the other week i did the wenatchee 1/2 marathon. i mentioned that! but then after that i did the soaring eagle trail run. that was fun. hadn't been trail running in a long long while, so it was fun and nothing like a good race to get you going. i was pleased with the race, although for as much as i was able to pick it up at the end i apparently held way back. i knew i was holding back because again, i was not familiar with the course. i thought it was the same as the last time i did it a few years back and that it ended with the rediculous road climb back but it did not! it was actually a great last mile back! had i known, i might have been able to kick it in a little better.
i went to my 1 year appointment on monday! i was very concerned about this appointment. i was concerned, but apparently i was more concerned than i knew because i did not sleep even a wink on monday night. the mri the week before went fine, i of course fell asleep the instant they rolled me into the tube, but i wanted to know the results. i even called them and asked them to email me the report from the radiology guy saying i would interpret it on my own but they wouldn't do it! so i had to wait. so on monday i was anxious to get to my appointments! i got to the ambulatory infusion center. but first i made a pit stop at the cafeteria. i had decided to get one of the snickerdoodles. i had wanted to get one the last time i was there but it was too early in the morning so they only had morning stuff out. but this time they had the snickerdoodles, but they didn't look so great, so i grabbed a chocochip cookie. it was pretty good, but not as good as i remember the snickerdoodle being. then i went to the blood draw. the nurse was the most amazing vein puncher i have ever had! i even told her so! she said she had worked in neo natal intensive care for 18 years and spent that whole time starting ivs and taking blood from babies that were practically invisible, so she became accostumed to being very gentle. 8 tubes drawn, then she pumped some stuff back in, then we waited 30 minutes then another tube came out and i was done. the appointment with the endocrinologist was uneventful since there really wasn't anything to talk about since there were no blood test results to discuss, but then it was time to meet with the fabulous Dr Mayberg! omg, i love him!! earlier i saw him when i had just gotten to the hospital. i walked right by him, i guess he had just come out of surgery since he had on scrubs and a surgery hat and was leaning over the volunteer desk talking to the volunteers, i imagined trying to find some patient's family to talk to. i noticed his glasses had red frames! i don't know if that was new or not, but i was all impressed by how fancy that was of him! (oh now i totally realized i forgot to tell him how i swear i saw him out mountain biking one time!!)
but then a little later, he was in the starbucks, getting whatever starbucks beverage he prefers. he is so fascinating!! so it was time to meet with him and he was in a good mood. he wanted to sit next to me but i had all my crap in that seat so he sat on one of the rolling stools and asked how my head was doing. he commented on my hair cut and said he liked it. then he told me how my MRI had come back clear. not only clear, but so clear that neither he nor the radiologist guy could identify any remaining tumor, even the part that had been left in there! we talked about my hormones and how although I didn't have my blood work back yet, i was still feeling good, and how i had just done the 1/2 marathon and was so close to my pre-surgery PR. he was amazed and so happy for me! then he asked if i wanted to see the MRI and of course i did, so we went to take a look. he showed me the pre-surgery scans again, but showed me more than before which was interesting because i never actually saw how big the tumor and cyst actually was. i expressed how surprised i was and he was like, yeah, it was huge!! and then now on the current scans I could see how all the brains have settled back to where they are supposed to be, my optic nerves are back to where they are supposed to be. everything is back to where it is all supposed to be! he warned that although the scans show "stable unremarkable appearance of the brain" - hooray!!! which is very exciting and he (and I!!) am thrilled with, i am no way out of the woods yet, but we really could not ask for any better results right now. what a huge sigh of relief. right then and there i wanted to pick him up and hug him!! xtie, eric and i joke about how i should just do it, hug him and lift him up a little bit, so his little dr mayberg feet kick in the air a little bit! i wanted to get a photo of us together but i got shy, i think because i love him so much, but maybe next time. omg, i swear if he ever retires, i don't know what i will do!! but for now, i will go back in 6 months.
other news, its been warm and sunny, but i think i have a cold now. :( a summer cold. could i really? or its allergies maybe. i don't know. omg, i have been eating terrible, too. ever since my birthday i have been on a rampage. it was that delicious bday cake! oh yeah, i had a birthday! i am pretty old now. and eric made me this amazing organic chocolate cake with this amazing homemade chocolate frosting that was pretty much just fudge and it had chocolate chips and walnuts. it was amazing! i ate it for 3 days straight.
and may is brain tumor awareness month. who knew!! so i have been wearing grey to support it. i wear grey a lot anyway, but lets just say it is in support of brain tumor awareness!
