The first days

MC and Grandma get some cuddle time.

What happened

On Wednesday and Thursday, February 8-9, Mom taught in her classes as usual and noticed she had a little trouble finding the right words. Her students noticed as well, and she laughed it off with them, calling it "just a brain fart." (Her usual 8th-grade-friendly term for forgetfulness.)

On Friday morning, Mom woke and got ready for school as usual, and she noticed on the drive in to work that she was confused about the route (a drive she's done daily for 23 years). Thankfully, she arrived safely, but when she met her friends Tonya, Brandi, and a student for the morning preparations, she had trouble drinking her customary morning Starbucks coffee and wasn't able to type in her computer passcode. (She remembered it, but she wasn't able to make her hands type it in.) Her friends realized right away that her motor skills and speech were not normal, so they notified Alicia. Tonya drove Mom straight to the ER.

At the hospital

Mom was admitted quickly and given a CAT scan within 30 minutes, which revealed swelling in the brain. Later an MRI showed a large mass on the left side of her brain, which is the side controlling speech, vision and motor abilities of the right side of her body. This explains the affected speech and hand movements. Her vision is unaffected, thankfully.

Later Mom met her neurosurgeon, Soren Singel. He described the plan for the days ahead: he will do a biopsy of the tumor once the swelling reduces, and he then will determine what the mass is and what steps would be appropriate to treat it.

Mom later described her neurosurgeon as a very handsome man with two young children. He gave her his cell number and said he would be there to answer any questions at any time of day, which makes him okay in our book.

What happened next

Daddy returned from a short business trip and went immediately to the hospital. Alicia alerted Sara and Jennifer in California around 8:15 am Pacific time on Friday, and they were on a flight by 1:30 pm and in Texas by 6:30 pm. Peter arrived on Saturday, with Zoe the cat in tow. Charles and Macklin are in California and keeping tabs on Grandma through video chats and phone calls.

The family is supporting Mom and entertaining her with books, cards, and Facebook (of course!) in her room at Harris Methodist HEB. She's surrounded by flowers, teddy bears, bottles of silky lavender-scented lotion and Starbucks cups. Each night one of us takes a turn sleeping on the surprisingly comfortable fold-out couch next to her.

Why "brain tuna?"

Mom's command of language is shaky, due to the pressure the tumor puts on the region of her brain controlling speech. She gets many words correct, though she occasionally stutters. Sometimes the words are not quite right, and she often finds a way to be understood anyway.

She still has a sense of humor, of course, and sometimes she makes a verbal faux pas that's downright funny. So instead of a brain tumor, she said she has a brain tuna.

And then there was the time her nurse (a large man) introduced himself with a few jokes, saying, "I'm funny!"

"Yes," Mom smiled. "You're fatty."

So we think if laughter is the best medicine, it's all right to laugh.

How you can help

Mom loves messages on her wall or private messages through Facebook, and she would love to read comments and best wishes here on the blog. We'll post messages here when we know more about her condition and the plan for the coming days ahead.