Brain trouble update

Carolin's double vision has not improved. We're two days into the steroids that should shrink the brain tumour and it's about now we'd expect some improvement. She can't scrapbook, read or write. She believes that she's getting fat because of the steroids. Added all together she's not a happy camper. The MRI of her head is on Friday and the a doctors visit to hear the results on Monday. Will write again then.

Guess I'll be doing the blogging for a bit.

Sandy

Maybe my other senses will compensate

My vision isn't working right. Double vision. I can sort-of read with one eye. Driving is out. Buttering toast is hit or miss. More tests this week. Next week the doctor.
C

Thinking about my neck again

On Sunday we had a nice trip to the local ski hill to watch Jess try out her new snow board. She was pretty game about picking herself up 892 times. I don't have to pick myself up nearly that much, and I'm complaining???

The neck diagnosis was just settling in when I caught the flu. That's a real time saver as now I don't need a flu shot. I didn't think about my neck for 2 straight days. Uhhhgg. The flu is not fun. But now I'm back to normal and you know what? My neck still hurts. So the flu is NOT the cure for a bad neck and worse headache. Now we know.

Short view

My neck has been hurting enough that last week I asked the physiotherapist to OK an X-ray. The X-ray report came back saying that my C-5 vertabrae had collapsed. I knew that previously C-3 had collapsed and that C-6 had a void where cancer use to be, but C-5 was new. On went the *^!X^ neck collar.

Today I saw my regular bone doctor. He looked at the x-ray and pointed out that my C-3 has collapsed to the point where the radiologist missed it. He had miscounted my neck vertabrae and his comments were about C-6.

Good. No new bones involved but it looks like C-6 is getting shorter now too. Soon I'm going to need to sit on a phone book to see out the van's windshield. However it's the neck/shoulder pain that's the problem. The good doctor suggests I wait until C-6 stops collapsing, and the neck muscles compensate. Then the neck pain will go away.

I need to find a doctor with a magic wand.

Love
Carolin

Pic's

This gives you an idea of the view from our balconey. Nice and green (and warm). Sandy likes all the ships.

Cold

I'm freezing! Sandy won't let me turn up the thermostat to where I want it so I'm buried under all the blankets in the house.

The trip home was long but we got to visit my sister in San Fran on the stop over there. The airline threatened to divert to Great Falls Montana because of bad weather at Calgary. It didn't happen but that would've been something - Singapore in the morning, Great Falls in the evening. We made it home about midnight local time.

Today we woke up to a clean house (thanks Michelle), snow and back to the real world. I have a pain in my neck that's making things harder but the sore throat I had yesterday is getting better. A few more hours of sleep and I'll be straightened out again.

Tomorrow I'll be convincing Sandy that I should be driving again.

Singapore 3

Tonight we're packing to head home. It went by quickly. We rode a luge (a fancy go cart), saw a marvelous night safari (lots of big animals up close), experienced a real rain storm (not a woosy north american gully washer), got more pool time, and loaded up a camera with enough pictures for more than a few scrapbooking weekends. We met good people from the UK, Hong Kong, Australia, California and two characters from Pakistan. The trip home promises to be long but it's always great to sleep in your own bed.

So tomorrow at 6AM local time we'll climb into a cab and start the trek. 24 hrs later we should be wondering why there isn't a snow brush in the car at the Park-n-Jet place. We're looking forward to it.