I'M SEXY AND I KNOW IT!

Amy wanted you all to know that she believes she is looking her best, and that she knows she's sexy.

 

 

Also  her tiny puppy is thriving and doing well.

 

 

HEADING HOME

Amy has been doing much better the past two days.  She felt so good yesterday that she was pretty sure Dr. Surgeon would release her today which was spot on.  She's heading home.  Mom Carlson will be staying with her in Lawrence tonight and tomorrow and friends will likely be taking over after that.  Her pain is under control.

Yesterday she had Physical Therapy to see if she could manage at home...walking up and down stairs and what not.  She manages that just fine although she does have some balance problems.

The type of tumor she has is a rare tumor called oligodendroglioma which occurs in the cells that produce myelin, the fatty covering that protects nerves. They grow slowly and usually do not spread into surrounding brain tissue.  From a prognosis standpoint this is a very good tumor to have if you must have one.  Her surgeon and oncologist suspect that a portion of the tumor has become an anaplastic oligodendroglioma (a more aggressive type of oligodendroglioma) and the biopsy will confirm or negate his suspicions.  Should the tumor have reached that stage, chemo will be indicated and possibly radiation.  We have found out that they prefer to wait as long as possible for radiation treatment, so we shall see.

 MRI scans pre-op.  The black portion is the vacant spot from removal of the first tumor and the white areas are the new growth since her first operation.  The very fluffy area on the far left side is the "suspicious" part that the surgeon was most concerned about.  He resected all the other new growth "while he was in there."  Looks horrible but as Amy says "No dain bramage!"

Stay tuned for more...

DAY ONE POST SURGERY UPDATE

So...the plan was to give my last final at work and head up to the hospital to spend time with Amy.  The plan worked perfectly until I was informed that a text had gone through the friend circle that Amy Jo wasn't up to having visitors today.  I was halfway there and my heart was racing and stomach churning.  What was wrong and had there been a setback?  Well...kind of, but not really.

I did a gut check and decided to go ahead to the hospital.  25 years of close friendship won out over common sense and I figured I could just leave in a few minutes if she wasn't up to seeing my face today.  When I got there around 4:00 she was sound asleep so I snuck in quietly but she woke up right away.  Turns out she was really happy to see me and we just talked quietly in the dark for a while.

Amy had a very hard night last night.  She was in a great deal of pain, apparently the staff didn't really encourage her to stay on top of it, and sister Aaron had to come to the rescue.  I'm going to make a comment about that:  NO ONE should have to beg for pain medication right after surgery!  Thankfully, she had an advocate there that night, her sister, Aaron.  Aaron basically got no sleep at all trying to keep Amy comfortable and get her enough medication to keep her pain under control.  I was pretty pissed when I found out, but I controlled my urge to go out into the hallway and scream at the staff.  I'm kind of patting myself on the back for that right now. Anyway, there is a medication plan in place now. They have even offered her an IV pump if she wants it, but thus far she has turned it down.  She has a double whammy because pain meds make her nauseous.  Rotten quandary...meds for the pain, and meds for the nausea.  Thankfully, Amy will have an advocate staying with her tonight, her friend from work, Megan, so Aaron can get some rest.

Another minor setback is that Amy will probably stay in hospital until Monday.  Last time she was out in two days, but she feels much worse this time (which Dr. Surgeon said was normal).  Since St. Luke's is an "out of network" hospital, each day will cost her an additional $300.00 out of pocket.  I almost cried when I heard that. Safe to say that there are very few neurosurgeons in KC and Amy had no choice but to use St. Luke's but her insurance company isn't bending.  She pays the extra co-pays and they are huge.  Her Dad, Dr. Nolan Carlson (I have this guy on a pedestal...he is amazing) told her he would pay the bill and to stay as long as she needed to.  What a guy.

Amy was definitely weak and tired.  Light hurts her eyes and loud noises and chaos bother her.  Her head is swathed in bandages and her face is swollen. STILL she is trying to get the nurses to laugh.  When they ask her how she feels, she responds with "I have a splitting headache."  She finds this hilarious since her head has been split in two and sewn back together.  I found it hilarious too. She says the nurses just look at her funny.  She's up and around and able to go to the bathroom by herself.  She was still in a hospital gown, so I dug through her stuff to find some nightwear that wouldn't advertise the "full moon" (her words).  I found lots of papers, an I-pad, a little green frog and some tennis shoes.  No pajamas.  Not the greatest packing job, and knowing her well, I wasn't the least bit surprised.  I guess I know what I'll be bringing her tomorrow!

She sends her love to everyone and now it's just a waiting game.  Wish I had better news for everyone, but she still feels pretty bad.  Hopefully things will be better tomorrow.  Tumzilla is a shithead and I hate it.

Another update tomorrow....keep sending that positive energy!

Surgery Day for Amy

December 11, 2014

What a rotten Christmas present.  Instead of flying down the slopes in Colorado as originally planned, Amy will be recovering from a gigantic incision in her head which was carefully completed at about 5 PM today.  Amy's family brought her to the hospital at around 9:00 am but the actual surgery began around 2:00 and ended at 5:00 pm.  We received regular updates from the nurses about once an hour.  Amy came through the surgery quite well and is now resting and recovering in intensive care with the help of her friend, morphine.

Dr. Surgeon (same guy as last time) came to talk to us after the surgery and told us that he had resected the most suspicious part of the tumor which was about the size of a pea and sent it off to the lab to be analyzed for the stage.  It will take 3 - 7 days for the results to come back. He also said that he resected as much of the tumor that had grown back as he could, but that with these types of tumors, they can never actually resect the entire thing. He did not believe that any of the other cells had changed in form and remained fairly benign.  Once the lab results are back on the suspicious portion, she and her oncologist will make a determination on chemo and radiation. 

Each of us got to see Amy for about 5 minutes in teams of two after the surgery.  She was awake and talking and knew who we were, calling us all by name.  I asked the nurse if she had any pain medication and he checked with her on her pain level.  She said it was a "4" but could they please rub pain medication on her head.  He put morphine in her IV instead, but hey...the first joke 20 minutes after waking up!  Go figure.

Her sister, Aaron will be spending the night in the hospital tonight with her and we will go see her again tomorrow.  Mom Carlson plans to spend a few days at Amy's house helping her recover and Yours Truly gets the big guy Oliver for a few days (Amy's 180 pound great dane).  I will be picking him up tomorrow and be entertained watching him squeeze through my dog door, bake himself in front of the fireplace, take over my entire bed, and shake with fear when my daughter brings over her 12 pound rescue pooch who just wants to play with him.

In all reality...I make light of the situation and try to find the humor Amy craves in every situation, but it was a very emotional day especially for her family.  Tumzilla is an unpleasant, unwanted, and highly unpredictable creature.  But one thing I can say for sure...Amy is not alone in her battle...her family, friends, co-workers, players, old friends, former coaches and teachers have come out of the woodwork to support, love, pray and care for her.  It really shows how many lives she has touched, and how her personality, humor, teaching and coaching ability have made a difference to so many.  For someone who despises attention, prefers the company of dogs to humans and avoids social contact like the plague, it truly amazes me how many people adore her.  So...this blog is for you.  Keep loving her because the positive vibes are reaching her soul and will help her heal more than any medicine ever could.

Stay tuned...update tomorrow....

TUMZILLA RETURNS...

Hello friends, family and co-workers of Amy...

It's been 3 1/2 years of normalcy at least as far as brain scans go.  The latest scan last week showed the return of the dreaded Tumzilla.  Where there was only a black hole in the ol noggin for several years of regular scans, this time the perimeters were lit up light a Christmas tree.  There was a lot of shock and disbelief on our part (and Amy's) because she has no symptoms at all.  But the good doctors in Kansas City aren't messing around and Amy is scheduled for surgery at 10:00 am on December 11. 

We have "reactivated" her blog for the express purpose of keeping friends and family posted on her progress for phase two of this journey.  It is safe to say that she will be in good hands with her sister Aaron and her parents taking her to and from the hospital, and a round robin approach to helping her with recovery between her friends and family.  The surgery should last around three hours followed by a two day stay at St. Luke's Hospital. 

Positive thoughts and vibes from everyone who's life she has touched are always welcome!  Stay tuned to this blog for more updates as the time draws near.

The Black Hole...

June 23rd and 24th were a big deal.  The three month MRI was due and we (her friends) aren't going to lie...the tension was mounting. Amy Jo had been recovering splendidly, but the MRI date was looming and would give a lot of information...wanted or unwanted. No amount of weed pulling in her ridiculously beautiful back yard (thanks to the hard work she calls "therapy") would stop the information from being delivered.  Scary stuff...  Thankfully, we had Dr. Amy Jo Carlson to diagnose herself the day before her Dr. appointment.

Dr. (Amy Jo) Carlson examined the imgages (sent home with her on a disc) and diagnosed herself.  Not a good idea. There was a melt down of sorts (to be expected when one tries to read one's own MRI!)   For 12 hours she was doomed.  Thankfully, she had an appointment with the real dude and he actually read the MRI right.  Lesson learned...

Do not send MRI DVD's home with Amy Jo until they have been read by an expert.

But yes, Amy does have a hole in her left frontal lobe.  It's there for good unless Tumzilla decides to return (black hole on the MRI).  It's very huge and disturbing.   Thankfully Dr. Salzar interpreted the MRI correctly and was very reassuring to Amy and her folks that she was healing beautifully.   We (her friends) are hoping Amy will stop trying to read her own MRI's.

Amy has another MRI in three months.  At that time it will be determined if she needs chemo or not.  Apparently it takes a long time with these slow growing things...she'll know more in August.  They can compare one MRI to another.

Next update in August!!  Keep her in your thoughts....

Tumzilla Update - Month of May

Well, I can't tell a lie...the sunshine, warm welcome back to St. Teresa's, and a feeling that there really IS a future has done a world of good for Amy Jo.  Sorry for the lack of updates, but realize that with Amy Jo NO news is Always good news...sorry, but it's the truth.

Recovery was almost a whirlwind with Lorena and the Carlson clan taking the reins.  Within a week, Amy was back on her feet, the family could go home, and she was functioning better than she had in months.  She spent a lot of down time, resting and recovering, but the old spark was returning faster than anyone (including her) could realize.  Tumzilla had been wreaking havoc and was now being replaced with healing spinal fluid (which Amy eloquently described as "a gushing feeling.").  Her bald headband was growing back and gave her something to fiddle with besides her teeth.

The time off gave Amy a chance to catch up on other health issues too.  Dentists, eye doctors, GP's, etc.  Even though Amy had just come through brain surgery without a blink, a visit to the dentist generated a real live panic attack...that's when we realized she was still healing and had to take things easy.  Thankfully, the dentists office came through, got her relaxed, and she was able to get treatment.  Unfortunately, when Amy got the bill, she had another panic attack.  She survived both of them.  (Just kidding about the second one...)

Anyway, for those who have been following the posts, Amy is doing better than anyone could have expected.  She is back to work, doing yard work, sticking with Heather when time permits, and is still healing and recovering every day.  She has an appointment for another MRI in June and she will find out then if chemo will be necessary.

Until then...

Her Friends