It was four weeks ago today that I willingly let a group of people whom I don’t even know (plus one that I’d met only weeks before and hadn’t seen since) stick all sorts of things into my body and scrape an egg-sized growth out from just under my brain. It’s finally starting to seem like a long time ago, but of course my body still likes to remind me every now and then that 28 days is really not that long. For the benefit of those who may be reading this in an effort to find out more about the healing process, here’s a quick snapshot of what those four weeks have accomplished.

On the positive side, and it is indeed mostly positive, I have been back to work almost full-time since last week (and even a couple half days before that); I have caught myself running up the steps a couple of times without even thinking about it; I havn’t had a headache at all in at least the past week, and not really any significant ones since my first week home; and as I’ve mentioned in the previous posts, my eyesight is significantly improved, the lab work confirmed the tumor was benign (as these types of tumors usually are), and I have not experienced any significant trouble with the many pituitary functions that they tell you to watch out for following the surgery.

Of course I can still be grumpy about a few things, because honestly I’m ready to feel 100% and that’s not going to happen for another month or two, apparently. For example, my latest annoyance is that my sleep pattern is a bit disrupted and seems to be stuck there. I am able to easily stay awake until 11 or midnight, and then I have been waking up at about 4am or so and restlessly getting 20 or 30 minute sleep intervals after that. I just asked for a prescription for Ambien, the wonder drug that helped me sleep like a baby in the hospital. Unfortunately, last night’s first attempt with it showed no difference. Hopefully that will change. Apparently this is a relatively common issue post-surgery, but that doesn’t keep me from creatively yet silently cursing the alarm clock when I see it say 4:37am instead of 7:37am.

I went to an improv practice last night, my first evening outing since the main event. It was tons of fun with a lot of laughing and smiling, and therefore a true test of the current flexibility of my upper lip. The lip is indeed still a bit numb, and it feels like it’s going to take a lot more smiling to stretch it back out to it’s previous limits, but I’ll make sure it does.  The accompanying numbness of my palette and upper teeth is getting slowly better, but it’s still bothersome. On track to clear up in the 2-3 months that I was told, I guess.

The mysteriously bruised gut is still the same. It doesn’t feel like it’s getting any better or worse, which is frustrating. I’ll probably bug my family doctor about it again if it hasn’t changed by the end of this week. I haven’t yet seen the endocrinologist for the follow up post-surgical visit. That’s not even scheduled until sometime in early April. I can’t help but wonder if he’ll have the magical answer for the gut stuff, and then ask why I didn’t call him in the first place. At which point I imagine a pie suddenly appearing in my hand, which I then proceed to comically splat right on his face. Wat, wait, wait… piiiiicture it…. goooood.
As far as the big question that everybody asks, “How are you feeling???”, I’d say the honest answer has to be “like a lump.” I haven’t yet started exercising again, and I really think that’s what I need to do. I mean basic stuff, but at least something. Because I am logically a bit drained of energy throughout the day, and although my brain wants to work full speed, my body isn’t really translating that much further than “half speed.” So I end up feeling like a lazy lump, because I know there’s so much I want to do but I’m just not energized enough to do it. It’s not a depressed lump, I don’t think. I think it’s just an honest, body isn’t up to full speed yet lump. So I think I’m ready to get some exercise in and start working those endorphins. Usually, however, my answer to the big question of “How are you feeling???” is “Pretty good, thanks.” That’s a lot easier to explain.

And I think it’s notable that I can’t tell if I’ve covered everything or not in this update. That must mean that I’m not paying as much attention to it any more, which either points to progress or apathy. And I’m fairly sure it’s not apathy. Whatever.

So now, I’m off to bed. For those still offering up prayers and energy and thoughts, focus them all on a solid night’s sleep. Then you’ll really see me testing the limits of my smile.