This is Your Brain on Drugs... CRACK!

Did anybody else watch those awful PSAs in school? My brain doesn't quite look like a fried egg but apparently it still doesn't look normal. Last Friday I went up to Portland for another set of follow up MRIs. A preliminary review of my scans showed that all of my lesions are gone except the one in my cerebellum that has been giving me so much trouble these past 9 months. It is still there but it has shrunk and is pretty faint on the MRI. Awesome news!

and now to take the wind out of my sails

Today I got a call from my neurologist, my scans had been read and while most of what they originally told me still holds true, another random little lesion in my brain is also still present. We've never really worried about or focused on this lesion because I had other, much more concerning lesions giving me all kinds of problems and this one doesn't seem to be giving me any obnoxious symptoms as far as we can tell. We're keeping an eye on it now though because it has become "more pronounced" than it was before. Originally they said I wouldn't have to come back but now they're recommending another set of follow up scans in 6 months.

I'm still taking this as good news. The lesion that was down my spinal cord is gone (leaving behind some spinal cord damage that should hopefully heal over time), as are the ones on my optic nerves. It's just my brain that is still lighting up the scans. Three hours of MRIs isn't fun but I'll take it over a lumbar puncture any day.

I was excited to share my good news with you and had a post written about how I only had the lesion on the cerebellum left and it was almost gone and then I got the call that while the news is still good, it's not quite as good as we originally thought. What a buzzkill. I'm so ready to be done with these lesions. Please think some good thoughts for me that this other lesion will change its mind and become less pronounced or at least that it won't continue on its current path.

Yarn Along

As a kid I was head over heels for the Anne of Green Gables series. In fact, I still am. I re-read the Anne books every year. I also loved the Emily Starr trilogy. I never stumbled across Jane of Lantern Hill though. My school library must not have had her because I'm sure I would've devoured this book just like the others. I only discovered it's existence recently but have already read it twice, both times cover to cover without a break and I feel ready to read it again. 3 times in two weeks, that's totally normal, right? I love Jane. I might even love her more than Anne except I grew up reading Anne so I think she'll always hold a special place in my heart. While Anne is more fanciful, and maybe even magical, Jane has her feet planted firmly on the ground, but has all of the same qualities of L.M. Montgomery's other beloved heroines.

I've been knitting this cowl pattern. I've knit it once before but I, admittedly, messed up the pattern. I decided to knit it again, correctly this time. It's good practice before I embark on more difficult patterns. Check out Ginny's Yarn Along to see what other people are knitting and reading this week.