Confirmed for April 7
I got the call from the hospital - the date is confirmed for my surgery on Monday, April 7. I'm to show up at 6:30 am in soft pants with no belongings; my spouse is to bring a bag to take all of my clothes away. I'll be in for 5-6 hours, then in recovery. I'll not go to the ICU unless there are complications. At some point, I'll be in the MRI machine to make sure everything went ok in there.
No visitors
Once awake and recovered, I'll be moved to the spot where I'll be for a few days. My close family will be allowed to visit but honestly, I'll be home soon enough, and fewer people spreading germs in the hospital is best.
My wedding clients
I've reached out to all of my wedding (and other) photography clients, and honestly I am blown away by every one of their responses - none wanted to cancel or get their money back; everyone accepted my sister Francyne at francynephotography.ca to take my place, assisted by my local photographer friend Nathalie Vaillant; One couple said they are happy to have Fran but want to wait and see how I recover because they really want me to shoot their wedding. Their wedding is 5 months out and well within the possibility of full recovery. Even if I am good to go, I'm going to bring Francyne and Nathalie because I want to make sure their wedding goes well.
And that's it!
This journey has been a whirlwind! As early as December last year, I knew something wasn't right. I had gone on a camping trip with my friends on what should have been an easy run, and I was shocked at how tired I got from simple hiking and pulling sleds. In January I started noticing my left foot was becoming unresponsive. By mid-February my wife convinced me to engage the healthcare system, and because my symptoms weren't evident, I didn't get in to see a doctor for almost two weeks.
Things kicked into very high gear as soon as I saw the first GP at the clinic. I could tell by the way he was frowning that he knew something big was going on. He knew it was neurological. He ordered up a head scan and referred me to a neurologist. The neurologist also frowned, and ordered up an MRI of the head and spine. The head scan happened two days later, and I got the call 4 hours after that - 3.4cm meningioma right on top of the head, and I was referred to the surgeon, who I met a couple of days later.
Initial op date was March 24, 15 days after meeting the surgeon, but because of all the tests I had to do, and an emergency for the doctor, I got pushed to April 7. And here we are.
