Medium

Medium is one of my favorite shows ~ last night's season finale really got my attention when the episode focused on Allison's deteriorating mental/physical health. **SPOILER ALERT** Allison collapsed at the office one day and when they ran some tests on her they found a rapidly growing tumor on her brain stem. Ooo MRI's of Allison's brain ~ I perked right up straining to see if she has a brain tail. Do any other loyal viewers out there remember a Medium episode early on in the series where it was found that Allison and all three of her girls share the same type of brain malformation? It's been driving me nuts, because I can't recall what they found but my hunch is it has something to do with chiari.

Anyway ~ the doctor was discussing surgical options with Allison and her prognosis with the newly found tumor in her brain. They must operate immediately as the tumor was growing fast and if they didn't operate and take it out it would cause her brain to herniate ~ GASP! The doctor went on to explain the urgency of the need for surgery as herniation of the brain can cause paralysis even death! GASP again ~ I wish I had found her doc when I was diagnosed with my brain tail. It seems that the local docs don't think a brain herniation of 17mm is anything that serious!

Here's a question for you brain tails out there ~ has having a brain tail made you more extra sensitive to things that are unseen ~ thoughts that are not spoken? I completely identify with Allison from Medium ~ not to that degree, but it can really make me feel like I am not from this planet sometimes. Maybe it's the hernation or the extra room now in the back of my head that makes me more sensitive ~ thoughts ~ anyone?

Profound Loss

I think I am still is shock over the sudden loss of Tim Russert. The picture above is a picture of his son, Luke, visiting the MEET THE PRESS studio after his death. There is a wonderful video that celebrates Tim Russert's life ~ click on this link for a good article and video.

Tim ~ you be greatly missed! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25186698/

Holder of Precious Things ~ www.hulu.com

My first week back at work was a little rough on my body both physically and mentally. Getting up at 5:45 am was definitely a rude awakening since I was used to rolling out of bed whenever I felt like it for 3 months. Sitting in a rolling chair all day also took it's toll as I worked on finding way of sitting that was the least painful position. I have found out this week that I am finally able to discern and define the differences symptoms of a tethered cord and chiari/cranial settling effects.

Although the tingling/numbness in my arms and legs is gone I am still feeling stiffness and pain in my neck and the back of my head. This next week will be a doosy as the weather forecast is calling for a low pressure front to settle like a blanket over our area and bring rain off and on all week long. But on the brighter side of things I found a new and fun website yesterday. For an avid movie/TV watcher it's been fun exploring all kinds of old and new tv/movie clips. Check it out for yourself ~ http://www.hulu.com/ .

Here are some of my favs so far ~

Spoiler Alert ~ If you haven't seen JUNO yet don't watch the clip below.

Googgly Eyes

A couple of weeks ago Christopher Walken was the host of SNL and I have to say that every skit, down to the very last one was hilarious! I especially enjoyed the one I posted above about the indoor gardener who's scared of his plants. His solution ~ put googly eyes on them so that he can establish eye contact with them. You just gotta laugh!

Extreme Makeover ~ The Carter Family

Mark your calendars ~ Extreme Makeover Home Edition is re-airing the episode about the Carter Family on April 6th. The day before my tethered cord surgery I met Julie Carter at the Variety House ~ she is an amazing woman! Her passion for helping people with Chiari is incredible. If you didn't catch this episode when it aired in October be sure to watch it on April 6th.

"Carter Family" -- The Carters of Billings, MT were surprised to receive the news that Ty and the gang will transform their current home of a chicken coop into the home of their dreams in just seven days on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," SUNDAY, APRIL 6 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on ABC. (Rebroadcast. OAD 10/21/07)

Julie Carter suffers from a genetic disorder known as Chiari Malformation, as does her 21-year-old daughter, Jade. She fears her other two daughters may have it as well. Julie and Jade have had several brain surgeries costing over $500,000. This condition has over 85 symptoms -- which makes it very easy to misdiagnose -- and causes depression and chronic fatigue. Julie has made it her passion to spread awareness of the rare disorder and has become a hero to thousands. She writes a monthly newsletter to Chiari patients, providing them support, compassion and valuable information, which she assembles and distributes with her own money. She also started Chiari People of Montana, a support group. With her success, she was recently asked to run the first Chiari Malformation chapter in Billings. This is a bittersweet honor, since her makeshift office is hardly suitable for getting out her newsletters.

Julie is so consumed with helping others that she rarely thinks of her own living situation -- which is a refurbished chicken coup -- but the astronomical medical bills are a regular reminder that there's little chance their house will ever be fixed. From the outside their home looks like a long warehouse; the exterior walls are buckling and some of the windows are cracked, which makes it tough in the brutal Montana winter. They've made the best of the interior, but the cracks in the floor and the unusable space makes heating the place expensive. It's now up to the design team to get this family out of the chicken coop and into a healthy house, and to reward this selfless mother with a state of the art facility where she can run the Billings chapter of Chiari. While Ty and the designers, local builder Jeff Junkert Construction, Inc. and hundreds of volunteers and workers are rebuilding their home, the Carter family will go on vacation at the Hilton Times Square in New York City.

Source: ABC

LOST Summed up in 8 Minutes

LOST returns on Thursday, January 31st with a two hour premiere ~ It has been a long 8 months since we spent some time with our favorite cast aways. I am looking forward to diving right back into the mystery of the island with high hopes of maybe having some answers to the running list of questions that LOST procures. If you haven't seen this eight minute recap yet it will definitely remind you of all of the plots in the show.

It maybe just be my love for the Hobbit folk ~ but I will miss Charlie! Yes ~ he was annoying at times, but I will still miss him. I am hoping that since the season premiere is on the day before my surgery I will have plenty to mull over in my pain killer infused mind ~ maybe I will come up with some new theories about the show. Stay tuned for more on that later ~

LOST Season 4

LOST Season 4 premieres on Thursday ~ January 31, 2008. With all that has been going on I almost forgot about our favorite castaways! If it's been too long since you thought about Sawyer, Locke, Sayid, Jack, Kate ~ here's a recap from Season 3 to jog your memory.

Whatever they came for, it isn't us ~

There isn't much time! ~ if you want to live you need to come with me ~

There's a traitor in our midst ~

Every person on this island will be killed ~

We are really going home ~

We made a mistake ~ we weren't supposed to leave ~

We have to go back Kate!

Here's a link for more trailers ~ spoiler alert!