Before I started telling people about my tumor, I didn't think I knew anyone else who had one. At least not a benign one - and then if it's cancer, you tend to focus on that and not the actual lump. But now? Tumors everywhere!
Craziest to me are my two coworkers who are both my age. Well, one is a former coworker, but she was here for so long and only recently left so it's easy to forget that she's former. She had a brain tumor, an acoustic neuroma, and was treated with Gamma Knife. The still-current coworker had a tumor on the base of his spine. He had a successful surgery on Monday and is expected to be back to work in early January.
And then there are the stories - the relatives, friends, neighbors of people I know. Seems like just about everyone is separated from a brain tumor by a few degrees. Luckily, everyone I've heard about has had a full recovery and I plan to add one more successful story to the pile.
But then, what does "full recovery" really mean? They're able to go back to work, live their lives, have children, be normal around others, but what about the more subtle issues? Exhaustion, sensory overload, etc. The kinds of things that you can completely deal with but that decrease your quality of living. The kinds of things you might not tell your cousin or neighbor or casual friend.
I'm setting up a Skype call with my former coworker - she's now living in London so we have a 5 hour time difference. She didn't have her skull opened up, but she'll still have dealt with the issues of an altered brain. And she was always great to work with and on the ball, which is very reassuring. I actually didn't even know that she had anything done! And then I know that she'll tell me exactly what it was like and not sugar-coat anything. One more step towards being fully prepared for my surgery.
Side note: the link I used above is for the overall small world concept. For Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, I recommend the Oracle of Bacon. It's awesome and pretty addictive.
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