Franken-kristi

This was an unexpected event today.  For my MRI, they placed about 8 markers around  my head.  You can see three on my forehead:

There are about 5 more scattered around my head for which they shaved patches into my hair and attached.  Don't worry, I did not freak out too badly that this was happening.  I do have to keep these on all night for surgery tomorrow.  That means no showering: they can not get wet.  Otherwise, I do not have to do anything special.  I can sleep normally and if one or two fall off it is ok as they are all marked with a sharpie dot in the center.

What are these for?  They are markers, so on the MRI they highlight where they are on the scans. Then, for the surgery, the doctors are able to use those for navigation.  My brother explained it much better, but that is about the gist of it.

There is so much I would like to write, but lately I have had a hard time gathering all my thoughts.  I have also been keeping busy trying to tie up loose ends, so to speak.  Here are a few highlights of what is on my brain:

Prepare for Surgery Workshop
Greg and I attended a Prepare for Surgery workshop at UCSF last Monday evening.  I could easily write a whole blog post on that, but will sum up that it was worth going, though not all of what they were talking about applied to me.  I picked up a few important pieces of information and it really helped to set my expectations of what going into surgery will be like.  They also stressed how important it is to sleep and relax before surgery.

The Arnold Pack
Some of you know I decided to go ahead and really try to gain some weight for the surgery.  Part of the procedure is to harvest belly fat to seal the hole in my skull.  I want to be sure there is plenty of fat there.  The last few weeks I have been drinking more milk shakes, eating until I am really full, having plenty of french fries, dessert every night, etc.  I feel like I have gained weight and the scale today said I am up 6lbs from where I normally am.  So, thanks to all those that were supporting my efforts to gain weight by feeding me and eating with me!  Big thanks to my mom for all the wonderful food she has been cooking and will be cooking for me as I recover AND for the yummy chocolate cake with whipped cream to plump me up.

Lots of Pre-op
I had my prepare call on Wednesday last week, exactly one week before my surgery.  Actually, the prepare clinic called me on Tuesday to schedule my prepare call on Wednesday.  Anyway, it was fairly brief and they added yet another appointment to the Tuesday before surgery.  
Today is Tuesday before my surgery, here is what I did today:
 
 8:30AM pre-op consultation with Dr. L the otolaryngologist.
 9:45AM audiogram - confirmed the hearing in my right ear is useless
11:30AM prepare clinic appointment to review paperwork, have my vitals taken and draw blood
LUNCH TIME!!!  I'm very glad that I packed a bottle of water to take with me as I was so busy I did not have much time to get water.
 1:30PM check-in for my MRI.  This is when I was surprised with the markers AND they poked me with an IV for the contrast.  Usually, the MRI's I have had at PAMF, they just injected the contrast after doing their initial set of scans.  This time, the had a machine inject it so they could scan while the contrast was making it's way through my system.

Four appointments does not look like much but it seemed like a lot to me.  I am wiped out and going to head to bed very soon.

Remember, no food or water after midnight.  6:30AM I will be checking in to the hospital.  I will be in the OR by about 8:30 and the drilling will commence around 10:30.  If all goes well, I could be out as early as 3PM.

Thank you to everyone that has been sending their love and support through gifts, e-mail, text, facebook and prayers.  Every single one is invaluable to me and it helping me to keep going.

Big thank you to my mom and dad for keeping the kids as of yesterday as we wade through all of this.  Our stress would be so much higher but for their love and support.

HUGE hugs, kisses and thank you to my amazing husband who is already taking care of me and has been helping me through this every step of the way.  I never would be doing this if it were not for him.