Finally Some Information

For the first time on this trip, we had to set the alarm so we could wake up to catch the 7:36 shuttle to Presby.  It was another hour-early arrival to an appointment; however, getting in early to see a doctor would remain a distant memory from the day before becuase we didn't meet Dr. Gardner until 11:28.  As we would learn, it's in-and-out for testing, but if you want to talk to someone who actually knows something, time is more elastic.

 

First impression?  SO YOUNG!  Nothing makes you feel older than to know a "kid" is a frickin' brain surgeon!  But I guess we all reach a point where instead of looking up to our elders, we have to trust our children.  And he's so good-looking, like a blonde Clark Kent.  Even his partner, Dr. Fernandez-Miranda, from Spain, was very attractive.  I trust their expertise in the operating room goes beyond their pleasing appearances.

 

So, here are the deets:

• Check-in at 5:30 am
• Operation at 7:55
• Operation could last 2-6 hours
• He'll be in ICU for probably 2 days
• Probably will be here 7-10 days after tomorrow
• His nose will be "packed" for healing for at least 3 weeks (he'll have it removed in KC)

Details of the operation are pretty much what we already expected, except we learned that an ear, nose and throat guy will be assisting.  He actually opens the sinus so Dr. Gardner can get in.   He also removes a bit of the skin inside Michael's nose to cover the entry point afterwards.

 

Dr. Gardner was curious about a new raspiness in Michael's voice, so he sent him to see Dr. Wang (pronounced Wong).  Apparently, a symptom of this tumor is that one side of the vocal chords may become paralyzed, affecting speech.  We got right in to see him; didn't even have time to complete yet another sack of paperwork.  But we learned there is nothing wrong with Michael's vocal chords.  However, the nose scope revealed a polyp which Dr. Wang is "going to take care of".

 

Of course, it's obligatory for the doctor(s) to remind us of the risks.  Although there may be many, the likelihood of any of them really happening is minimal.  Most possible would be some spinal leakage as some of the flakes of skin from his tumor enter the bloodstream.  He would recognize this in the form of meningitis, albeit an easily-treatable version of it.  We'll have to watch for dripping from the nose or back of the throat and severe headaches, which might not appear for several weeks.

To summarize what will be happening inside Michael's head after the opeartion, let's use Dr. Gardner's analogy that the base of Michael's brain is like a sponge with an orange resting on it.  When the orange is removed, the sponge expands.  This is what will happen in his head.  Everything that has been compressed will spread out to fill the space.  I don't know how long it will take to happen, but Dr. Gardner said it will begin happening immediately.

 

At several points today, Michael was exasperated, saying that he just wanted it to be over.  But he seems to me to be in a better mood today than he was yesterday.  We'll all be glad when it's over.  And that will come soon enough...