You’re right. There’s been a number of advances in this field in the almost 9 years since I had the surgery (an emergency, the meningioma bled, a stroke). I recovered, but for months I could only understand the big picture. If they did genetic sequencing and told me the results, I might not have remembered because it might not have seemed important.

For months afterwards, I was so fuzzy that my son had to walk me from the physical therapy facility, put me in the Uber, and trust the driver to get me home while my son went to work.