Multi-faceted Recovery
Recovering from significant health crises and other big changes is complicated and takes time; many factors weave together to make these processes complex to navigate. Yet, even in that complexity, there are opportunities, because of the complexity we discover multiple options and paths to move forward.
Neurosurgeon: “Good news! Your brain looks fantastic.”
Recently, I had a nearly six-month follow-up visit with my neurosurgeon to review the results of my end-of-August brain MRI and evaluate my post-surgical recovery since my brain surgery on May 10, 2022, to remove two benign meningiomas growing in between my frontal lobes. The great news is that he said my brain looked “fantastic” with no signs of tumor regrowth. In addition, he declared there was no evidence of any of the other potential problems an MRI could show: no stroke, no bleeding, no swelling, no infection, and no injury. While, of course, there are “scars” as evidence in my brain that I had surgery, there is no longer anything structurally wrong for me to be concerned about. My next follow-up will be in a year.
What a great relief! Knowing that my brain has healed from the surgery I had with no complications and an encouraging pathology report is deeply reassuring. Structural issues in my brain are just no longer a concern.
But why am I still having headaches? And what can I do about it?
Entering the fall my symptoms had improved right in line with my neurosurgeon’s prediction: 95-98% likely complete symptom resolution by six months post-surgery, I felt hopeful. As September wound down and blended into early October, my sleep was improving, my daily headaches were fading, and my mood was lifting as positive momentum was building. But then, in mid-October, some new work-related stressors unexpectedly arrived and overwhelmed my steadily improving progress, bringing my sleep issues and headaches roaring back. I felt like I had backtracked as my headache pain returned to the persistent levels I had been experiencing several months ago.
As I reviewed recent events and symptoms with my neurosurgeon, he pointed out that emotionally traumatic events impair our ability to recuperate, slowing and extending the healing process. He said it is critical to recognize that healing progress is affected not only by physical and structural changes in our bodies but also by our ability to rest and avoid negative emotional factors and high stress. Our emotional well-being plays a huge role in our overall health and especially in things like post-operative recovery. His advice? Since my recent MRI showed that my brain is in great shape, I should now focus on how other factors may be impacting me and work through them to get past my reemerging headache pain.
The causes of pain are multi-factorial – and improving it will also involve a mix of strategies
The bottom line is that my symptoms are multi-factorial, addressing these and making a full recovery will involve a whole range of strategies. Maybe I should be breaking these down into separate problems and working to solve each individually. Since now my post-craniotomy brain could not look any better, what else is going on that I can work on to improve my pain and optimize my health?
I note that some of my previously mentioned symptoms, like noise and light sensitivity, are vastly better. Hopefully, those symptoms were related to the swelling and air in my brain following surgery that has now resolved. Strategy: Move on from attributing the symptoms I experience to post-surgical physical healing.
Originally, I had that CT scan back in March 2022 that revealed my unexpected “incidentilomas” due to clinical investigation of the persistent ringing in my ears (pulsatile tinnitus) that emerged during my COVID infection at the very end of 2021. That ringing continues to this day; nothing we have examined in the past six months has revealed a reason, and no one believes my tinnitus is or was related to my tumors. I suspect I have some version of “long COVID.” My doctors don’t know what to make of it, nor do they have any suggestions on what to do about a problem for which there is no treatment. At least this problem, while annoying, does not prevent me from living life. Strategy: Time may enable recovery?
Scoping out and reflecting, I have been having severe headaches for over a year. My husband and I had noted that I started having more headaches than usual in October 2021, having “blazing headaches” in January 2022, and persistent headaches that lasted multiple days by March 2022 when we discovered the cause (brain tumors). By the time I went in for brain surgery on May 10, 2022, I had a continuous headache for 52 days – and, of course, headaches are an expected part of recovery for up to six months following surgery like mine. Post-surgery, I have noticed that while certainly much better (yay surgery!) they aren’t completely gone and my headaches flare in response to things like stress, lack of sleep, and emotional trauma, factors which have clearly increased in the past month and unfortunately reinvigorated the headaches that had been nearly gone. Also, at the suggestion of a friend, I have been investigating how pain can become chronic when your brain starts interpreting normal sensations reinforced by fear (perhaps fear of long covid effects, brain tumors, future uncertainty) as a “danger signal” that is experienced as pain and wondering if I have inadvertently created a negative headache pain cycle? Strategy: Focus on positive thinking and forward-looking opportunities to help minimize the underlying emotional and stress factors that contribute to headaches. Follow through on the neuroplastic pain podcast to see if their recommended strategies help me resolve my headaches.
Looking Forward Following A Medical Crisis: Are My 2022 Experiences a Catalyst for Change Leading to New and Exciting Adventures?
Neurosurgery was a huge, unexpected, and disruptive experience. As I navigated this surprise intrusion into 2022, my med-student daughter drew my attention to the fact that such significant crises can impact one’s thinking about life, values, priorities, and identity. You go from being “healthy” to suddenly confronting that we are all mortal and are all one major health problem away from unexpected life changes. While the events of the past six months have certainly caused me to do some weighty introspection, at this point, I can now say that these experiences have not fundamentally caused me to rethink my life or change my goals. [JB1] I find myself continuing to love pouring my heart into building businesses that make a difference in the world. I remain committed to building capital-efficient companies that solve significant problems for people and make the world a better place. Nothing makes me happier than collaboratively solving hard problems in elegant ways. I enjoy applying the rare combination of my strengths, aptitudes, skills, and relationships that I have developed and honed over the past 35 years of my professional life to solving hard problems in transformational ways. I am happiest when working with fantastic people to accomplish meaningful things. Additionally, I am profoundly thankful to have the everpresent support and understanding of my high school sweetheart husband and the rest of my family in pursuing my dreams and living out my values. Now I am choosing to look at 2022 as full of catalysts for exciting new directions in life – and I am getting excited about the future directions that I have begun exploring.
For other posts related to my neurosurgery, click on the “Neurosurgery” category on my blogpost site at www.StartupCEOReflections.com.
