My Story: The Tragedy (Part 1)

In the summer of 2020 I experienced the worst pain I had ever had.  I made it to work on that Monday morning and felt a sharp pain in my mouth on the left side.  I called my dentist immediately.  The dentist was out that day but my dental hygienist agreed to see me as soon as they opened that morning.  I left my office and headed to the dentist office.  My hygienist met me at the door, took one look at me and said, “You’re in a lot of pain, I can tell by the look on your face.”  She did an x-ray and examination but could not find anything.  She called in another hygienist to take a look and make sure she did not miss anything.  This second hygienist is a very good friend of mine, one that I’ve known since college.  While they both talked to me the pain just went away and there seemed like there was nothing we could do.

A few days later the pain returned.  I called my friend the hygienist.  My dentist was still on vacation and my hygienist was off that day.  My friend said I should go see a root canal specialist in Little Rock and helped get the appointment setup for later that day.  I took off work and drove to Little Rock.  It was so quick I did not have time to get anyone to ride with me to Little Rock, Arkansas which is about an hour and a half north of Monticello.

The root canal specialist did some x-rays and an examination. He said after a few minutes that he thought he knew what it was but would continue with the examination.  I had no clue but just knew the pain was unbearable.  He then told me how to locate a tooth problem in case I ever had one but this was not a tooth issue.  As part of his examination he did more x-rays and used ice to try and locate a tooth problem as ice is a way to find one normally.  I realized during his examination that I could not locate exactly where the problem was.  All I knew was somewhere on the left side of my face hurt worse than any pain I have ever felt.  The doctor told me that a tooth issue is usually located in a particular tooth.  He told me I do not have a tooth problem but a condition called Trigeminal Neuralgia.  He told me I need to go see my primary care physician and he should send me to a neurologist.   This began a long journey!  

I talked to my friend the hygienist and she recommended a neurologist because her dad had needed one before and the name of the neurologist he used and their family had a good experience.  I got in to see my primary care physician, he listened to my story and the recommended neurologist.  He told me if he could get me in to see that doctor he would make the appointment.  As I went through this story I distinctly remember him looking at me then at my chart and said, “Boy, you never come to see me with anything normal!”  He was right, I’ve been blessed by not having but only a few illnesses up to this point.  Growing up I would have nearly a yearly sinus infection but nothing lately.  I had only had the flu once in my life and that was as a teenager.   When sick I would be down about the normal amount of time then be back at it.

I did get in to see the neurologist that was recommended.  It took a bit of time but I did get an appointment.  As I waited for my appointment I did have a few experiences with pain attacks.  I remember one on a Wednesday night, we were eating supper as a family before heading to Wednesday night church.  I just had to sit and bear the pain during supper but as in the other cases the pain subsided.  After a consultation with the neurologist where he mostly listened to my story he told me a lot of times those with Trigeminal Neuralgia just have to live with it because it is rare to find the cause.  I left his office and headed down to the lab for several blood tests.  I have never had so many blood draws as I did that day.  He called and told me the blood tests came back normal but he would like me to get an MRI just to check everything.  Again, I was told they did not expect to find anything but just wanted to clear everything they could do.

The MRI was a few days before Christmas.  A few days later the neurologist’s nurse called and just told me the MRI found a “brain growth” and I needed to see a neurosurgeon.  Her call was very to the point and was very short.  As she hung up I just sat at my desk dumb founded at what I had just been told.  I sat there a minute then picked up the phone and called her back.  I said, “Ma’am you’re going to have to give me more details, what you just told me scared me to death.”  She said I’ll have to get the neurologist to call you to discuss in more detail.  The neurologist must have been walking by and heard the conversation because he jumped on the call immediately.  He said you have a brain growth that appears to be benign and you should see a neurosurgeon next, he said the surgeon may not do anything but I recommend you see one.

I got an appointment to see a neurosurgeon a few days after Christmas.  They sat me and my wife down in a computer lab type room that morning.  The surgeon walked in and after a few pleasantries he sat down at a computer and opened my MRI.  He told me you see that white spot?  That is your brain tumor.  This was the first time anyone had used the words brain tumor with me.  My wife was seated a ways away from me as the room was not like a typical exam room with chairs next to each other.  I could hear her crying and I was very upset.  The surgeon told me this tumor would require multiple surgeries to remove.  Once again I did not believe it.  After we left the appointment we just sat in the car and cried together.  I am so thankful to have Christy as my wife.  Her love and support during all this has meant so much.  He told me again the tumor appeared to be benign and this type of tumor was very slow growing and it could have been present and growing for over ten years.  He told me that most likely it would have just stopped me in my tracks one day and been unknown.  The surgeon told me we could wait a few months but because of the pain and the tumor had started to mis-shape my brainstem he wanted to operate soon.  We left that appointment and like most trips to the big city made a few stops.  We decided quickly that neither of us felt like doing anything and just headed home without stopping for anything for lunch as we usually do while in Little Rock.   We finally got over our emotions and stopped in Pine Bluff, Arkansas to eat a late lunch.   It was after lunch that I finally called my mom.  I slipped out of the restaurant and went out to our car ahead of Christy to call her.  We got back home and I headed to the office.  Here I let my business partners know of what was coming down the road so we could start planning for me to be out.  After these conversations I then went back home because it had been a very emotional day and I just wanted to be with my family.  The next day I went back to work as usual but left the office to go to talk with my friends / pastors at our church.  We cried and prayed together.  I am very thankful for their friendship.  While out of the office I even stopped by my financial advisor’s office to see if there was anything I should do then.  He just told me that if the worst happened they would work on it then.  I never dreamed that at age 35 I would be having these conversations but thankfully I had many friends to support our family during this.  I am also thankful to have been very conservative financially with spending in our marriage.  Not having to worry about things for a bit financially was helpful and having the support from so many family and friends took a load off our shoulders.  Let me say it better, not having a paycheck would not be possible for long but at least we had an emergency fund and little debt.

Take A Look At my Thankful Story Here From Thanksgiving 2023.

As I waited for surgery I came down with COVID in February of 2021.  Since it was so close to my surgery date I called my surgeon’s office to let them know.  I was sick for a day, maybe two days then as was directed at the time quarantined for two weeks.  During this time I remember sleeping on the couch my first morning then getting up and back at it by mid-morning.  I have always been one that likes to stay active.  I was thankful that the case of COVID that I had was mild.  Thankfully my wife and daughter did not get sick.  My son did get it but you would never know by looking at him that he even had it.  Since I was sick the doctor wanted to test the entire family just to know otherwise we would not even test them because everything seemed normal.  Christy had to be tested multiple times as she did come down with a sinus infection at the end of our quarantine.  Since she is a school teacher they had very strict testing requirements.  During our quarantine we as a family would go for drives around the area just to get out of the house.  In true family fashion our drives were to some very rural places to avoid people.

My surgery date approached and just a few days before the surgeon’s nurse called to say they were rescheduling the surgery due to fears of side effects of the COVID virus.  The surgeon had another patient who like myself had very mild COVID then had complications in surgery recovery.  They wanted me to get several more medical tests to be cleared for surgery.  One day I drove up to Little Rock for the tests and since they were scattered throughout the day I drove to Little Rock by myself.  I passed the tests and my first surgery was scheduled for the end of April.

Since my surgery was rescheduled my wife said we should take a family vacation for spring break in March.  We decided a trip down to New Orleans would be fun.  I go on vacation with just the goal of eating some good and unique meals and New Orleans is the perfect place to eat!  We went to a few museums and on a gator sightseeing boat ride.  After a few days a bad storm was forecasted so we decided to get out of New Orleans while we could since we basically completed nearly everything on our itinerary.  On the day we were leaving the hotel was sandbagging the front doors of the hotel.  I sure was glad to be headed back home!   By the time we made it up into Mississippi we had escaped the rain, I returned to work a day or two early.

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