Matt's Medical Madness (Update)

Hello all!

I spoke with a neurosurgeon today (the doctor that performed my original biopsy), and received what I perceive to be excellent news. He said that the current situation looks like the result of radiation necrosis (aka damage from my most recent treatments a few months back), and that I'm receiving appropriate treatment (Bevacizumab, which I had my second dose yesterday). He feels confident that there is no need to do any further cutting (brain removal, etc.) and that based on a short neurological exam and seeing me in person that I am doing well. The only down-side is that I have to deal with the unfortunate side-effects of the "poison", including a pretty nasty rash along with waking up at night with extremely painful muscle cramps ("no pain, no gain" - I "hate" cliches) in my left side muscles (which is also a good sign that the drug is working). I am working on reducing the amount of meds that I have been taking every day (call it about 37-40 pills), which is pretty sweet. I think my liver and kidneys are looking forward to that. I am also busting my butt doing O.T. exercises as much as possible and seeing a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) a couple times a week, as well as walking as much as I can (exercise is excellent for patients undergoing chemo, and it's great for everybody anyway). My next MRI is scheduled for a couple weeks from now and I am due to visit my Neurologist next week, which I am excited about... the docs in Bloomington are fantastic (not that the rest of mine aren't... I think we have a mutual "love" for each other... we always keep humor in medicine and my personality is perfect for that - I like to brag about that). Another potentially good piece of news is that, depending on approval of the Neurologist (which could make him my favorite person ever, except for my parents who made me - eew), I could get my driver's license back since there is allegedly no Ohio law pertinent to seizures and driving... just obnoxious paperwork and perhaps another driving exam. Anyhow, I am extremely happy with how things are going and as always I'm looking forward to the Brain Tumor Walk on October 2nd (if you have anything to spare, please make a donation, join my team, or continue to provide my family and myself with your tremendous amount of love and support).

Keep the faith! - sigh, another cliche.