M for Parkinson’s research through his Michael J. Fox Foundation.

To put that in perspective, I’m trying to raise $350 for the ABTA through the Breakthrough for Brain Tumors 5k fun run/walk, and haven’t gotten very far.

If you haven’t read it, here’s a link to the Parade magazine article: http://www.parade.com/celebrity/celebrity-parade/2012/04/01-michael-j-fox.html?mbid=NS040212&mbid_source=newsletter&mbid_content=parade  

And if you feel so inclined, here’s a link to my Breakthrough for Brain Tumors fund-raising site (we’re team “Johns Tumor”) http://hope.abta.org/site/TR?fr_id=2270&pg=entry

Lee and Bob Woodruff and Gabby Giffords

Here’s two brain injury survivor stories for the price of one: Gabby Giffords and Bob Woodruff.

Gabby’s story needs little introduction.  I think we’re all pretty familiar with her story now that she and her husband have published a memoir.

My memory of Bob Woodruff’s injury was pretty vague.  In a Parade magazine article Ms. Woodruff reported that in 2006 “I learned that Bob, an ABC news anchor on assignment in Iraq, had been riding in a vehicle that struck a bomb. Shrapnel was lodged in his brain, and he lay in a coma. Doctors didn’t know if he’d survive, much less function normally.”

And while Mr. Woodruff was the victim of a bomb instead of a tumor, the consequences were similarly horrific: “Bob emerged from his coma on day 36. He opened his eyes and asked me where I’d been—just like that. But he was missing vast parts of himself, like slices cut from a pie. While he could breathe on his own and answer basic questions, he couldn’t name the president and at first didn’t remember we had twin daughters.”

What I like about this survivor story is that Ms. Woodruff doesn’t sugarcoat the pain and struggles of the rehab and recovery process, e.g. “My heart broke into a million pieces the time I saw Bob, a man who had a photographic memory, struggle to identify the word for 'broom' on a card. Even after he began making progress, for every two good days, he’d have a payback day and be overcome by exhaustion and pain.”

You can find the posting here: http://www.parade.com/news/views/guest/110306-coming-back-to-life.html