Just to Keep Things Interesting

As part of the game plan to keep Peggy distracted while she recuperates, we pulled out a jigsaw puzzle from last year's summer vacation that never was completed.  It is probably shocking to hear a goal was not fully executed by Team Studzinski.  In our defense, the puzzle is a pretty complicated 1000 piece stained glass floral design.  Our intention was to complete it during this year's vacation in August (which was sidelined by my first craniotomy) but see how things all work out for the best?  We now had a major project to tackle that required my sitting still.

We unrolled our felt traveling puzzle mat across our dining room table, and Keith and I spent the better part of Thursday evening engrossed in finishing our task.  Upon standing much later, I thought one of my my slippers had fallen off but when I looked down, it was still on my right foot.  I discovered that I could not feel the slipper and also noticed that my skin was numb from the ends of my left fingertips, up my left arm, through my shoulder and into my left chest.

The good news is that this was a known potential side effect as the tumor was sitting on my sensory skills which regulate the sense of hot, cold and touch on my skin; and pressing on my motor skills which control the muscles in my extremities.  It was anticipated that my brain would swell within 48 - 72 hours of the surgery and create either a sensory loss, or a foot drag and a floppy arm.  We paged the neurosurgeon (who responded immediately) and assured us we did not need to head to the emergency room.  We simply upped my anti-swelling medication to offset the expected effect.

Fortunately, the personal friend scheduled to come assist Keith in taking care of me Thursday night is a medical professional and she was on her way.  She evaluated my functionality and it was determined that there was no reason for heightened concern.  In the big picture, I can deal with a flaccid arm or leg or a little numbness.

Slowly but surely, the symptoms are declining.  I still went for a two mile walk on Saturday and Monday.  I hope to be back at work before the Christmas holidays and the gym before the end of the year.