Official Brain Tumor thread

Post by **brian** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 7:57 pm

Yup. Learned on Wednesday I have a "cavernous angioma" which could be worse as far as these things go I guess. I had a seizure on Tuesday while back in Michigan burying my grandfather. It's been a weird week. I have an appointment Monday with a neurologist and I'm told brain surgery is probably in my near future. I consider some of you my good friends and just wanted you to know.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 7:58 pm

Thinking of you, and praying for the best.

Post by **Shirley** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:02 pm

Holy shit, dude! I'm very sorry to hear that. I hope you know that a lot of us in the Swamp will try to help with anything you think you need.

rass · Post by **rass** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:07 pm

Fuck brian. All the luck in the world man.

cerrano · Post by **cerrano** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:17 pm

stay strong, bri. pulling for you.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:55 pm

Good luck, dude.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:05 pm

There are easier and better ways of turning down the offer of the guest bedroom for the CMU-Syracuse game next year, jerk.

I haven't gotten any confirmation about my usual work trip to Vegas in December, but haven't chased that down, either. Will find out this week.

Post by **brian** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:12 pm

DSafetyGuy wrote:There are easier and better ways of turning down the offer of the guest bedroom for the CMU-Syracuse game next year, jerk.

I haven't gotten any confirmation about my usual work trip to Vegas in December, but haven't chased that down, either. Will find out this week.

Unless they tell me I have to have the surgery ASAP I might put it off until after my trip to Michigan in September because one last trip to Mount Pleasant to see a CMU football game & get plowed sounds like fun. I'll go under the knife after watching CMU beat up on an ACC team at Kelly/Shorts.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:37 pm

yikes. praying for a speedy recovery and no surgery needed!

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 10:43 pm

Jesus, dude. Best wishes.

GoodKarma · Post by **GoodKarma** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 11:36 pm

Good luck, Brian...wishing the best for you.

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 2:29 am

wow....

hoping for the best...

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 6:09 am

Holy fuck. That sucks. I'm hoping for the best for you.

Johnny Carwash · Post by **Johnny Carwash** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 6:34 am

Same as everyone else here. Stay strong and best wishes.

Post by **Sabo** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 7:22 am

Jesus, Brian. When you get bad news, you really get bad news. Good luck with everything.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 7:56 am

Holding thoughts, dtw.

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 9:12 am

fuckin a, man. good luck

Brontoburglar · Post by **Brontoburglar** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 10:08 am

Holy shit. So sorry. Were you having headaches?

Post by **brian** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 10:44 am

Brontoburglar wrote:Holy shit. So sorry. Were you having headaches?

No, the seizure was really my only clue. I may have had a seizure about four years ago, but didn't know it because I was home alone at the time. I did go to the doctor after that but they didn't do an MRI so if it was the same thing they wouldn't have seen it.

Post by **Shirley** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 11:14 am

I googled your tumor, because I've never hear that term before. Weird stuff. It sounds like they can form anywhere and a lot of folks have them and never know.

Well, at least it's not cancer, right?

Post by **Shirley** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 11:14 am

I googled your tumor, because I've never hear that term before. Weird stuff. It sounds like they can form anywhere and a lot of folks have them and never know.

Well, at least it's not cancer, right?

Post by **brian** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 12:36 pm

Shirley wrote:I googled your tumor, because I've never hear that term before. Weird stuff. It sounds like they can form anywhere and a lot of folks have them and never know.

Well, at least it's not cancer, right?

Yeah, it could be a lot worse. The neurologists at the hospital in Lansing (where I was taken after the seizure) actually seemed relieved to tell me what it was so I'm hoping it's in an "easy" location to get at in my brain. And if it was a seizure I had four years ago, four years between seizures without meds is not too bad though I can't expect it to magically get better.

howard · Post by **howard** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 12:39 pm

Give me a call anytime should you want to discuss. And get a good fucking surgeon, these things are very treatable, but tricky. And right away, talk to your doctor about banking a unit or two of your own blood, for transfusion back into you during surgery (this is an option, not a full-out recommendation on my part). These things bleed, and you will be getting some transfusions. You are welcome to a pint or two of mine, if we are the same blood type (but then again that could rapidly spiral into a Dave Chappelle skit.)

Blood Drive for Brian!!!

Best of luck, and call me.

ETA: The best neurosurgeon for this might well be at UNLV, but if I were you with your geographic considerations I would look first at U of M.

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 3:16 pm

Gak! Thoughts and all. Keep us updated.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 3:58 pm

ack! thoughts with you my friend.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 7:07 pm

Sending positive thoughts your way.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 7:11 pm

Thinking about you. As everyone here says...if you need something...ask

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 7:14 pm

Acht! If there is a God, I hope he is on your team. He sure as hell isn't a Lions fan, but maybe this is where it balances out. Good luck, keep us posted. Google says it is very treatable, so I'm not worried.

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 8:53 pm

Oh man, this sucks to read. All my best to you, brother.

SportsDoc · Post by **SportsDoc** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 8:56 pm

Hoping all goes well for you. Prayers and good vibes headed your way!

If you are still in Michigan, my Sister-in-law is a Neurosurgeon in the Detroit area. Let me know if you want a name for any reason.

P.S.: She is much, much younger than me!

Post by **brian** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 9:24 pm

SportsDoc wrote:Hoping all goes well for you. Prayers and good vibes headed your way!

If you are still in Michigan, my Sister-in-law is a Neurosurgeon in the Detroit area. Let me know if you want a name for any reason.

P.S.: She is much, much younger than me!

I appreciate that. I'm going to try a guy out here. Fortunately one of my best friends is actually a neuro ICU nurse so I'm not picking a name out of the phone book.

teeteebee · Post by **teeteebee** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 9:29 pm

Sorry to hear about your circumstance. Glad you caught it and can get focused on defeating the fuck out of this thing.

Very, very cool that you have the support of some folks on here that can actually help you. Have you in my thoughts but my discipline isn't aligned with your needs. With that said, I truly hope that you are able to operate on a close to as normal as possible routine.

I've seen folks in much worse condition pull through. Here's to you being around for at least another twelve iterations of the swamp!!

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 10:15 pm

Whoa, that's cray. I mean at least it's not brain AIDS but that still sucks.

BSF21 · Post by **BSF21** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 8:30 am

Thoughts with you brother. I can't offer any medical advice but if you need a stick or two of PVC pipe, you know the number to dial baby.

Keep us posted. If you do end up back in MI for anything I'm a short drive away.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:05 am

I can't help with the medical aspects, but if they botch the surgery, I can put you in touch with some lawyers.

howard · Post by **howard** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:09 am

brian wrote:Fortunately one of my best friends is actually a neuro ICU nurse…

An excellent source of info, good to hear that.

phxgators · Post by **phxgators** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 11:29 am

Holy shit man. Best of luck to you!

HaulCitgo · Post by **HaulCitgo** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 1:33 pm

Best of luck. FWIW... an associate of mine recently had brain surgery and it went well with a pretty quick recovery. Back at the job already.

vandwagon · Post by **vandwagon** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 1:40 pm

As with everyone else, sending positive thoughts your way. Good to know what's going on and figure out a way to defeat it.

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 2:09 pm

I'm really sorry to hear that, but at least it sounds treatable. And "I survived a fucking brain tumor" sounds like it can impress chicks, so... silver lining?