On a secular note, one of my favorite quotes from the inimitable Coco Chanel — “Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance” — also propels me to unframe my mindset in 2024 and rebuild it in a fashionable yet unfussy manner.
Unveiling my personal health journey, I hope and pray, stands out a simple way to help others who might find themselves in a challenging medical situation. Writing has helped guide me through some unsettling medical moments during the last few years.
Although I have essentially good reports on various health fronts, the new year does bring more tests and doctors’ appointments to assure all remains well in my orbit.
On Jan. 22, for instance, I will undergo another magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA) without contrast dye to check on an unruptured brain aneurysm that was successfully coiled in 2011.
On May 9, I will have another magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with — and without — contrast dye to look at a second condition in my noggin: a noncancerous brain tumor. (I’ve had two surgeries to keep it well-behaved and tiny.)
My backstory
Eight years ago, I underwent surgery at Miami Valley Hospital for a benign brain tumor, a nonsecreting pituitary macroadenoma, at the base of my brain. This procedure was perilous due to the tumor’s proximity to my optic nerve, pituitary stalk and carotid artery. Nonetheless, the operation was a success. My neurosurgeon, Dr. Ania Pollack, said there was a 16% chance it would return.
A few years later, however, the mass returned.
The tumor revealed its threatening and unwelcome presence on an annual MRI. As Dr. Pollack (or Dr. P, as I fondly call her) shared this news with me and my life partner Bobby Joe, I broke down and just sobbed in her office. On Oct. 26, 2021, I underwent a second surgery to minimize the tumor. Dr. P said the tumor, due to its location, could never be entirely removed. But keeping the size “micro” was the goal.
During the surgery, once again at Miami Valley Hospital, pulsations nearby implied a weakened arterial wall near my previously coiled unruptured brain aneurysm. Therefore, Dr. P and her team had to close up shop. After several days in the neuro ICU, I convalesced at home for six weeks.
Since the entire tumor could not be removed surgically, I also underwent fractionated radiotherapy for 30 days on an outpatient basis. My radiation treatments started right before Christmas 2021 and ended in January 2022.
During my appointment last month with my radiation oncologist, Dr. Gregory Rasp, I was greatly relieved to learn things looked stable from his standpoint. Therefore, I will see him annually and not every six months.
Hallelujah!
The benign mass in my brain was discovered sometime in 2008 when I was married and living in New Mexico. One-sided headaches, which felt like a knitting needle stabbing my skull, were worsening.
Medical tests revealed incidentally I had a microadenoma on my pituitary gland. Since it was so tiny, the doctors appropriately advised “watchful waiting.” Accordingly, I had annual MRIs, MRAs, eye exams, blood tests and other medical exams annually.
My marriage eventually ended, and I moved to Dayton in September 2009 to be closer to family. With a newfound sense of faith and purpose, I created fresh holiday traditions, landed a position at an upscale clothing boutique, Get Dressed in Oakwood, and eventually joined the copy desk at the Dayton Daily News. Two years ago, I started my new role at Cox First Media; and I am now the Specialty Publications and Community Content Coordinator.
And my story also has an alarming prequel that I, for the most part, have properly processed.
After an extraordinarily freakish accident in college, I suffered a nonbasilar skull fracture. Basically, I fell three stories through an open stairwell. I nearly died. But my mom, dad, siblings, relatives, roommates, friends and then boyfriend ushered me through a lengthy healing process. The head trauma caused anosmia, also known as smell blindness, which is the loss of the ability to detect one or more smells. Other factors can result in anosmia, too, such as allergies or colds, but mine was directly related to the brain injury.
In my case, anosmia meant the complete and permanent loss of the sense of smell. And the skull fracture just may have led, many years later, to the unruptured brain aneurysm Dr. Bryan Ludwig successfully coiled in 2011.
Laugh, love
Fast-forward to 2023: Bobby Joe, my love of almost 12 years, and I attended “Les Misérables” in January at the Schuster Center. The compelling musical based on Victor Hugo’s epic novel delivers so many memorable and meaningful lines.
Although I have seen the production several times, one particular sentence stuck with me this year: “Laughter is sunshine, it chases winter from the human face.”
Agreed.
Thankfully, myriad giggles, laughing emojis and guffaws were sprinkled throughout 2023. I even rewatched “Ted Lasso,” the smartly written Apple TV comedy-drama, this year as the show pulls so many heart and humor strings.
Journaling joy
One of the undoubtedly greatest coping mechanisms during my health journey has been journaling. The microadenoma, which I affectionately named Patrice since she’s not leaving, prompted me to start writing a screenplay with flecks of magic realism.
For the last couple of years, I have discussed the potential cast of characters for this book. My sister JB and I agreed: Jennifer Coolidge would certainly score an Oscar for masterfully portraying the needy and self-absorbed Patrice.
Michelle Pfieffer will be a natural as my beautifully supportive JB. As for me, the tie is between Kyra Sedgwick, Linda Hamilton and the English actress Ruth Wilson.
As I craft my story, I tell loved ones they have first dibs on choosing their doppelgangers. Katie Holmes will be cast as Sharyn Boyle, a graphic designer here at Cox First Media and close friend.
And if my family members, friends or co-workers don’t recommend someone to portray them, then I can exercise free artistic rein. Kevin Costner, for example, will undertake the role of Bobby Joe. (For this particular narrative, my handsome yet modest boyfriend prefers to stay out of the spotlight.)
Likewise, I love creating playlists as I meander through various clever points of view in my journey. I often listened to “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover,” for instance, when Patrice returned. The catchy chorus starts out:
“You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don’t need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free ... "
Nowadays, I consider myself a full-fledged Swiftie. The background music is my Taylor Swift collection (all eras, by the way) as I work out ... or clean the house.
Although I pray Patrice and Daphne, my newly chosen name for the coiled aneurysm, will appropriately conduct themselves, I keep my relationships, faith and coping mechanisms in place to accompany me through whatever the future holds.
Vision boards
Several years ago, I put the concept of vision boards to work. Using poster board, stickers, photos and other artsy-craftsy pieces, I assemble one at the start of each year and month — and sometimes each week.
My big board for 2024 includes writing a cookbook of family recipes and maybe a novel or screenplay — and, most certainly, fluffing up Chez Robin. In 2021, I began seriously editing my home as I prepared for my second transsphenoidal surgery. Tripping over piles of books, clothes, magazines and other clutter would hardly be safe.
Expanding mental health awareness is also a nice slice in the pie of my 2024 board. FYI: Practicing mindfulness is no easy feat.
My colleague’s article, however, about this year’s performance of “The Nutcracker” at the Schuster Center motivated me. Russell Florence Jr., the Community Engagement’s team leader and arts writer extraordinaire, interviewed several dancers who had appeared in previous iterations of the classic musical.
Halliet Slack, who was the Sugar Plum Fairy in the 2004-2018 Dayton productions, shared this: “A lesson or practice from performing is to always stay in the present. You can get really down on yourself for something that didn’t go well and keep thinking about it, which will put you in a negative spiral. While performing, you have to let the mishap go and stay focused on what you are doing. That is a practice that I still work on every day now.”
I, too, will strive every day to be present. And mindful.
The takeaways
As I wrap up my column for this year, I lend our readers five takeaways:
- Practice gratitude. “Gratitude is a posture of your heart, a choice, and a privilege,” according to an article I read recently. Needless to say, I have abundant gratitude for my loved ones, family, friends and wonderful work community. Furthermore, I am especially thankful for the encouragement my manager, Sharon Wilmore Buggs, has given me over the years. She is retiring Dec. 31. Merci beaucoup!
- Gather purposefully. Dine at new and favorite eateries. Explore your family’s cookbooks for recipes to recreate. Play Scrabble with friends or family members — or have your 12-year-old great-nephew teach you how to play chess. Run/walk a 10K or a half-marathon, as Bobby Joe and my co-worker Natalie Storck and her husband did in September. Set a festive table. My Second Dad and his 86-pound dog Winston (yes, he’s a sir) will visit sometime soon. As I gussy up Chez Robin for my guests, I know we’ll share family tales share over a homemade dinner in my newly reimagined kitchen.
- Travel more. Travel informs, educates and inspires, broadening our vistas at every turn. My travel plans for 2024 emulate those of years past: Easter with family in the Southwest, maybe Christmas in England, and autumn in the Black Hills of South Dakota. My former college roommates and I reunite every two years or so at different locales throughout U.S. A relaxing sojourn in Iowa next year is already in the works. Bobby Joe and I are plotting a much-needed romantic getaway to Montreal next year.
- Write often. As a lifestyle journalist, I make my living interviewing folks, taking photographs and assembling stories for various print and digital products at Cox First Media. But you needn’t be an English major to harness the healing properties of jotting down your thoughts. Each evening, I write in my journal for about 10 minutes and also fill out my to-do list for the next day. This easy practice affords peace of mind.
- Live simply. As I finish my vision board for 2024, I have embraced the Danish concept of “hygge” (pronounced “hoo-ga”) as one of my categories. Sometimes called “coziness of the soul,” hygge is, in short, about gratitude and savoring the simple pleasures of life. As such, I am shopping my closets and cupboards and donating items that no longer smartly serve me. Repurposing goods, too, is important to me. Earlier this month, I sent a bag of clothes, shoes and handbags to ThredUP, an online consignment and thrift shop that rejects “throwaway fashion culture.” If my pretty pieces don’t sell — and they might not — ThredUP will then upcycle them. How sustainably cool.
On that note, I truly — and simply — wish all our readers a healthy and robustly happy new year!
Robin’s Journey
Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022: Two brain surgeries reveal strength of human spirit
Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023: New Year kicks off with radiance, healthy habits
Sunday, Jan 8, 2023: Finding healing properties in traveling and painting
About the Author
