I’m not one that likes to be the center of attention, and it’s much easier for me to give than receive, so I’m beyond overwhelmed by everyone’s love, prayers, support and generosity. Thank you to Becca and Sarah for organizing this for us and nominating me for the “support a mom” giveaway. Going forward, I may use this for any medical/baby updates since I’m not much for posting a lot of personal details on social media. Hopefully, it’ll only be positive and exciting updates! 

It’s been a whirlwind of a month, to say the least. Being told you have a 6cm brain tumor (considered “giant”) that requires immediate surgery within 24-48 hours is not the news you expect when you have minimal symptoms and are otherwise functioning normally. You’d think you would have time to research, get a second opinion, and fly to the best neurosurgeon money can buy. Realizing we didn’t have the luxury of time, or really even a choice in any of this, forced us to give it all up to God, trusting we were in the right place and the most capable hands. 

Proverbs 3:5-6

Once I gave it up to God, I can honestly say, I have never felt a greater sense of calm. For someone who has lived with anxiety basically her entire life and has a history of panic attacks, that is saying something! Even as they rolled me into the operating room, wide-awake and unmedicated, with all the tools of the trade on the table, nurses, PAs, anesthesiologists hustling around and prepping for surgery, and my brain scan on the screen, I was at peace knowing I was in safe hands and the Lord would see me through this. 

I’m so thankful for all the incredible doctors and nurses that took care of me during my two procedures, as well as those from my 10 days recovering in the hospital, and the following 10 days in the rehab hospital. Between the surgery teams, the ICU and the Neuro unit doctors, nurses and nurse aids, the obgyn specialists, the physical therapists, occupational therapist and speech therapists-I literally had my own army of care! 

Recovery has been slower than I would have thought. I naively thought, based on the location of the tumor, they’d just take it out and I would be dealing with pain at the surgery sight and a bad haircut. I didn’t expect the (temporary, thankfully!) paralysis that followed. Over the course of the last few weeks, my right side has returned to full feeling/strength! Praise the Lord! I’m still waiting for my left side to fully wake up and recover. I have feeling back, but I’m still dealing with some pins and needles around my knee/calf area and a lack of control/strength below my ankle on that side. Nerves typically regrow at 1 to 2 millimeters per day, so I have to keep reminding myself to be patient! 

Pathology of the tumor was sent off to UCSF for a second opinion, it took a few weeks, but finally came back as a meningioma. Which in the world of brain tumors, is the best you can hope for! It’s was a grade 2, which means it has a higher chance of regrowth than a grade 1, but it is still benign. Thank God (again!). However, radiation is likely to be in my future to prevent reoccurrence and  growth from the leftover tumor remnants. We are praying that this treatment can wait until after our baby girl arrives in the Fall, but are meeting with specialists in the coming weeks and months to decide what’s best and safest for all. 

For now, I’m counting all my blessings, from getting the shock of a lifetime to receiving miracles on miracles on miracles ever since! Thank you will never be enough to express the depth of our gratitude for each and every one of you supporting and praying for our family through this journey! The power of prayer is real, and I’m so thankful for the way you all have covered me in peace and love and healing through yours. 

With so much love and gratitude,
Megan