I got my MRI this morning. I assumed I'd be sent away from the appointment this morning because I still have 7 staples hanging out in my body. Apparently, the metal used in surgical staples doesn't pose any danger to a person getting an MRI (yay?) which meant that I was good to go for an MRI this morning.
Not only was I lucky enough to do the MRI, but I am also lucky enough to have received the results from said MRI in MyChart (their online patient portal), and check out this good news:
So although my abdomen has all manner of evidence, my brain is in the clear! Apparently, that left frontal lobe thing is no big deal. I'm sure my oncologist will go over more details with me at my appointment on Wednesday but I am so tremendously relieved that there are no tumors in my brain.
The rest of my week should play out as expected: Financial counseling first thing Wednesday (sob), meeting my oncologist right after, getting my staples out that afternoon, then PET scan on Thursday. I am optimistic that by the end of the week we'll have more of a plan.
In the meantime I'm trying to spend a little time outside, trying to make sure I really do feel as good as I think I feel. Isaac and I hiked up Mt. Kearsarge yesterday (~3 miles, up 1,147 feet according to my Apple watch which annoyingly paused when we got to the summit) and even though we were remarkably foolish to go on a rainy day, it gave me some very good (if not very cheesy) perspective. It's something like this:
Going down a steep trail on a rainy mountain may feel impossible because wherever you look it seems your only option is to step down slick wet sheetrock and probably slip and fall. But if you take a moment you'll find some cracks, you'll find a stable place for one foot. Then, as slowly as you may need, you can lower down and it'll give you a chance to look around and find a stable place for your other foot. Step by step, soon enough you'll have made it down that part of the mountain without any dangerous mishaps.
I am on the top of my mountain looking down with no earthly clue how I will get there. Every step seems dangerous. But in time, I will find the first step, then a second. And in my baby steps, I will get down. And I will not fall!
