Month: February 2019
Happy 6th Birthday to #4!
It’s time for the annual “I can’t believe how old she is,” comment that I say every time one of my kids has a birthday. That and “Time goes so fast!” are frequent thoughts I have. Shecklet #4 is 6 today. SIX! She is full of creativity, independence, and kindness. She loves spending time playing with her older siblings yet enjoys time alone as well.
Kid Quotes – deodorant
Jake overheard the following conversation this morning.
Shecklet #2 to Shecklet #1 while #1 was in the shower and #2 was brushing his teeth: “Remember the green armpit stuff is mine. The blue armpit stuff is yours.”
#2 then came down the stairs while smelling his armpits (in an exaggerated fashion) followed by large smiles and a content sounding “aaaahhh.”
Tumor free! Officially!
For the past year, I’ve been holding it together and functioning like everything is going to be ok thanks to the confidence my neurosurgeon, Dr. Schwartz, had that he resected my entire tumor. I missed the call from my other surgeon, Dr. Friedman, today but he left a message letting me know that my MRI “looks gorgeous” and I don’t need another one for four years.
I’m crying tears of joy and breathing a huge sigh of relief! Thank you, Lord!
1-year post-op MRI
It’s snowing today and everything is covered in a fluffy blanket of powder. Typically, I wouldn’t venture out (other than to go to and from the bus stop) but my MRI was scheduled for 9 AM. Glad I didn’t have to drive far – though 4-wheel drive worked splendidly.
The scan took about an hour and I walked out with the disk of my images in hand.

I took a look at the scans when I got home. Obviously I’m not a radiologist, but I didn’t see the same tumor blob as on my last scan. The sinus infection I had during my first scan cleared up nicely as well – ha! (The right side of my head is on the left side of each of the images below.) I was able to see some of the titanium mesh that was screwed into my skull as well as what I believe is the fat plug they took from my belly to fill the space left by the tumor. I will, of course, wait for “official” word from my surgeon that things look ok, but for now, I can wait patiently and not feel anxious.


For reference, here is the post with images from my first scan where Norman is clearly visible.










