Finally More Drivers!

Finally last year my boys decided it was time to get their driving permits. One is 17 & the other will be 16 in a few months. It's great that they can share the driving responsibility. The only thing is, I still have to be in the front seat awake, so they can drive. So, it puts my husband who walks with a cane and is a big guy in the back when all of us are in the car.

They probably could both get their license, but since they don't have to pay extra for insurance as long as they have a permit, that's the way it will stay for a while.

No one can go anywhere without me! Which stinks! Sometimes I am just so tired, but if we have anything to do, I have to go, either as the driver or the front seat driver.

Rosey~

The STRESS of Being the ONLY DRIVER!

Driving has always been a neccessity for me. I am the oldest of 7 girls, so of course I got my license as soon as I could. My parents where thrilled to be able to send me out for things.

Once my husband lost his license, I became the ONLY driver. My son's where not old enough to get even a permit. So, we are down to 1 car, not that we can afford another.

Most days I feel like all I do is drive people around. My husband to doctor appointments, at least until we lost our health insurance. My boys to get allergy shots, twice a week. We go to the dump every other day and the post office several times a week. We also drive to a small cleaning job we do as a family 4 times a week, which is 25 miles away. Soon my sons will start up there grass cutting business and I'll have to haul them and their equipment several days a week. It just NEVER ENDS!

Rosey~

Loosing Your Independance NOT Driving

As most of you know, men love to drive. My husband was no exception. But, after his second Brain surgery and one of the doctors suggesting he Not drive since he was having issues he gave it up! His license was still valid, he just wasn't driving. His 2nd Brain surgery was in March almost 2 years ago.

Since he wasn't driving, we didn't pay attention to the fact that his license was expiring last August. About 6 weeks after the fact, we went down to see if he could renew the license. Of course, he would have to take the test again. But, just filling out the paper work he noticed a question asking if a doctor has told you not to drive. So, that was the end of that! He was able to get a state ID. He is only 43, can't drive has had 2 Brain surgeries & a neck surgery, but they still don't think my husband is disabled! So, how many brain surgeries do you have to have?

Rosey~

Not Driving Any More because of Brain Surgery

My husband was still driving after his first brain surgery. After his 2nd brain surgery we just kept going to doctors. During one of the sessions, he mentioned he was having trouble driving. Which is very odd. My husband LOVES to drive. I drive only because I have to.

My husband said he was finding it difficult to keep the vehicle in the lane when he turned his head. The car would just drift the way he was looking. Of course, I didn't know this, because I was driving when we were together. So imagine my horror to find out my husband's problem when he could have had our 2 teenage sons in the car with him. They were not driving at the time.

The doctor suggested that if he was having problems, maybe it would be better just not to drive. I was all over that! He still had a valid license, but then we accidentally let it expire. What a knightmare! Will tell you about that next time.

Rosey~

Results of the Brain TEST

Once the results were back about my husband's brain function, we went back for another meeting with the doctor. The test showed there was signs of damage. His memory was seemingly in tact. What that meant is once my husband gets the information in his brain, it's there. The problem was getting it in.

Also where the cyst was is basically a dent, that will not go away. Your brain is not like a sponge. It won't expand back out, once it is pushed aside.

Since the cyst was on the back side of the brain on the Cerabellum, it pushed the brain to the front of the head, Behind the forehead. This is where your cognative part of your brain is. So there are issues with that also! This was all done BEFORE the 2nd Brain surgery. At this point my husband was still driving, but not for long!

Rosey~

MORE TESTING DONE!

Once we knew the cyst was back, we wondered what our options where. If it wasn't a quality of life issue, do you just leave it alone? We needed more answers. So, we went a Neuropsycologist. My husband wasn't crazy, but we needed to see what damage was already done. He went through a battery of tests for hours.

Of course, the results are not immediate. So, we waited several weeks to find out there was some damage already done, just after the first surgery. We went to this doctor several times, but had to go to a psycoitrist to get the medicine prescribed. They tried to make us pay like he was going for a mental illness, instead of for a medical reason. Which most of you may know is a much larger portion of insurance. They finally changed the code so the insurance would pay. More about the test results later!

Rosey~

Can't Believe It's BACK!

It is so scary to be having brain surgery, much less being told you must have it again! When they first found the cyst about 2 weeks before the 1st surgery, it was about the size of a pack of table sugar. By the time they did the surgery it was the size of a lime! That is 1/4th the size of your brain cavity. You don't have that kind of room up there. Once the damage is done, it doesn't fill back out like a sponge. There is a permanent dent!

We had no idea how much time we had before the next surgery was going to be neccessary. It could grow slowly or fast. But, he was not having the same symptoms as before, so that was a plus. It was just a waiting game!

Rosey~