Full Disclosure: This excerpt was written in the beginning of May. It’s been a busy month. In the beginning of May I flew to Miami to visit my daughter and her family. We drove up to Daytona Beach for a wonderful Mother’s Day with my son-in-law’s family. I made a quick visit to Jacksonville and then headed back to Miami. Spent time painting, organizing the house, staying with grandkids, and visiting my favorite dentists. As I write I am sharing the third seat in my daughter’s SUV with a multitude of luggage. We are on our way back to Daytona, then the Outer Banks, and finally back to Maryland.
ALLERGY?
Now that there is time to write…here are some random thoughts.
• Ever look at yourself in a magnifying mirror?
• I miss sitting outside. Preferably in warm weather by a beautiful beach.
• Teeth, or lack of them.
Teeth.
My mother lived to be 90. Her teeth were fantastic. Was it because she grew up on a farm and ate from the earth? Was it simply genetics? My father was not so lucky. He always had issues with his teeth. There were dentures, crowns, and general misery. He was a city boy, not a big city, but a city boy nonetheless.
Called my brother last night and our conversation turned to teeth. As I would suspect, my brother takes after my mother. No issues with teeth. Guess who I take after?
It’s okay. It’s just genetics.
I also take after my mother with allergies. She was allergic to penicillin and sulfa. I was told at a very early age that I was also allergic to penicillin. “Never take it,” my mother would say. We even had a friend who was given it after a dental surgery and had a fatal reaction. I make sure that every medical provider I have ever had is aware of my allergies.
As the years went by, I got reactions to other medicines. So many that my dental surgeon wanted me to go for allergy testing before performing any dental work. This was a very hard thing to do. Did I mention that my daughter also had an allergic reaction to penicillin when she was little? Is it genetic?
No, research shows that it is not genetic. A coincidence then?
I summoned up the courage to go for the testing. Surely the skin prick would show something. It did not. Moved on to the ‘bubble’ under your skin test. Nothing. At all. I couldn’t bring myself to go on to the next level at this time. It was just too much.
At home I did more research. 90% of the people who have no reaction to the skin tests will have no reaction to the oral dose. Am I in that 10%?
A week later I went in for the oral test. The goal was to take a full dose of penicillin. A drug I have never had since I was deathly allergic to it in infancy. I was given a half dose and observed like a lab rat. Alone in a room. Nurses walking by and peering in every few minutes. Would there be any reaction?
None. About an hour later, I was given the second half. I took it.
No reaction. None.
What? So, I am not allergic to this powerful drug?
The real test will be in 2 days. I will take a dose at 6:30 a.m., then have two dental implants at 7:30. I will spend a week on the medicine. We will see how this goes. The oral surgeon deserves a reward for dealing with me!
Update: A full course of amoxicillin and no issues. No hives, no rash, no constricted airways. Seventy years of being allergic are over.
May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month
According to the National Brain Tumor Society, an estimated 700,000 people in the United States are living with a primary brain tumor, and approximately 88,970 more will be diagnosed this year. Brain tumors can be deadly, significantly impact quality of life, and change everything for a patient and their loved ones. They do not discriminate, inflicting men, women, and children of all races and ethnicities.
• Approximately 71% of all brain tumors are benign
• Approximately 58% of all brain tumors occur in females
My tumor of choice was a meningioma. They are the most commonly occurring primary non-malignant brain tumors, accounting for 39% of all tumors and 54.5% of all non-malignant tumors. If you are going to get a brain tumor, this is the kind to get.
Current data says that for non-malignant brain tumor patients, the average five-year survival rate is 91.8%. When I had surgery in 2018, my neurosurgeon and I decided that I needed at least 20 more great years, and I’m sticking to that plan.
I had a date on Mother’s Day, m`y daughter’s birthday, with an MRI. Spent an hour listening to Jimmy Buffet while having multiple brain scans. Brain surgery can bring some interesting effects to the body. Things that I easily ignore. ‘Feeling’ my glasses are always up on top of my head. They are not. It’s like wearing tight headband. All the time. Or having facial numbness after sleeping on the surgery side of the head. Every so often you must have it checked out.
Just 5 months short of my 4-year craniotomy anniversary and no regrowth and no new tumors! Whoo-hoo! Why the numbness? It’s a mystery. Guess it is just one of those things that comes with having your head sawed open.
Next check is scheduled for late 2024.