So the plan for tomorrow is that I am going to be having brain surgery tomorrow around noon to remove the tumor from inside my brain. The surgery is supposed to take about 1.5 hours with an hour in post op. It should be a pretty routine surgery with little risk of complications. the tumor is in a good location close to the skull. Recovery time if everything goes as it should will be about 1-2 days at Hershey before going home.
Even though it seems like this is happening very fast it is actually a good thing. Since all of my symptoms so far are being caused by the brain tumor once it is gone my double vision will improve. Since the tumor is gone the risk for it to start bleeding again is gone. And the swelling that was causing a shift in my brain with be able to correct itself. I will still be getting radiation to make sure there is no remaining cancer cells in the surgical site but that will not happen for at least a week after the surgery and will be more focused since it is on a smaller area to target.
Another benefit of of having to surgery so soon is that I will be able to stop taking the steroids they have me on to try managing the swelling. This is beneficial on many levels. It means that my brain is not a risk for swelling any more potentially causing seizures and other neurological effects. It also means that I may be able to start the immunotherapy sooner as opposed to if the brain tumor was only being treated with radiation.
Overall I am a peace with everything that is going on. I feel that God has put me exactly where I need to be to get this battle underway with the people that are going to make it happen. I am very happy with the team of doctors and other medical personnel He has placed around me. And am excited to see the ball start rolling in the right direction.