Gamma Knife worked

I have, since the Gamma Knife procedure, had another surgery. This time I left the hospital with fewer parts. I had a complete hysterectomy and have another scar to add to the collection. One of my dear friends came to stay with me to keep me distracted and drove me around for two weeks while I healed. I was extremely appreciative of her visit because I was sore, tired, and grouchy. I am hoping this improves several problems, including the failed uterine ablation, the horrid menstrual migraines, and the pain that I have on top of the chronic migraines. After the surgery, my doctor said I had Adenomyosis, which explains why I had the extremely painful cramps during my periods.

I have seen my doctor who was in charge of the Gamma Knife procedure and was able to tell him how I felt about the pain I experienced. "Well, we do things a bit differently since you had your procedure," he told me.

He described a new machine in which some patients can be fitted with a suctioned mask, avoiding the pins in the skull altogether. And, speaking of those pins, when I expressed the pain experienced when the frame was taken off my head, he said they now give patients a shot of morphine when they take the frame off. They realize the headaches patients get are "extremely painful." I wonder why it took them thousands of procedures to finally do this. I am glad to hear others are getting more pain relief during the procedure than what was offered to me but I am confused as to why it took them this long.

The good news is that the Gamma Knife worked. The latest MRI shows a small reduction of the size of the tumor. My next MRI will be in six months but I will be returning to the clinic before the end of the year so that the transplant team can check on the lungs.

In January I will be celebrating year THREE with my recycled lungs! Even though I still deal with a lot of pain issues and an uncertain future, I am so grateful. I was once on a list where twenty-two people die each day waiting for a transplant but I was one of the lucky ones. I received a life-saving transplant because someone said YES to organ donation.