We had a nice trip to UVA. The Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center was state-of-the-art and very, very nice. Everyone there was incredible and the doctors were more thorough than I have witnessed. Our wait was minimal. With all that said, I am still a little let down....I suppose somewhere in the back of my mind I had convinced myself they would have something newer...better....a cure, of sorts. There is no cure, ever, for brain cancer. Yes, if it responds well to treatments, you can live a long while with brain cancer, but it seldom ever goes away or is cured, and often, comes back faster growing and more invasive each time. This is something you just have to live with. I suppose I let my hopes get ahead of reality....brain cancer is now part of my family...something we will deal with as long as we can. They did shed some light on a few new things...for one, the phantom smells she has had a few times were most likely seizures. The one short dizzy spell she had was also a seizure...so they upped her anti-seizure medications to prevent any larger seizures. They also informed us of the Virginia law that requires a person be 6 months seizure-free to legally drive...so it will be at least 6 months before she can drive again (Booo!). They also said that our neurosurgeon did an excellent job removing what he could without doing any damage. The treatment they suggested seemed a touch more aggressive too...though, we do not get the full story from our local oncologist until tomorrow...so it could turn out to be the same treatment plan. Long story short, we did not leave our trip empty handed. I hope to have UVA oversee her neurological care and treatments, but keep our local doctors to administer treatment...I know this is a lot to ask, but I hope they will be cordial and cooperative. We will find out tomorrow.
After our appointment, I took her for a special meal at the Thai 99 in Charlottesville. This is normally a meal that she enjoys and I, well, pick through and eat what I can stand to eat....today, though, I chose very wisely. So, if you are a meat & tators guy or gal that finds yourself in a Thai restaurant, here is what you need to order....Pad See Ew - wide noodle, soy sauce, broccoli, and whichever meat/tofu you choose. It was a HOME RUN! It was so good...comfort food from the far east.
One friend was concerned that this UVA trip delayed treatment...so I wanted everyone to know that we were able to get into UVA before our local appointments, so no delay occurred....just exploring every option to be sure we are getting the best care possible for my baby.
On a different note, Melissa loves her knitted hats. I think I may have (inadvertently) joked about them when I posted about the shirt I received from Lorenzo Alexander of the Redskins. She loves those hats and uses them daily. They were sent to brighten her day and they do just that. I did not mean to poke fun at them. I couldn't knit a stitch if my life depended upon it.
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