The "thing" in my head (UPDATED!), why there are pics of me, and PFOs

I'm going to the University of Maryland Medical Center this afternoon so that the doctor can tell me that the "thing"in my head hasn't changed and I can go on with my life. (Update! I'm back; not only is "the thing" stable, but it's been stable long enough that the doctor says I don't need to come back!)  This is quite a difference from three years ago, when he was calling it a tumor and telling me it needed to come out --  in a risky surgery, because of its proximity to my optic nerve and my carotid artery.  He was talked out of surgery by another doctor, who convinced him that it was most likely benign, had most likely been there since I was in the womb, and didn't need to be removed unless it showed signs of changing.  Which it hasn't, of course.

I'm thinking back on that time three years ago, and how, 

even though nothing really changed, everything did.  I honestly thought I could die.  I mean, I had a TUMOR in my head, and the surgery to remove it was RISKY.  We went to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a few days that Spring Break,

and it was then that I decided that I would no longer avoid having my picture taken.  Yes, I am overweight, no longer young, no longer attractive.  Yes, I'd rather hide from the camera (and to be honest, I still position Amy in front of me whenever possible!)  But I realized that if something happened to me, my family would rather have pictures of the physically imperfect me than no pictures at all. 

Next week I see the cardiologist about the PFO (NON-life-threatening hole in my heart, which could be causing/contributing to my migraines. The PFO can be fixed with outpatient surgery.)  And I'll be seeing the pain management doc soon, too, to get facet-joint

 injections in my neck.