A New Adventure

Well, I'm calling this a new adventure, but it actually started some months ago and perhaps several years ago. But it is and will be an adventure - a journey into the semi-known, albeit better understood now than in the past, realms of the brain.

The impetus for the journey surely started at least several years ago and perhaps decades ago. Who knows? It started when something started to "grow" somewhere near the left temporal lobe of my brain, or [this is part of the journey - to find out the details of exactly where] possibly near the left temporal lobe but also near the base of the frontal lobe. I am sure I will learn much more about these places as time goes by. In fact, little did I know that "The Education of Wade Austin" would take such a turn when I started this blog. Such is life and a life learner.

Speed forward to a time I do recall and the beginning of recognizing that something was not quite right because I was having instances of memory loss. Lois remembers these episodes far better than I do because I was not always cognizant of the "episodes" at the time they occurred except as she would afterward explain or describe them to me.

Rather than sequence them now (I like writing, but I hate to take time out to get the details in sequence when I'm on a roll!), I'll simply describe several that have happened in the last four months (June 2011 until now - September 27, 2011). One instance was early morning and I had been reading or writing in the den. When I heard Lois up, I came in for another cup of coffee and greeted her with a good morning kiss. I got my coffee, returned to the den, but came back out in five minutes to refresh the coffee and again greeted her with a good morning kiss. She thought that was nice, but let me know I had already done it once a few minutes before (which I did not recall).

On yet another occasion we came home from shopping and there was a message on the phone. I checked the message and put the phone down, but then a few minutes later I said, "I have to check the messages on the phone," and checked it again. When I did the same thing a third time Lois told me that I had just checked it two times, but again, I had no recollection of having done so.

Other experiences, more frequent in recent months, have been the occurrence of déjà vu sensations and/or an aura of a smell that isn't real. The smell is usually somewhat like hot roofing tar and as a result it triggers a memory of smelling the same thing as a boy walking home from school and smelling the same kind of smell. Once, at the beginning of a management team meeting where we live, I suddenly experienced a déjà vu feeling accompanied by a sense of fear and the smell too. I had to excuse myself and did so by leaving the table and explaining the sensation to the group once I returned. This meeting was near the beginning of August.

I had gone to see the doctor after one of the earlier experiences and he had order basic blood tests and took notes. The blood tests came back normal except for slightly elevated cholesterol, so we didn't worry much. Then I had a memory loss experience near the end of August, the weekend of August 26, 27 and 28, when we went camping at a state park near Coos Bay, Oregon. On Saturday morning, the 27th, we went into town with my son Nathan and his in-laws to get some brakes repaired on their car. While there we decided to get some breakfast, but before breakfast Nathan and I started a conversation about computer technology. {I only remember it based on the accounts of others.) Our conversation was interrupted when some of us went to McDonald's for breakfast and some went to a local bakery type of restaurant. When we finished breakfast the car still wasn't ready and Nathan attempted to resume our conversation and my response was "What are you talking about?" That apparently freaked out Nathan and he asked his mother "What's up with dad?" She told him she would explain later, which she apparently did, but I vaguely recall having a conversation and not the details.

When we returned to camp Lois and I had to move our truck camper to a different spot across from where we had spent the night. We lifted the jacks and I moved the truck and camper, but just after doing so I said to Lois, "We have to move the camper." She told me that I had just moved the camper, but I insisted that no, we had to move the camper. She pointed out that we had been in the other spot and recognition set in that we had indeed been there, but I had no recollection of moving the camper. Nor did I remember adjusting one of the tie downs because I asked Lois, "Did you move that tie down?" She had to tell me that I had done it before moving the truck.

There were no more episodes on that trip, but it was an impetus to see the doctor once again. So when we returned I made an appointment after Labor Day to see the doctor. Based on the accounts of what had been happening he decided to order an MRI, so on September 12 I did have an MRI without contrast (a special dye) and the images revealed "something". So, to get a better look, the doctor ordered another MRI, this time with contrast. The results revealed a 9mm something. According to the radiologist it is in the left temporal lobe and would account for the sensations I have been having. My doctor, Dr. Audrey Williams, felt it warranted a referral to a neurosurgeon, and so I made an appointment for today with Dr. Samuel Hughes.

Dr. Hughes wanted to know why I came to see him, even after seeing the MRI images. Lois explained the episodes leading up to today. Then Dr. Hughes explained why a surgeon did not necessarily have to be the next referral and why he, even though a surgeon, would not rush to cut. The spot could be a lot of things. It could be one of a couple kinds of aneurysms or perhaps, more generally, some sort of vascular problem. It could be a tumor. It did not necessarily have to be in the left temporal lobe. It could be in the frontal lobe or in the area between the frontal lobe and the temporal lobe. In any case, it is deep. It could be malignant or benign. It could be totally within the neuro spinal column (NSC) or it could be a tumor from somewhere else in the body - another cancer elsewhere. Therefore, many tests are warranted to rule out cancer elsewhere in the body and a consultation with a neurologist would help to rule out, or in, MS or epilepsy.

Wow! Sounds like a great case!