Genetically Engineered Bunny with a sleek & aerodynamic body and other oddities

Earlier today afternoon, as I was walking behind our apartment building, I noticed one of the many bunnies of our Apartment Complex sitting close to the sidewalk. 

It looked very odd at first glance and made me go: 

"That's weird. The bunny looks very thin and sleek. It looks almost like a cardboard cutout. 

With such an aerodynamic body, it should be able to move very fast! 

Where did it come from? I have never seen it before in our area. Has anyone been conducting Genetical Engineering experiments on the neighborhood bunnies?"🤔

The unusual sight made me pause my walking and give the bunny a more thorough look. After a moment or so, the rabbit turned into a regular rabbit with a plump body, and I was assured there was no hanky-panky going on among the rabbit population in the neighborhood. 

It was just my eyes - with the help of a 2.5 cm long tumor in the brain - playing tricks on me. The growing tumor might be causing some pressure to build up on the optic nerves leading to temporary visual issues. Glad it turned out to be a fleeting experience and not an ongoing/permanent problem with my eyesight.

That is another symptom to add to the list since the tumor was identified in the MRI 31 days ago on November 20, 2018. The complete list of symptoms observed so far:

• Feeling of lightheadedness occasionally - lasting just a few seconds each time.
• One violent episode of projectile vomiting on our Houston trip last Saturday that I wrote about in the previous blog post. Traveling stresses could have contributed majorly to this.
• One instance of slurring while talking which my wife (a qualified medical professional) noticed while we were at a restaurant for dinner. Even though I wasn't convinced there was anything wrong with me, we left the restaurant immediately with the idea of getting it checked out at an emergency center. On the way there, we decided to wait overnight and confirm there is an immediate problem before going to the hospital. It seemed like a good night's sleep made me feel better; so we dropped the idea of going to the hospital.
• Today's episode of seeing a bunny with an unusual shape. At least I do not see a human-size bunny like Donnie Darko did. 😆 

At the second-opinion-consult last week, the MD Anderson folks suggested Radiation Therapy targeting the new tumor growth as the way forward for me. Dr. Shiao-Pei Weathers called us yesterday morning to update us about the discussion of my case at their Tumor Board meeting and informed us that I should undergo surgery first and then undergo Radiation Therapy treatment. 

My oncologist Dr. Barnett was not expecting this advice about the need for surgery so close on the heels of my previous surgery. He is of the opinion that the Neurosurgeons won't be ready to operate in the same area where I had my previous surgery less than 6 months ago. Another reason he is not in favor of surgery is the increased risk of collateral damage from any aggressive treatment on this tumor which is located close to the motor cortex & the sensory cortex.

He has anyway reached out to Dr. Sharad Rajpal - the Neurosurgeon who did both of my craniotomies so far - asking him if he will be ready to perform the third craniotomy on me in the next few weeks. 

I am scheduled for another MRI two Fridays from today - on January 4, 2018. Decisions about the future course of action - surgery and radiation therapy, or just radiation therapy with chemotherapy, etc. - will be made based on the findings in that MRI.

With this being the holiday season, everything is moving very slowly. Hopefully, the tumor will stay stable until appropriate actions can be taken. And not end up growing uncontrollably giving me a glimpse of the Killer Rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. 🤣🤣