AlleyoopMgv
Well-Known Member
Me and the wife are still praying for you too Robert and Sarah.
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Wife's been in the hospital
- Thread starter ramenth
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DetMatt1
Well-Known Member
Still here for you brother and still praying.
ramenth
Well-Known Member
Okay, I promised an update when the computer wasn't acting up.
All the poking and prodding proved to be inconclusive. The oncologists brought in the neuro-surgeon to talk about the idea of going back for another biopsy, getting another couple of tissue samples. It was the surgeons idea that if he's going to have to go in for tissue samples he might as well go in and take the tumor, giving them all the tissue they need to study, and getting Sarah to where she can get her life back on track.
The surgery is scheduled for Aug. 13th. The surgeon told us what he'll do. He'll remove part of her skull to gain access, then separate the two hemispheres of her brain along the membrane. This will expose the tumor for him to be able to remove it. Whereas the previous surgeon made this out to be very difficult the new surgeon has told us that on a difficulty scale of 1-10 it would be a 5. Not routine, but a lot less complicated than we were lead to believe.
If all goes well, the only side effects Sarah should have is a little leg weakness and physical therapy and the proper exercise should help with that.
All the poking and prodding proved to be inconclusive. The oncologists brought in the neuro-surgeon to talk about the idea of going back for another biopsy, getting another couple of tissue samples. It was the surgeons idea that if he's going to have to go in for tissue samples he might as well go in and take the tumor, giving them all the tissue they need to study, and getting Sarah to where she can get her life back on track.
The surgery is scheduled for Aug. 13th. The surgeon told us what he'll do. He'll remove part of her skull to gain access, then separate the two hemispheres of her brain along the membrane. This will expose the tumor for him to be able to remove it. Whereas the previous surgeon made this out to be very difficult the new surgeon has told us that on a difficulty scale of 1-10 it would be a 5. Not routine, but a lot less complicated than we were lead to believe.
If all goes well, the only side effects Sarah should have is a little leg weakness and physical therapy and the proper exercise should help with that.
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moparleo
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Sounds like a lot better news ! Have faith.
Juan Veldez
Well-Known Member
My daughter had brain surgery. She has epilepsy and it required part of her brain to be removed, part of the skull cap being removed and all. It sounded really scary and risky, but I was told that it really isn't as bad as other surgeries (like heart, etc.) and not to worry too much. It was as successful as possible. No side effects from the surgery, just minor leftovers from the epilepsy. So, from my end and experience, it sounds like this is an option that can save the day. It is great that you have an option! We continue to pray and hope for normalcy in your life!
VeteranCosmicRocker
Well-Known Member
I sense optimism & that's a good thing. Hoping everything goes well. Keep a positive outlook !! We're all prayin' for ya !
btceng
Well-Known Member
Like the rest, still keeping you guys in prayer. It does sound better. Bless you.
DetMatt1
Well-Known Member
X2..............:angel4:
Rob C
Well-Known Member
One Doc said hard, the other said not so hard. One Doc's difficult time is easy for another. Glad the "Other" Doc is doing the work.
Not to make light or brake it down into a term to simple or compare, but "One mechanic can not tune a TQ, another says whip that baby over here and watch this ****!" as he waves his magic screwdriver over the carb.
Hope all goes and stays well with you and yours. These things are never easy. Eat and sleep the best you can. Remember some good humour. The wife will need you in the best shape possible for this.
Not to make light or brake it down into a term to simple or compare, but "One mechanic can not tune a TQ, another says whip that baby over here and watch this ****!" as he waves his magic screwdriver over the carb.
Hope all goes and stays well with you and yours. These things are never easy. Eat and sleep the best you can. Remember some good humour. The wife will need you in the best shape possible for this.
ramenth
Well-Known Member
Rob, that was the analogy I was using in my mind as the neuro-surgeon who is doing the operation was explaining everything. As a pro-wrench turner I've run across it all my life. What's hard for one guy is easy for the next. And when you go to a mechanic with a difficult issue and that mechanic sets your mind at ease saying it's not so difficult then you feel comfortable handing your car over to him and knowing that the money you pay is worth it.
That's how this surgeon made us feel. Whereas the first one kept telling us how bad things could be, this one focused on a more positive outcome and made us - Sarah especially - feel more at ease that the results will be positive. Hard to be positive about it when the first surgeon was being so negative.
Glad we sought a second opinion and switched doctors, that's for sure.
70challengerdane
Well-Known Member
prayers sent! God can do things no other can!
ramenth
Well-Known Member
Sitting here in a room at the RIT Conference Center right now. Strong Memorial and RITCC have a deal going where folks who have to travel a ways, like we do, get a free room the night before surgery. I've rented the room at a discounted rate in a deal the hospital has with the hotel until Wednesday. Hopefully Sarah will be ready to come home by then.
We have to be at the hospital at 5:45 in the morning to begin all the prep work for Sarah to be on the table at 7:30. Gonna be a long day...
We have to be at the hospital at 5:45 in the morning to begin all the prep work for Sarah to be on the table at 7:30. Gonna be a long day...
DetMatt1
Well-Known Member
Hang in there buddy! Continued prayers for you.
VeteranCosmicRocker
Well-Known Member
Hope everything went well... hope to hear some good, positive news
btceng
Well-Known Member
I've been away from the site for a while but still thinking and praying for you guys. As mentioned, looking forward to some good news.
ramenth
Well-Known Member
Catch up time.
Surgery didn't go as well as hoped. Last time I saw Sarah awake was the morning of the 13th when I kissed her as she was being wheeled into surgery. It's not the 29th and she's been in a coma since.
The tumor was a lot more difficult to remove than originally planned. It was metastasized in an incredible way. The hemispheres of her brain had to be separated longer than anticipated, causing a lot of irritation and swelling. A pocket of blood and clotted blood formed in the area where the tumor was and the clotted material is just now starting to break down for the blood itself to be re-absorbed. She's had two drains in the areas to help, and is down to one now. There's a lot of swelling on the brain stem, too, which is keeping her from becoming fully functional at the moment.
Pneumonia has set in twice and she passed a blood cot into her lungs. I authorized putting a screen into her artery to protect her. Usually heperin is prescribed in these situations, but with the blood and swelling on the brain, it wasn't prescribed until just recently to try to prevent any new clots.
The vent has bounced all over the place in an effort to keep her lungs stable enough to heal. At one point the vent was doing all the breathing for her, now it's there for an assist, and hopefully she'll adapt to an even lower setting either tonight or tomorrow.
In the meantime she's heavily sedated, too give her body time to heal. With every little setback she's had it's affected the brain's ability to heal itself. They do neuro checks on her to see how she reacts. She's predictably unpredictable by responding to commands one moment, then not at all the next. Functionally, she at about the level of a newborn baby, with flashes of more. Basically her brain is going along kicking on breakers to see what works and what doesn't.
She's had me up against her living will a couple of times, which isn't easy. Her living will states - and our discussions beforehand - simply states that if she can't function at a high level in her life, she doesn't want to live. A couple of times, it looked like she had given up. She hasn't, and the neuro-surgeon has asked for patience, explaining that we can't definitively tell until the swelling on the stem is down enough for us to get a clear view of what's going on. And that might take months. She's only 35. What's a couple of months compared to us knowing if she can live a full and functional life?
As for the tumor itself... The pathologists had to dig deep in the textbooks to find something to compare it to. It wasn't cancer, and it wasn't benign. It was a tumor of bone marrow that kept bleeding out to form a new layer. Apparently, this is only the second case in history of such a tumor. (Sarah always said she had to be different.) Which brings about another worry. If the surgeon missed even a small part of it, then it might regrow. Since there's no established treatment therapy for this... I'm so glad we didn't know the immediacy of the danger she's been in for the past few months. If it had ruptured she would have been dead before she hit the floor.
There's so many scenarios that have to play themselves out in the positive for things to come out our way. Keep the prayers coming, folks. She's very much walking on a narrow ledge. Over the last couple of days that ledge has gotten a little wider, but one stupid thing, like an infection, could push her off. She's had a couple of minor victories over the last couple of days. And I'll take 'em!
But the war isn't over yet. She's strong. Strong enough to have gotten through our losing our daughter nine years ago, a miscarriage which put her in the hospital for a week afterwards. I stand on the outside, trying to encourage her to use that strength now.
Surgery didn't go as well as hoped. Last time I saw Sarah awake was the morning of the 13th when I kissed her as she was being wheeled into surgery. It's not the 29th and she's been in a coma since.
The tumor was a lot more difficult to remove than originally planned. It was metastasized in an incredible way. The hemispheres of her brain had to be separated longer than anticipated, causing a lot of irritation and swelling. A pocket of blood and clotted blood formed in the area where the tumor was and the clotted material is just now starting to break down for the blood itself to be re-absorbed. She's had two drains in the areas to help, and is down to one now. There's a lot of swelling on the brain stem, too, which is keeping her from becoming fully functional at the moment.
Pneumonia has set in twice and she passed a blood cot into her lungs. I authorized putting a screen into her artery to protect her. Usually heperin is prescribed in these situations, but with the blood and swelling on the brain, it wasn't prescribed until just recently to try to prevent any new clots.
The vent has bounced all over the place in an effort to keep her lungs stable enough to heal. At one point the vent was doing all the breathing for her, now it's there for an assist, and hopefully she'll adapt to an even lower setting either tonight or tomorrow.
In the meantime she's heavily sedated, too give her body time to heal. With every little setback she's had it's affected the brain's ability to heal itself. They do neuro checks on her to see how she reacts. She's predictably unpredictable by responding to commands one moment, then not at all the next. Functionally, she at about the level of a newborn baby, with flashes of more. Basically her brain is going along kicking on breakers to see what works and what doesn't.
She's had me up against her living will a couple of times, which isn't easy. Her living will states - and our discussions beforehand - simply states that if she can't function at a high level in her life, she doesn't want to live. A couple of times, it looked like she had given up. She hasn't, and the neuro-surgeon has asked for patience, explaining that we can't definitively tell until the swelling on the stem is down enough for us to get a clear view of what's going on. And that might take months. She's only 35. What's a couple of months compared to us knowing if she can live a full and functional life?
As for the tumor itself... The pathologists had to dig deep in the textbooks to find something to compare it to. It wasn't cancer, and it wasn't benign. It was a tumor of bone marrow that kept bleeding out to form a new layer. Apparently, this is only the second case in history of such a tumor. (Sarah always said she had to be different.) Which brings about another worry. If the surgeon missed even a small part of it, then it might regrow. Since there's no established treatment therapy for this... I'm so glad we didn't know the immediacy of the danger she's been in for the past few months. If it had ruptured she would have been dead before she hit the floor.
There's so many scenarios that have to play themselves out in the positive for things to come out our way. Keep the prayers coming, folks. She's very much walking on a narrow ledge. Over the last couple of days that ledge has gotten a little wider, but one stupid thing, like an infection, could push her off. She's had a couple of minor victories over the last couple of days. And I'll take 'em!
But the war isn't over yet. She's strong. Strong enough to have gotten through our losing our daughter nine years ago, a miscarriage which put her in the hospital for a week afterwards. I stand on the outside, trying to encourage her to use that strength now.
moparleo
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It is in God's hands. If he has a plan for her beyond this crisis, only he knows how this will end . We may not understand why some people will go through life with a lot of challenges and others have no apparent problems at all. But remember that though the physical body will die someday, she is saved by her faith in God. We will continue to add her to our prayers and hope for the best.
Don't give up hope. Praise God.:eusa_pray:
Don't give up hope. Praise God.:eusa_pray:
AlleyoopMgv
Well-Known Member
Stay strong, praying for you and Sarah. God Bless
Juan Veldez
Well-Known Member
I've come to this site lately only to see how Sarah was doing, waiting for you to post the status. Other things see much less important. Our prayers continue to be with you and Sarah. Take care my friend!
