A Good Day & a Side of Beef ?

We have beaten the 'Thursday Curse'! Here it is Friday and Kathy looks even better than yesterday. I am sure part of it is relief that it's Friday and there is no significant headache and part is the progress with the muscle pain. Of course, a few good nights of sleep can do much for mood & healing.
Tomorrow we are going to try a short walk out side. We need some 'straight line' walking which is impossible in a small colonial house. If only there was a shoe store with a sale going on close by....that would be good for some distance from Kathy.

So what did we have for dinner tonight? Beef, what else? I am seriously thinking of heading down to Eastern Market to purchase a whole side of beef. It's mostly what Kathy wants to eat (that and other protein). She did manage a tuna sandwich for lunch but still craved beef for dinner. Anyone that knows my wife has to think it strange that she hasn't had any chocolate for weeks & she's craving meat?

I think Kathy may be convinced that we are finnaly on the upswing which in itself is a big motivator. For us both.

Thank you to Uncle Mitch & Aunt Judy for calling & Rich & Becky Dahl for your prayers.

As my son in law says: " Do good things"

Finally Relief! Did We Beat 'The Curse'?

Last night was one of the best nights yet. The muscle relaxant provided much needed relief , AND helped our girl sleep (I wonder if that special pillow helped also, the one I've been trying to get her to try for a week).

So after sleeping most of the night Kathy woke in a much better mood & in less discomfort than before. There were more smiles, and less anxiety about the 'Thursday Curse'.

The past two Thursdays are when those devastating headaches occurred. So here it is 9:00 Thursday night & Kathy is tucked snugly in bed & resting comfortably. Could we have turned the corner?

Another milestone today, we are down to only one post op medication (you don't want to know how many we had to track at first). We are both happy about this.

And, today Kathy expressed a wish that we take a walk outside. A good sign of healing and perhaps a case of cabin fever. Perhaps tomorrow if weather permits.

So......still dealing with some pain, some nausea (but only some!) & exhaustion but we are so much better than last week. Success seems to be nearer, we just have to be patient with all the baby steps to get there.



Thanks to Tami & Kevin Sherman (the new Mr. & Mrs.!!) for your warm wishes.

Nurse Dale oooout! (that's Canadian ya know).

Tuesday - Wednesday Nineteen Days Post Op.

Here's another report on patient Kathleen by Dale Adelson URN/DI (Unregistered Nurse/Drill Instructor).

Tuesday: A pretty good day, until the evening. We had a few milestones & definitive proof of progress!

• Stitches out!!
• Kathy made the 45 mile round trip (as a passenger of course) to the doctor's & back without barfing. (it wasn't easy, but we did it).
• We walked from the far end of the parking lot & back (about 1/2 a city block each way) without any major difficulty. It took a long time but we did it.

We are still dealing with significant neck & shoulder pain so we left the office with a new Rx, which Kathy had a delayed negative reaction too (hence the not so good night). However after a sleepless night we were back to just dealing with pain. Doesn't quite sound like a blessing does it? So now Kathy (we) feel a little apprehension trying any new meds.

Wednesday: Not too bad, but feeling frustrated & down.

When you are in pain or just not feeling well for such a long time it's going to happen.....last night took it's toll...so today even though we had no physical or medical setbacks the blues have stopped by for a visit (short I hope). It's not uncommon for anyone to feel this way after major surgery so we're not surprised. I heard George Cloney is in town, maybe tomorrow I'll try & find him & ask if he'll give Kathy a call....THAT would cheer her up!!

So Kathy has had one major craving since regaining her appetite, beef. So tonight I decided to cook our first steak (new york strip) ever in this house (three years). The steak came out just fine & we discovered just how sensitive our smoke alarms are. Classic American meal, steak & mashed potatoes, no veggies to distract . Good for the soul. Yum.

Tonight we agreed to try another med to try and loosen those muscles. Keep your fingers crossed, at the least perhaps it will help her sleep.

Thanks to:

• Kay for the info.
• Cousins Bo & Jerra for the beautiful Harry & David gift. It is filled with some deeelicious food.
• Our good friend Don Fink for checking in.
• Kathy's friend Nelia. Welcome back to the States!
• Renee....Marty ( fellow OPHS'er) what more can I say?

More good news tomorrow? We hope!

Sunday, Monday Two Pretty Good Days

Although still very tired we have made some progress since Friday. The most significant achievement is the reduction in pain. We are hoping this will continue as the steroids are tapered down.

A few silly notes:

• Part of Kathy's therapy is doing laps around the house, so today I just happened to ask her if she has been reversing directions, to which she replied "no because when I go in the other direction I get nauseous" & then it dawned on us that she has been 'retraining' her brain in only ONE direction all along. So now we will do three laps in one direction then three in the other. I expect in only a day or two we will have this resolved.
• Kathy still has significant neck muscle soreness, so to deal with it I have encouraged her to keep moving it..Well today she came up with this 'exercise' to stretch her neck that looked like a cross between a pigeon's head bob (while walking) & a disco move. We both got a good laugh out of it, but hey if it works all the better. ( I might take a video when she's not looking)

Tomorrow is our first official post op appointment, (keep your fingers crossed it may be a long ride) we hope to have the stitches removed & will find out if the doc's are going to order a spinal tap as a diagnostic for the headaches. I should mention that at least one of her doctors have called the past three mornings to check on her, it's a great team & they all talk in a very respectful, simple manner. No arrogance or medical mumbo jumbo. They always make sure we understand.

Thanks to our friend Judy (one of the rockin' HR ladies) & Gordy in TO for checking in. Hey, that's two Canadians in one day.

Will update Tuesday sometime after doctor visit.

Thank you to all my friends at IKEA Canton! (even to my fellow co worker that said 'man you don't look so good'). You all have been terrific!

A Good Day, A Good Friend & A Word of Caution

Have I mentioned that Kathy & I are truly blessed with wonderful friends & family?
Well here is a perfect example: Kathy's co worker & friend John Kyros came to our house with snow shovel in hand and proceeded to clear our sidewalk & drive! Just how do you properly thank such an unselfish act of kindness? I don't know, but I'm posting it here for as many people as possible to know what a wonderful person John is!

Today was a good day. Kathy was relatively pain free (mostly muscle aches) & ate pretty well.
More good news! I've been cooking since we have been home & neither of us has suffered.

Although still very tired only took a short nap (we're hoping that will aid an entire night's rest).
She was able to watch an entire movie (Casino Royale) & did a set of therapy. So all in all a day of progress.

A word of caution: Anyone reading this (and tell all you care about) should check with any pharmacy you use to be sure they have a profile on you listing all your allergies AND make sure you read all the the literature that comes with each prescription you purchase.
Why do I mention this? Today while reading the literature for a Rx written by the ER doctor I discovered that this drug can cause an allergic reaction in people allergic to a certain class of antibiotics even though it's not an antibiotic. If Kathy had taken this drug we could have had a VERY serious problem. So what happened? Well I can see where the ER doc may have slipped(still not good), & assumed (also not good) he checked Kathy's hospital records & since it was not an antibiotic we did not ask. But how did the pharmacist @ the drug store where we have shopped for 15 years not catch it? Because they had no profile on either of us! That is impossible. Apparently 'the system' lost our profiles. And no one at the store has even occasionally checked to see if one existed. So when they (only G_D knows for how long) filled our Rxs no allergies showed up BECAUSE there were no profiles! Disaster averted, but only narrowly.

Thanks to my wonderful children (and son in law!) for checking in from your corners of the world.

Needless to say..........

As you might have guessed by the absence of timely posts...things have not been great.



Kathy has been fighting a worsening headache for the past few days, accompanied by nausea & a bad muscle cramp in her neck ( she's had that before, probably made worse by all the inactivity).

So @ 1:00 am today per her doc's instructions we headed for the ER. The staff was very attentive despite the fact they were somewhat overwhelmed by what they call a 'drunk & crack night'. ( which translates to longer wait times & potential harm to people that REALLY need care, just another example of the cost to society of drug & alcohol abuse).

So with an IV started, morphine for pain & compazine for the nausea we settled down for a night of more detective work. After CT scans were read it was clear that all was well at & around the surgery site (internally & externally), good news! We did find there was a bit more fluid in Kathy's brain ventricles than may be 'normal', (who could be normal & married to me?) even though this is not considered serious or a result of the surgery it just might be a contributing factor to these headaches, so rather than an invasive procedure to drain some fluid we are going to try a 'water pill' along with another course of steroids, new pain meds & IF needed a muscle relaxant if Mr. Spasm returns.

Yes, it's been a nasty few days, however we are back home, Kathy is resting comfortably, Dale is full of cookies, bread & beef stew (all comfort food) and not worrying about clogging his arteries (for now).

Thanks to Uncle Mitch & Aunt Judy for the delicious Dakota Bread basket & Auntie Dawn for the (WOW!) cookie basket.
It is a shame that Kathy's discharge instructions say no cakes, cookies or candy for two weeks post op!
I will personally make sure NOTHING goes to waste! Just kidding!

Once again I would like to mention that all the doctors involved with the surgery have assured us it is rare someone would have this difficult of a time post op.
Could it be the middle child is seeking more attention?

Hope every one following us is well. Thanks for your prayers & well wishes!

Tuesday - Eleven Days Post Op

First, thanks to :

• Cousin Bo for your support & knowledge.
• Peggy V, I'll pass your well wishes to Kathy.
• David Lewis ( Dale is president of the David Lewis Fan Club - Detroit Chapter), our good friend in Chicago .

AND: a special thanks to my friend Anthony & his worship group for including us in your prayers.

Today was sorta OK. I think we need to kick up the caloric intake another two notches or so, maybe with more frequent meals. Seems if Kathy gets the least bit hungry nausea starts. It's interesting just how much energy your body needs to heal even if you are not really doing anything. Dinner tonight was veggie pizza (no sauce, no cheese) with pieces of chicken added. Went over well (once again only two packages to open!) I'm trying to make the time to actually cook. I'm making a concerted effort to add more protein to the mix as Kathy seems more able to tolerate it now.

We did good on the therapy side, but because Kathy is not sleeping well she's VERY tired. So we're going to try a different Rx since Ambien has not worked well enough. I'm sure the lack of good rest is contributing to the 'blues factor' .

Still made a little progress, but tomorrow WILL be a better day!

dale......out!

Home - Days One & Two

It is amazing how fast the days go. Here it is Monday already. There's so much to do, monitoring meds, tracking & coaching exercise sessions, cooking, cleaning (I'm better @ cooking), calling Dr's with questions ( or just trying to get through to the Dr.).

She's still not sleeping well, still some pain (neck,head ,shoulders & back) but now only 2-3 out of ten. That's a HUGE improvement!

So here's the latest:
Meals are getting more 'normal'. Breakfast was some eggs, raisin bran (a must if you know what I mean) some toast & butter.
Lunch,: beats me I just can't remember.
Dinner: mac & cheese made with rice pasta & three cheeses. (only had to open two packages!).
Funny Kathy food fact ( and very disturbing), she has not eaten ANY chocolate since we've been home! Instead she's been leaning toward Vanilla! Which before the operation was only something you mixed chocolate into! Very strange.

Anyhow, our girl is looking much better today. Eyes are even more open, only one dose of anti-barf meds (needed after an exercise session) AND by the end of the day she did a few laps around the house NOT walking like Charlie Chaplain (penguin).
Tomorrow I'm going to try & add steak to the menu (something I will not complain about) to get more protein in her diet.
Let's see, she's on steroids, add steak & some weight training, hmmm. I know, wrong type of steroids.
All in all these past two days...Not too bad! Still a long way to go but we believe there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks to my friends at Ikea, for your care & prayers and for all the smiles that greeted me today!

So... a glass of Merlot, a hot shower & zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

dale........out!

WE ARE HOME!!!

What a week! We are finally home! Still in pain, still nauseous, but better AND home.
There is much healing and a whole lot of work to do.
I've set up the meds dosing list & am prepared to continue my role as drill instructor. There are breathing exercises, balance, eye & head motion exercises & a host of sore muscles to tend to. And I have the easy part. Way easy.

Not the most romantic Valentine's Day we've had but one of the best.

I'd like to send thanks to :

• Kay our friend in the Great State of Texas (the best country that's part of the US), for your inspiration. You are right we've had to push through a lot of dirt & mud so far.
• My friends Anthony & Abbey (I'm glad your family is doing better) for taking the time to talk with me the other day.
• John Kyros for coming on day one to support Kathy's mother & I.
• Deana (Mom) for your help, support & of course for not killing me.
• Bobbie Jo for the wonderful package!

And Lucy our cat that I thought was missing Kathy so much...came up to see what the commotion was about, took a look at Kathy & turned tail to go nap. (dogs are better).

An Apology and The Worst Day Yet

First, I apologize for the absence of a post yesterday (Thursday 2/12). So this post will combine two days.

THURSDAY - THE ABSOLUTE WORST DAY YET.
I promised that I would chronicle this journey as accurately as possible & not sugar coat...
Thursday did not start off well as Wednesday night did not go well. Kathy has been unable to really sleep since surgery day (really since we were diagnosed weeks ago) and went into surgery with a two day headache. Of course with brain surgery you would expect a hefty headache for awhile. What you would not expect is for it to get increasingly worse. And that's what has been happening. And then POW it REALLY gets worse. I'll spare you all the adjectives...Kathy spent part of the day curled up in crying agony. Now, I know from experience that I can handle A LOT of adversity, even danger but I have to tell you there is nothing like watching the woman you love in this state and then hearing these words... "Am I dieing?" I'm dieing and you're not telling me" Ouch! There is no way either of us have earned this kind of bad karma.
So now we have two neurologists, an ear surgeon a neurosurgeon, a nurse and me trying to figure out what's going wrong here & going wrong fast.
There is no sign of increased cranial pressure, no sign of spinal fluid leakage. Could it be stroke? meningitis? encephalitis? Out of control migraine? The pressure bandage over the incision?
All of or none of the above? Holy ____!
Here is what's interesting in this scene...titles, degrees, status whatever, it's all gone. What we have here is six people all dedicated to helping (saving?) my wife. We all talk, throw out ideas, discuss, we all listen. So we decide to draw blood to rule out infection & go with the 'out of control migraine plus other contributing things theory.
So now starts 'the chase' to find the right treatment. Three different pain meds fail (including one the hospital was out of that I had to get from a CVS pharmacy). This is like all the rides at Cedar Point combined. Can you imagine I had to leave my suffering wife to go pick up a Rx? All the way hoping the pharmacy wasn't back up? Armed combat is starting to look less stressful.
Well nothing really worked (even 5 mg of Ambien) but we finally got Kathy calmed down enough for me to get a few hours of shuteye.

FRIDAY -180 DEGREES IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Kathy calls at 6am so I'm off to hospital. Ambien worked till 2am then the pain took over .
Thankfully the Doc's have already conferred (blood work was OK) so we stay with the migraine theory, decide to add steroids and later take the dreaded pressure bandage off.
HE MUST BE UP THERE!
Two hours after first IV of steroids AND bandage off we have our first smile. Pain is now a 7 of 10, hour later 4 of 10 and nausea is almost gone.
Not out of the woods yet, but at least the woods are not on fire.
To summarize the rest of the day (it's almost one AM and I'm fading fast):
We are back on schedule, still some pain & nausea but eating, walking, smiling.
We had two successful walks about 30 feet each, a shower, a lot more calories AND went up & down FIVE steps!
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY CAN MAKE!
COULD SHE BE HOME TOMORROW?
HOLY WHATEVER I'VE GOT A HOUSE TO CLEAN!!

PS; To anyone out there that has AN & is following all this ...we have been told by MANY people (doctors & nurses included) that it is RARELY this hard so don't despair.

PS I'm too tired to cook Chinese tonight so Lucycat will be here for Kathy's homecoming.

It Was, Still Is & Always Will Be Her Smile & My New Love!

Today was a good day!
We are still fighting pain & nausea but.......

• We had three successful walks in the hall & down a bit (maybe fifteen feet each time). Totally exhausting & nauseating still, but getting better.
• We are officially (we hope for good) off narcotic & IV pain meds.
• We had one successful session of head & eye therapy exercises. Did I mention nausea & exhaustion?

It's still a battle to get Kathy to eat enough & that is one of the paradoxes we must deal with:

For the body to heal itself after major surgery you need a lot of calories, in order to retrain the brain & vestibular system (balance) you must 'challenge it' which results in exhaustion, dizziness & nausea. Plus if your blood sugar gets too low you get weaker & low blood sugar can cause nausea. I'm sure you can see just what a (excuse the pun) balancing act this all is.

But as I mentioned it was a good day. Kathy looked so much better today. Her eyes are now almost fully open & we got more of those wonderful smiles that still warm my heart.

We had a VERY special visitor today! Our one year old nephew Dylan & his parents. Of course this set Kathy into her 'baby talk mode" which promptly gives me nausea! One of these days I am going to record it so everyone will know what I mean. It's as bad as my singing!!

And my new love? No, it's not one of Kathy's nurses it's yogurt protein shakes at the hospital cafe. Yum.

Oh yes, my daily comment about Lucycat...did I mention I'm making Chinese for dinner Friday night?

A Few Steps Forward, A Few Steps In Place

Well, today was frustrating.

Kathy did real well with breakfast and some PT this AM.

Second try for PT went well at first, (made it to restroom & back plus some standing & bedside sitting), However, Kathy ended up in so much pain we had to upgrade the pain meds to Dilaudid (like heroin ), so that shot the rest of today's therapy plans AND lunch, since it knocked her out for almost four hours.
Right now Kathy's up (in bed) & nibbling at dinner (veggie burger, mashed potatoes, sliced peaches, vanilla Ensure, ice cream and Vernor's. We are hoping for maybe 10 -15 bites. & some Ensure.

We managed one more trip to the restroom & then the request for the anti barf meds came. We have three available but can only have one type at a time and must space them, trouble is we never know which one will work when.

Today I received training on all the exercises Kathy will have to do now & when she gets home (I actually practiced each one myself). Some of these are tough even if you don't have vestibular issues!

So today we are another day behind schedule now hoping for home next Monday & still weeks of work to do.

Today my name is Dale again , however Kathy said to Mom & I "I love you both but would really like to kick you!" Of course my retort "Too bad you will not manage to do that until you get better AND you have to do your therapy before that will happen" was not received too well.

A word about courage...

We have all heard what courage 'means'. Grace under fire, not the absence of fear but the mastery of fear.....

I personally have spoken one on one with WWI vets that were gassed & went back to the front, WWII vets that survived the Normandy invasion & hand to hand combat, more than a few Holocaust survivors & Vietnam vets that told of unimaginable scenes of carnage and pain yet kept fighting.

So why do I bring this up?

Because I'm sitting here in this hospital on the neuro wing surrounded by 'common people' that are some of the most courageous people I have ever seen or met.

People like my wife who know if they simply open their eyes or move their head they are going to experience overwhelming pain & nausea but know they must to get better even though days of this suffering lie ahead.

People that have both eyes bandaged and are in pain yet have no idea if they will ever see again and refuse to give up hope and say I will find a way even if.....

Family members that have the courage to come every day to cheer, prod, encourage and love .

And the nurses, aides, techs, doctors and all the support personnel that come each day to help, heal & comfort even though some days they are surrounded by such pain and misery.

And yet do we ever read about this? All this courage every day, in countless hospitals around the world?

You don't have to be religious or believe in G-d to count your blessings my friends.

Thanks to all the ladies in HR @ Ikea, Thomas in Austria, Kay (you are an inspiration), Larry & all at the Heritage Center, Rich D, my very dear friend Renee, AND Bobby Jo, Kathy's dear friend in Kentucky (you make her smile).

dale

A Day Of Challenges, Dale's New Name , I Love You So Much & ....Barf!

Whew! What a full day for all...

Physical Therapy (PT) was in early this AM & had our girl up for a little bit (a little bedside sitting & a little standing) and we got to see Kathy's breakfast for a second time! (it looked better the first time)

Next, Doc's LaRue & Piper were in and Kathy & I both got lectures and directives (me especially). I am now responsible for making sure Kathy does her respiratory exercises ten times an hour, gets up and walks (down the hall? are you kidding?), does her eye exercises and NO MORE BEDPANS! She has to get up & walk ( shuffle really with help) to the restroom. Asking all of this from a girl that gets nausea just from opening her eyes or turning her head.
So Kathy & I agreed Mom & I will have to play 'bad cop-bad cop' & force her to do what must be done. (If we want to get home, avoid pneumonia, bed sores, stiff muscles, embolisms, on & on).
So somehow by the end of the day Mom is still Mom and I am now Ass---e. ( is there an exorcist in the house?) Do professional coaches take this abuse? (Like yesterday I got an apology when we left).

However, Kathy did great eating today..almost a full meal! Plus two little ice creams (did I mention ..that's my girl?) and a few Vernors. Plus I once again demonstrated my great love for my wife by eating some of her (sharing the misery) left over chicken & carrots (I hate cooked carrots!). Now that's love!

The crown of the day is Kathy with great GREAT effort & determination made it to the restroom & back and dinner stayed put! We're all very relieved and proud. (None of us can have any idea how hard this is).

A special thanks to Kay for your latest words of encouragement & to Bobbie Jo for your wishes!
And of course thanks to our great Docs & the wonderful staff @ Providence Southfield!

PS : If any of my friends @ Ikea are reading leave me a comment or two.

Not so fast I say.....

Well , theoretically Kathy should not have been moved from ICU until she could get out of bed, so a few of us (some nurses included) are wondering why she's on the neuro floor now.
However, all the nurses & supportive personnel seem very experienced with this type of tumor/surgery and are just as nice as those in NICU.
Today's update: Sat on the side of the bed for approx. two minutes (can you imagine?) then the exhaustion & nausea became two much.
Food was not a popular bedside topic today, there was a little consumption of water, Ensure (Chocolate of course), one whole forkful of smashed potatoes, chicken broth & some ice cream (that's my Kathy). Maybe better luck tomorrow.
We did get a few of the famous Kathy smile, esp when I told her we've been putting vodka in her IV.

Another reason I'm a 'dog guy'.
MOST of the time I clean the litter box, I fill the food & water bowls, I let her out of her pen, I sneak her extra treats, I manicure her nails AND I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO SUPPLIES HER DRUGS (catnip of course) so does she miss me? nope!
Kathy's gone two days and the cat thinks the world is ending. Ingrate!
Hey everyone come over for dinner Friday night I'm making Chinese.

Slow progress & a failing grade.

More good news (so far) Kathy is looking better every day, down to only one IV line , is sitting up in bed and feeding herself when she's up to it (ice cream of course). Headache is a bit better , still dealing with the dizziness & nausea. Physical therapy was in earlier, tried to get Kathy out of bed and as mentioned "I failed bedside", meaning it was just too much motion to even sit . So she's still on pain & nausea meds. PT will be back tomorrow but has left instructions for some exercises to do in the meantime to help the balance issue.
She's joking around a bit & even told me to 'go way' once when I asked for a smile...only to apologize a minute later. (it's the drugs)

Moving Right Along (but verry slowly!)

I slept through two alarms I set to call ICU but Mom checked in @8:00am & found Kathy has moved to the regular neuro floor, good news.
I just spoke to Frank the RN that will be Kathy's nurse for day shift & said she is sitting up, (in bed) eating a little and has requested her favorite cereal (Trader Joe's raisin bran).
She still has a bad headache & her neck is quite painful.
Dr. LaRue was in & feels the neck pain is due to all the manipulation during surgery.
Physical therapy is due in today which is going to present more challenges since they have to get Kathy moving to help the brain acclimate & get her neck muscles limber again.
So we can expect quite a bit of discomfort, however Kathy has made great strides & has such great determination . (She really wants to get home to see if I've made a mess of the place).
We take comfort in a message from a lady who had AN surgery thirteen years ago, "The first three days don't count". Thanks Kay!

And by the way...thanks to the best in laws ever...Mom, Denise, Ralph Kels ,J man & especially the little brother I never wanted Steve, his lovely Erin & my favorite 'new' nephew Dylan. (Dylan has been the most supportive one year old I have ever known!).

Thanks to my globe trotting kids E & E for your support. You are the best!

Day two - not too bad after all.

Over all today was not as bad as we expected. Al little behind schedule but...

Kathy still has an awful headache (even with morphine every three hours + other pain meds).
But she has been able to open her eyes & look around ever so slightly with out 'losing it'.
Moving her head, even drinking is painful but she's been a great trooper. Running a low grade fever & since she isn't out of bed yet as hoped we have started simple respiratory treatments once a hour (to help prevent pneumonia).
But, she's managed to drink some water & ginger ale AND even kept down some yogurt, cherry ice & some ice cream (that's my Kathy!).
Not very comfortable but she's slowly moving around a little in bed (even moving a foot can be a big deal right now). You never realize how much you affect your balance & other muscles with even the simplest of movements .

Hopefully it will be a good night for all.

The staff in Nerou ICU has been wonderful! Kind, caring & very professional. We could not ask for a better team! Thank you all.

It's not pretty, it's not fun.....a day of barf!

It's not pretty, it's not fun, especially for Kathy.

Two check ins with the ICU nurses: 12:00 midnight Kathy still has a terrible headache & every time she opens her eyes or moves she gets very dizzy & the dry heaves (did I mention it's no fun?). Mom checked in around 8:00 am ..more of the same. So we are headed over to hospital to try & help our Kathy get through what we know is going to be a very rough day.


Meanwhile...Lucycat started my day off with a present of her own barf (in her pen thankfully), so you might say it's going to be a barfy day from the get go.

Intensive Care & Home For Awhile

Kathy is now in neuro intensive care, hopefully for no more than 24 hours then to the regular neuro floor. She's still sedated, with as you can imagine quite a headache & a lot of nausea (and the resulting 'yuk' part mentioned prior).
Mom & I did deli & have now gone our ways home. A little Jewish soul food always helps. Maybe tomorrow I'll try Italian soul food (chicken cacciatore) or my ultimate soul food PIZZA!!!
I'm going to try to sleep but fully anticipate either returning to the hospital (wait room only) or calling the nurses a few times to check in.
I can already feel pangs of separation anxiety.
Lucycat however is more concerned that her food bowl is only half full & that I dare to let the heat turn off for more than a minute. Yap Yap Yap. I think a little catnip for her & a glass of red wine for me should help. (I might give her both!).

Good News! & Now Comes the Hard Part

What a relief!

Surgery was only five & one half hours, less than anticipated. We met with Dr. LaRue (ear surgeon & Dr. Piper (neurosurgeon).
The really good news... it's benign and it's all out!
They were very upbeat..as far as we know the facial nerve is intact, this was the main nerve concern because of all this nerve affects. We may see some symptoms of facial nerve involvement due to post op swelling, however it should be temporary.
Auditory nerve: Latest estimate is 80% chance hearing will be OK. This is up from 50-50 pre op estimate, so more good news. We are well prepared if hearing is compromised, it has always been the least of worries going in. May take several days to weeks to know.
Brain stem: Although close there was no involvement & this was the very scary part!
Balance nerve: this is the tough part. The tumor was part of the balance nerve so it had to be sacrificed which means Kathy has a few days (2-4 at the most we hope) of spinning room, dizziness & yuk (you can guess what that means) as the brain learns how to balance again minus one of the two signals it is used to receiving. It will all pass & we don't anticipate any lasting effects. Of course we all know Kathy had to be a little off balance to marry me. Plus another hole in the head? Geez.

We have seen Kathy in recovery & she looks pretty good, color is back, has a 10 of 10 headache (they gave her more morphine) & of course is pretty much out of it. Nice bandage, reminds Mom of Johhny Depp in a 'Pirates' movie. Plain white though, we'll have to find something more colourful. Maybe pink with skull & cross bones.
So now we wait for her to be transferred to ICU. It's going to be a long night & some long days days ahead.

The Party Has Started!

Well time for me to put my two cents in.

After a predictably sleepless night for us all.....Kathy, Mom & I arrived at 6am. Kathy seemed to be in the best spirits of all since the big wait is finally over.

We have met with all the Docs, the surgical nurse and are once again pleased, confident & somewhat relieved. What a great team! They are all friendly, upbeat & seem VERY comfortable with the important jobs they do. Really helps to put you at more ease.

From what Kathy told us in pre-op they were pretty quick to get the 'good stuff' going, so by time we got to see her she was quite relaxed. (Versed is great stuff!). She was joking around with the surgeons ('since this is a 6-8 hour operation, do you guys take a lunch break?').

We just had update (10:30) that all is going well..only another 3 to 5 hours to go.

Here's what is predictable about all this..as soon as Mom & I go down stairs for a break the pager will go off to come back & receive an update!

Last day of work...

Well, I'm finally to my last day of work before the surgery. I took extra time to make sure my hair looked good before I came to work today. That way, people won't have to look at me like a walking, talking, crazy person ~ that's the person that I am inside today. I'm glad that I'm finally at the "day before" because at least now I'll be focused on what IS going on instead of worrying about what is going to happen or what might happen. I brought a bag of M&Ms (the big bag) for my Mom & Dale to munch on tomorrow. It will make the day go by quicker for them ~ I hope. Today we are having pizza at work (celebrating?? ~ not really sure) and someone brought in muffins this morning ~ so I think I'll have plenty of food in my stomach and won't have to worry about being hungry later when I can't eat. Everyone here at work have been really super though it's a little awkward ~ people want to say something to me to make me feel better and yet it always makes me feel a little nervous...and them too I think. I'm not real thrilled about going to the hospital without lip gloss and a little eye pencil.....maybe just the tiniest little bit?? I think this is my last post until after surgery and well, likely until I get home from the hospital so, keep all fingers and toes crossed for me. I'm gladly accepting any good thoughts sent my way....and Dale's way too. He's stuck having to put up with me and I sure know that's not easy. p.s. If my brother (Steven) and sister (Denise) are reading this.........I know neither of you are really sick and it's just a big cover so you don't have to come visit me in the hospital. Cold/Virus? Sinus infection?? PINK EYE??? Uh huh..........surrrrrre, I believe you! XOXO

This is going to be a looooong week

I always find it difficult to get up and going on Mondays. I've always felt that sleeping was one of my favorite hobbies ~ I'm really good at it!! But this morning, I found it difficult to stay asleep when my alarm went off. I stayed in bed trying to figure out the words to Earth, Wind and Fire's, "September". I called Denise and she didn't know either ~ so I got up and figured, "what the heck", how about getting to work on time. Maybe I'll be on time every day this week ~ well, every day except Friday. Friday is the big day and I'm struggling with my feelings. I know I need the surgery and it's the right thing to do but it's really strange planning for surgery when I'm feeling good and knowing that I will not be feeling good after the surgery. There are too many questions rolling around my mind. How much of my hair will be shaved off? Will I be able to hear? Will my face look funny (or funnier)? How long until I can stand up and walk like a normal person? What will the scar look like? Yuck. Will I throw up? I really hate throwing up. Okay, I know everyone hates throwing up ~but I feel totally paralyzed throwing up ~ before, during and after. Just ask my mom!! It's not pretty!! What about Dale. Is this too stressful? I don't want to upset him and I don't want him to get sick. What about my mom. She acts cool ~ but I know she's upset and I really prefer to be the one that makes things better for people ~ not worse. The whole money issue sucks ~ we've spent a ton of money the past couple months and I'm totally worried about not having a paycheck while I'm away from work...it makes me very nervous being away from work for so long. My head hurts and I wish I hadn't given up Diet Coke. I really love Diet Coke and today, I miss it. At least there are M&Ms in my desk at work and they are my friends and will help me make it through the next few days ~ Dale and M&Ms ~ thank goodness for them both!!