How they put my head back together again

Comments that I am not the correspondent that my wife was have been duly noted, and I will try to do better. I tried to update yesterday, but the Blogger site was down for maintenance, which I realize avoids the sensitive question of why I did not do this update immediately after the visit to the neurosurgeons on Wednesday. When I think of an excuse, I will report it.

But for now, let us turn to the MRI images above. They show what is holding my skull together these days, and I have tried to enhance the image on the right to make it more clear. Let's start from checkered area I have drawn in the center of the image. All of the bone there was invaded by the tumor and had to be removed, including a large portion of my right eye socket, which had to be rebuilt. This section of my head has been replaced with titanium mesh and some sort of mush (plaster of Paris? Play-Doh?) that hardens. That is where the divot is in my skull.

Moving out from there is a section of bone that was removed to gain access to the tumor and then returned after the meningioma (now confirmed by the pathology report) was drilled out. The mesh covers that area and there are some screws (marked) to hold things in place.

Finally, we come to the outside ring where most of the screws and plates (marked) are placed into the part of my skull that was not disturbed -- a solid footing, we hope. I have a sense of where the mesh ends, but I don't have pain or discomfort except for one screw in my forehead that I wish they had countersunk or had used a flat head.

Overall the neurosurgeons think I am doing well, that the numbness in my right side of my face will go away with time and that the double vision will do likewise. My next appointment with them is in August or September.

But I will be seeing a doctor on Monday about the continued swelling in my left leg, which indicates to me that cloture has not been reached on the clot issue. More on that after the Monday visit.

Big thanks to the continued support from all of you. Lawton, the cheesecakes (direct from New York!) are yummy. The card from the University of Montana School of Journalism was a big lift (miss you all). No need to apologize, Cousin Peggy, the good thoughts were blowing like a warm wind from the East and do we ever need some warmth here: 191 days below 70 degrees and five more days of rain and chill forecast. Thanks for the calls from Bruce, Paul and Marvin (good luck on your surgery today). Gil and Nancy, thanks for the card and your photo. Alex, your letter was reassuring that things will get better.

And thanks to Michael for agreeing to drive me to Emerald Downs on Sunday so I can start my seventh year of covering Thoroughbred racing there. It will be good to try to get off the couch and back into the productive swing of things.