A few weeks before Christmas I started getting these weird headaches. I would stand up to do something and then when I sat down I would get this pounding headache that would last a little while (1-2 minutes) and then it would go away until the next time I sat down. This pounding wasn't just a little headache, it was like the worst headache of my life. Then again, I never got headaches before really, so I kept kinda trying to push it off as nothing. My parents came to Utah for my cousin's wedding just for a few days and my mom noticed that I would wince in pain every time I sat down. She asked about it and I told her what was going on...She said I should probably get that checked out. I was starting to feel the same way (before I just kinda pushed it off and didn't want to take the time to go to the Dr.) Rob took some days off in between Christmas and New Years, so I ended up going into the urgent care center near my house the day after Christmas. I didn't have a primary care physician so I figured that was the easiest thing to do.
The Dr. that I saw asked a lot of questions and said that my headaches were pretty weird. He prescribed me some pain medication and told me to follow up with my primary care physician. So I found one I could use (that I had never seen before and made an appt with him for the 28th (Rob and my anniversary) bright and early at 7am. I told this doctor what was going on and he thought it was a little strange as well. He mentioned that it might be dehydration so I should drink some more water. He also mentioned that maybe I could get a CT scan if I wanted. He left it up to me. I said sure just to rule out all the scary stuff so I could just forget and not worry about these headaches! So they scheduled a CT scan at the Riverton hospital for later that day at 1pm. I went home and hung out until I had to go. Rob stayed home with the kids so we didn't have to find a babysitter. I drove myself to my CT scan.
I got there and found where I was supposed to go. They called me back and I was surprised I didn't even need to change into a gown. They just were going to do the scan with me in my regular clothes. Good...this would be faster and easier than I thought! The girl called me back and took me in to get a CT scan. It was much faster and easier than I thought it would be. It only took about 5 minutes and it wasn't in a tight tube like and MRI is.
Right after the nurse was done with the CT scan she walked back into the room and I sat up thinking I was done. Instead she said "So there were some things on your CT scan that didn't look quite right...you have hydrocephalus in your brain and your ventricles are a lot bigger (10 times the size!) than they should be. So I'm going to walk you down to the ER and get you checked in there so you can get an MRI so we can get a better look at things." My heart just sank. This scan was supposed to be just to put my mind at ease because nothing was going to be wrong! So I got checked into the ER and I was just in tears because I was alone and scared. I called Rob. Told him to come be with me. He arranged for the kids to be watched by our neighbor. Thank you Leflers! He brought Finley with him to see me in the ER and I nursed her for the last time right there. They were able to get me in for an MRI before at the Riverton hospital which was somewhat surprising because they didn't think they were going to be able to. Got that scan done and the ER doctor looked over those and told us that there was a mass near my pituitary gland and that was blocking the CSF (brain fluid) from draining. He also said that if this had happened quickly that I would be comatose. Scary. They transferred me from the Riverton hospital to the one in Murray by ambulance. That was and interesting experience. Rob followed the ambulance in the van. I could see him out the back window from the bed I was on. I made small talk with the guys in the ambulance.
We made it to the other hospital and they got me checked in on the 4th floor which is where the people with brain problems go. On the other half of the 4th floor are people with respiratory stuff. The nurses told me kids were not allowed on the floor and not two seconds later Rob sneaks in with Finley She said he could stay for a minute with her and I could say goodbye before he took her back home. I met the neurosurgeon Dr. House who would be doing my brain surgery and we decided we wanted to schedule it for the next day just to get it over with. He said we could wait until Saturday if we wanted but I didn't want to have to wait around until then just thinking and worrying about it.
In the ER finally with Rob. I was there by myself before this and it was miserable.
Finley! It was bittersweet feeding her knowing it would probably be the last time I could nurse her. It turns out the tumor was probably the reason she was such a fussy baby up until this point. It may have caused my low milk supply. She started to be less fussy when she was getting enough formula!
I let her have my bed for a quick diaper change.
After I fed her they loaded me up and brought me over to the IMC in the ambulance.
It was funny because I loved all of my nurses, but it seemed like the night nurses were always male. Which was fine, just funny when I had to ask them to find me a breast pump so I could pump a little bit. They tried to figure out how it worked so they could show me but I told them I could probably figure it out. lol
This is not what I expected to be eating on my anniversary. By myself. Rob was gone trying to figure out what to do with the kids.
The next day was supposed to be my surgery, so I was fasting because they don't let you eat before you have surgery. I don't remember what time they finally came and told me that they would have to push my surgery back to Saturday morning because there were too many traumas that came in and also a few transplants. So another night of worrying and being scared about the upcoming brain surgery. But this way Rob was able to bring the kids up to see me. I tried really hard not to cry while they were there and I succeeded! My friend Laurel pretty much spent the whole day at the hospital with me which was great. I didn't like being alone. My mom had also already flown in from AZ to help with things. She stopped by the hospital because she was taking the trax and it stops right outside the hospital. So she came over and said hello and gave me hugs. Our home teacher and a good friend Chuck Preston and Will Pettit came that morning and gave me a priesthood blessing that was really powerful. I was grateful they were able to take the time to come do that for us.
With the kids! They loved exploring the room.
One last picture before they left. I was going to have surgery the next morning bright and early.
Laurel and I. So glad she could come spend the day with me and just talk and cry with me. It was so nice to not be alone!
To be continued...
