Fw: Karen

[Bob Poague]

Cascaders, FYI. This message was sent by Jim Morrison of the BC AH Club and
forwarded by Tom/Skip Monaco. It refers to Jim's former spouse, Karen
Morrison, whom many of you know.
Bob Poague


----- Original Message -----
From: Tom's Import Toy Sales
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Sent: Tuesday, July 07, 2009 4:25 PM
Subject: Karen


Dear friends of Karen,


As you may know, Karen's problems with her left ankle have been getting much
worse over the past 6 months or so. We assumed this was due to several sprains
in past years and more recently a fall.  We were quite wrong.



Doctors suspected the cause was neurological and ordered CAT scan - then an
MRI - which revealed a large "meningioma", a *benign* tumour, on top of the
right side of her brain. These tumours are slow-growing and this one began
years ago. Often these growths are asymptomatic and are rarely detected.  They
occur just under the surface of the skull, are well defined and mostly
separate, not integrated with healthy brain tissue.



The physical mobility challenges affecting her left side are directly related
to the pressure of the meningioma on the right side of the brain and the
subsequent neurological impact on the nerves that control the normal
functioning of the left foot and ankle. Also, it is not surprising that she is
experiencing more frequent and more painful "right-side" headaches. Due to the
large size of this cranial intruder and the (fortunate) fact that it is not
malignant, the only treatment is surgical removal.



Karen, Elaine and I met with the neurosurgeon at Vancouver General Hospital
last Friday and surgery has been scheduled for July 27th.  After the surgery
and four or five days post-op recovery in hospital, we expect that there will
be several weeks of rehabilitation required. With support from everyone we are
optimistic that Karen will be back to normal very soon.



In order to keep everyone informed on how she is doing, I will be emailing
friends and family on a regular basis on her behalf. In the meantime, she is
at home enjoying the nice weather we've been having with her two lovebirds,
Rocky and Ollie.  If you'd like to say "hi", her email is  karenm at telus.net -
and she's certainly available by phone at 604-261-1164.



Best regards,

Jim Morrison on behalf of Karen





For more medical information go to:



http://www.braintumor.org/Meningioma



http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meningioma