I’d assumed that surgery would allow me to return to the life I’d known before entering the Emergency Room. I wrongly viewed my choice as: refuse surgery and die in three months or have surgery and get on with the life I knew. Even with the risks that brain surgery must carry, the answer was clear.
This may seem like a minor point, but it’s quite important. The doctor never told me I could go back to the life I knew after surgery. I’d conjured that idea out of ignorance and fear.
Today I’d know better. In particular I’d know to ask basic follow-up questions. One would be: “You’ve given me a life expectancy without surgery. What’s my life expectancy with surgery?” Another would be “What’s likely to happen after a successful surgery?”
Make sure you know what is waiting for you at the end of a path of medical treatment. Removing the immediate barrier might set you going a direction that is less desirable than you assume.