The Best Birthday Present Ever!

I had a much anticipated and nail-biting doctor's appointment today at UCSF with the best possible outcome I could have hoped for! I had an MRI on March 15th to compare with one that I had taken 2 months earlier, to see if the trial drug that I have been on is working, and all signs say that it is kicking butt! It is such a nice feeling to walk into a neuro-oncologist's office and see him smiling :) During our visit, he was thrilled to hear that I have had virtually no side effects from the medication. He always does a thorough neurological exam, asking me to follow his finger with my eyes or does it feel the same when he touches one side of my face vs the other side, that sort of test. I passed with flying colors, except my bad left leg, of course, and everything seems to be stable.

I had ANOTHER issue with getting the MRI images from Kaiser, but eventually was able to pick up a CD yesterday to take to my appointment. Since I couldn't get it to him earlier, they had to reformat the pictures to be able to compare them, apples to apples, with my previous MRI, which they weren't able to finish until after we left the hospital. In the appointment, he said he had looked at the new MRI and didn't see anything that concerned him, but that he could not confirm that for a couple hours, until they could officially compare it to the previous MRI. Finally, just after 5pm, I got a call from him saying that my tumor looks stable and that he was very happy with the results :) It is SO much nicer getting to write this kind of post rather than the ones I dread!

On another nice note, my mom and I just got back from a wonderful trip up to Portland and Mt. Hood to surprise our good friend for her 60th birthday. We saw a bunch of friends who I grew up with, as well as my uncle and cousin and one of my best friends from high school. It was totally relaxing while we spent 3 nights at our friends' cabin on Mt. Hood with a fire blazing, snow falling outside and a river running past, then a total party over the weekend when we stayed at a hotel in Portland for the surprise party. We were exhausted by the time we got home, but it was well worth it!

To further add to our fun/exhaustion, we flew in to Sacramento yesterday then drove to San Francisco where my sister, her husband and my niece met us to celebrate my birthday and go to my appointment this morning. We had a great time and had a nice lunch at Fisherman's Wharf today to celebrate the good news after my appointment :) Dena's family got me an awesome new camera for my b-day, so I'm finally going to start taking pictures of the basement remodel and post them so you can see the fantastic new room Dad's finishing for me.

It's been a busy, super cool week, but I tell ya, my bed is feeling pretty friggin good right about now :) I hope this finds you all doing well, or at least reminds you that life is one big, long roller coaster. One moment you're scared as hell, going up hill with your stomach in your throat, then the next, you're screaming for joy as you zoom around the twists and turns. I just celebrated my 36th birthday and there was a time when I was worried that I wouldn't live to see my 26th! As hard as we try, we just can't plan exactly what's around the corner. I've been forced to learn to do the best with what I've been dealt and to keep flexible and adaptable when life throws me a challenge. I'm starting to realize that optimism and a good attitude really do pay off :)

With that little nugget, I bid you all farewell, I'm pooped! Until next time...