"A New Me" Blog

I am so grateful for courage to tell others what is happening to me. The reactions amaze me. I feel the strength of people praying for me. The cards, the phone calls, the efforts to search the internet for answers for me, the books of encouragement, the words of encouragement, the teddy bear—all these things let me know others […]

How in the world do I tell my relatives and friends what is happening to me? They are going to freak when I say, “Oh by the way, I have a brain tumor. But it’s benign.” I don’t want to cause others pain or worry. Worse yet, I don’t want their pity. I want their prayers. I can’t […]

The phone rang. In a calm voice the neurologist said, “You have a brain tumor. It is benign, but you need surgery.” That’s all I heard. I don’t know what else she said. I hung up in shock. Brain surgery? No! I had had my gall bladder removed about five years before and had a rough time. I was […]

Help. I’m scared. I was scared of the MRI and now I’m even more scared of the results. My mind is racing thinking of the possibilities. I’m a nurse and at times this is a huge disadvantage because I can think of so many possibilities, most of them ugly. The not knowing is rough. ***** Readers: Have you […]

I have a problem with claustrophobia, so the idea of a MRI hit me like a ton of bricks. I had to find a place that does open MRI’s, not closed. I checked with my family physician where to go for the test. She said she would order Valium to help me get through the test. Also, she suggested […]

My doctor didn’t know exactly what was wrong with me. She talked about grit in my ear and said a neurologist could put me through some maneuvers to move the grit out of its current position and all would be well. Two weeks later a neurologist did the maneuvers that would bring on the dizziness and move the grit. […]

My acoustic neuroma symptoms started one morning in bed. I rolled over and suddenly my world was spinning out of control. I held on, fearing I would fly out of bed. I didn’t know which way was up. The whole episode lasted less than a minute. At the end I was scared to move for fear it might happen […]

When we hear a diagnosis that really scares us, we don’t always immediately realize that our life will never be the same. It is changed forever. “You have a brain tumor,” the neurosurgeon said in a calm these things-happen-every-day voice. “The good news is it is benign, but you will need surgery to remove it.” […]