May 29, 2010
May 19, 2010
Dad update...
From Mom and Dad: So the staples came our this morning with special pliers - but not more than a pin prick feeling as each one came out. So "off the top of my head" (pun intended) I think this adventure is over as I can drive now and even have a beer once in a while. My brother-in-law was hoping that with the pressure off my brain I would switch from being a flaming liberal to a sane conservative - but no such luck. I am feeling and thinking pretty much the same as I did before this all started. Now I just have to wait 4 - 6 weeks to get back to physical work and exercise. And then there are the 3 CT scans planned over the next 3 months to check to see if any reoccurance of the hematoma is happening.
May 15, 2010
Update from Dad
From Mom and Dad: Still recovering at home but I'm up and around and feeling pretty good. Washed my hair Thursday and stopped the percocet pain medication Thursday night - just taking Tylenol now. Nausea is gone too. The summer-like weather has enabled short walks around the neighborhood, but it still seems pretty weird to tell neighbors I had brain surgery on Tuesday. Hair is growing back in already and the staples come out on Wednesday. Biggest problem is the itchy scalp - which is pretty minor - and I don't really mind. I am blessed to have family and friends who care and angels looking after me.
LifeLock May event
After 3 short weeks of Claire working at LifeLock, we were invited to their May event. Once a year in May, LifeLock puts up the entire company in a local hotel for the weekend. We had a formal dinner on Sat night after spending a day in the Sun at the water park. Tyler golfed Sunday morning for free as well! It was a great way to get to know other co-workers and definately felt welcome as a new employee!
May 12, 2010
Another good Update on Dad
From Mom and Dad: Going home today! Wayne's CAT scan this morning looks great. He gets to rest a lot the next month and do very little exercise. The turban bandage is off and now we see about 32 staples which will come out next week. Come on over with your pliers if you want to help.
Thank you everyone for your caring thoughts and prayers. He is on the road to recovery already.
Thank you everyone for your caring thoughts and prayers. He is on the road to recovery already.
May 11, 2010
More Updates on Dad
The surgeon came by for a check up and said everything looks great. He said that Wayne can start to slowly increase the incline on the bed, then work on standing up and moving around a little. There will be a CAT scan in the morning to confirm things look good, then he will be released once the doctor gives the all clear on the scans.
Recovery is coming along well, with a little Tylenol, Percoset and morphine to help ease the pain.
Quote from Wayne: "This is not what I expected, going into a physical complaining of naps and headaches!"
Quote from Wayne (to neurosurgeon): "I came into the hospital feeling fine, and you made my head hurt!"
Recovery is coming along well, with a little Tylenol, Percoset and morphine to help ease the pain.
Quote from Wayne: "This is not what I expected, going into a physical complaining of naps and headaches!"
Quote from Wayne (to neurosurgeon): "I came into the hospital feeling fine, and you made my head hurt!"
Dad Update
From Mom and Dad: Just had a quick 5 minutes debrief with the doctor, and the news is good.
Here is the quick run-down of what we heard and learned...
* The surgery went great
* Three holes: 1 right side, 2 left side
* He has staples over the incisions, and his head is wrapped
* There was no source of bleeding discovered (this was expected given the old blood), and there was no additional bleeding.
* The fluid that drained looked like motor oil — dark, old blood that the body could not/did not absorb. “Old bad blood”
* Rinsed the fluid out until clear, and now those spaces are filled with air.
* The aspirin that he was on should stop, to help increase clotting
* Wayne is currently in recovery, and he will be for about an hour. He is talking and able to move both sets of limbs. After the recovery (which is better than the possible ICU!), we will be buzzed and can go see him.
* He will have scans tomorrow, in one month, two months, and three months. It will take about three months for his brain to fill back in and back to normal... Again, more will be known later today and tomorrow.
* Related to “normal” -- the doc equated what he did and what Wayne experienced this morning as going through a windshield — lots of action on the brain. So, what I got from that is that the healing is (obviously) for the incision points, but also for the brain itself.
More later, once we can see Wayne!
What a strange, strange 24 hours...
(FWIW: the surgery started at 908 and ended at 947 — 39 minutes...)
Here is the quick run-down of what we heard and learned...
* The surgery went great
* Three holes: 1 right side, 2 left side
* He has staples over the incisions, and his head is wrapped
* There was no source of bleeding discovered (this was expected given the old blood), and there was no additional bleeding.
* The fluid that drained looked like motor oil — dark, old blood that the body could not/did not absorb. “Old bad blood”
* Rinsed the fluid out until clear, and now those spaces are filled with air.
* The aspirin that he was on should stop, to help increase clotting
* Wayne is currently in recovery, and he will be for about an hour. He is talking and able to move both sets of limbs. After the recovery (which is better than the possible ICU!), we will be buzzed and can go see him.
* He will have scans tomorrow, in one month, two months, and three months. It will take about three months for his brain to fill back in and back to normal... Again, more will be known later today and tomorrow.
* Related to “normal” -- the doc equated what he did and what Wayne experienced this morning as going through a windshield — lots of action on the brain. So, what I got from that is that the healing is (obviously) for the incision points, but also for the brain itself.
More later, once we can see Wayne!
What a strange, strange 24 hours...
(FWIW: the surgery started at 908 and ended at 947 — 39 minutes...)
May 10, 2010
Dads Cranial Surgery
Dear family and friends of Wayne:
Many of you may already know this by now, but Wayne is having cranial surgery tomorrow a.m. He has been experiencing headaches for about a month after a short bout with the flu. Also, his personality and behavior seemed to alter. He became weak and unable to exercise as usual, slept a lot (naps during the day, unusual for him), generally grumpy and much more quiet and almost disconnected/disinterested from life. Some friends thought he was depressed.
During an annual physical this morning which Cate went along to with him, the Dr. ordered an MRI which showed he has a sub-dural hematoma. There are significant pools of blood sitting between his brain and his skull (that’s the good news---not IN the brain, but BETWEEN the brain and the skull). The more disconcerting news is that the origin, usually head trauma, is unknown in his case. After MRI, cat scans, chest x-rays, blood tests, they decided to operate. Looking at the cat scans with the neurosurgeon and hearing how he will go about his work was reassuring. Tomorrow the neurosurgeon will bore 3 – 4 thumbnail size holes into the sides of his skull to drain the blood out. The holes should heal quickly with slight indentations that won’t show under Wayne’s nice head of hair. Or maybe the head will be shaved. We’ll see how funny he looks with big empty patches.
The surgery is at 8:20 and should last about 40 minutes. We will know more info in late morning and will send out another email tomorrow night. After looking at the cat scans and doing the neurological exams, the doctor was very impressed with how healthy Wayne seemed to be. They can tell the blood has been increasing in size for probably at least a month.
The risks are the usual ones for surgery – infection, bleeding, stroke, clots, spinal fluid leak. But we have good faith in the surgeon’s experience and that the angels looking after him the past month will continue to do so. He has been doing fine today, seemed almost better than the past month, and describes the experience best as being surreal.
Prayers are welcome!
Cate
Many of you may already know this by now, but Wayne is having cranial surgery tomorrow a.m. He has been experiencing headaches for about a month after a short bout with the flu. Also, his personality and behavior seemed to alter. He became weak and unable to exercise as usual, slept a lot (naps during the day, unusual for him), generally grumpy and much more quiet and almost disconnected/disinterested from life. Some friends thought he was depressed.
During an annual physical this morning which Cate went along to with him, the Dr. ordered an MRI which showed he has a sub-dural hematoma. There are significant pools of blood sitting between his brain and his skull (that’s the good news---not IN the brain, but BETWEEN the brain and the skull). The more disconcerting news is that the origin, usually head trauma, is unknown in his case. After MRI, cat scans, chest x-rays, blood tests, they decided to operate. Looking at the cat scans with the neurosurgeon and hearing how he will go about his work was reassuring. Tomorrow the neurosurgeon will bore 3 – 4 thumbnail size holes into the sides of his skull to drain the blood out. The holes should heal quickly with slight indentations that won’t show under Wayne’s nice head of hair. Or maybe the head will be shaved. We’ll see how funny he looks with big empty patches.
The surgery is at 8:20 and should last about 40 minutes. We will know more info in late morning and will send out another email tomorrow night. After looking at the cat scans and doing the neurological exams, the doctor was very impressed with how healthy Wayne seemed to be. They can tell the blood has been increasing in size for probably at least a month.
The risks are the usual ones for surgery – infection, bleeding, stroke, clots, spinal fluid leak. But we have good faith in the surgeon’s experience and that the angels looking after him the past month will continue to do so. He has been doing fine today, seemed almost better than the past month, and describes the experience best as being surreal.
Prayers are welcome!
Cate
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