Jeff, Sada and I looked like masked bandits going into Primary Children's today with our masks on - but the security guard at the front desk just smiled and said, "Good idea. RSV season has started." So we passed by all the sneezers in the halls and got to Neurosurgery just fine. And no waiting - we were ushed right in so they could go to lunch after our first post-op appointment.

The surgeon, Dr. Kestle, said her tumor was 3.5mm x 3.5mm x 5mm, so think large gray Easter Egg standing on end. It hasn't been a full month yet but he was surprised her eye looks so good and has so much movement back. Her incisions are healing fast (chalk it up to hyperbaric help) and her balance has improved, too. He noticed her obvious weight gain and we asked if it would have made a difference in her improvement in swallowing. The tumor was much higher on the brainstem than the area that affects swallowing, so he couldn't see how that would have made a difference. But it was infiltrated and pressing hard on the coordination center - which is why she doesn't have asymmetrical weakness, but doesn't have as much control on the left side. It could have also made a difference in her swallowing coordination - getting the tongue and jaw to work together to get the food down.

The tumor was on the right side of the brainstem, which affected the left side of her body. But the cerebellum was affected on the right side, which controls the right side of the body, and so far we haven't seen any right-sided concerns. Jeff also asked about the extra pressure on her eyes in the mornings and Dr. Kestle said he hadn't ever heard of that, but we should ask the opthamologist about it next week. Because that was one of the very few symptoms she had pre-surgery, we'll continue with the 3 princess pillows she's sleeping on to keep it under control.