Achieving The Needed Balance

Melissa was granted a temporary reprieve from our Scrabble match over Thanksgiving by family members and friends who supplied me with a few new sources of entertainment.  One was a challenging wood puzzle with intricate pieces (finished in 4 days though).

Also provided were a couple of new games to try: a dice game called Farkle (very short lived - as it is based mostly on chance) and a word game called Bananagrams (much better for me as it actually involves strategy).  Down 2 to 1 to my sister after three rounds, I realized I had to change my approach.  Since there are no points involved like in Scrabble, there was no advantage in creating create big words that utilize the most letters; I just needed to finish first.

Sometimes the key to accomplishing any mission is taking the opportunity to re-strategize along the way.  One of my end goals after I finish showing melanoma who is boss is to return to work ASAP.  This will require me to be drug free (off both the anti-swelling and anti-seizure medication).

My doctors need to find a way to alleviate the side effects of some brain swelling which is occurring as a result of my radiation treatment, while allowing my brain to heal from the actual tumor resection.  The conundrum is that while the steroids in the anti-swelling medication reduce brain edema, the opposing effect of the medication is that it slows the healing process of the brain tissue after surgery.

I am going to leave that balancing act to my neurosurgeon who we see tomorrow morning to find a resolution.  That being my only obstacle at this point is a true blessing.