Days 2 & 3

Post Op Day 2: Yada, yada, yada. Fastforward.....just a blah day. Sorry I didn't post, but it was just too busy and it was a bit of a downer day.

Post Op Day 3: I was a little freaked when her Dr. said that he hadn't really seen how her eyes were reacting before, but he reassured me that everything was perfect after surgery and the MRI was good so he was not too concerned. She just needs time. Sure enough, mid-morning rolled around and there was vast improvement. PT got her up to walk around and she was a little shaky the first time. She did much better in the afternoon and walked quite a bit with less assistance. Third time we did a full lap around the floor.



Her eyes are opening more, and while still not fully coordinated, there's big improvement there too. We sat and had a real conversation for a bit, which was so uplifting for both of us. Good to see smiles and laughs.

I expect we'll see continued improvement from here. It's a bit too emotional right now to reunite with Parker (actually probably the subsequent departures that would kill her), and she's not supposed to endure emotional stress right now (Doesn't this whole thing count as that?) because I guess it puts pressure on the brain. I can't wait until she's ready for that meeting though. That'll put the world's biggest smile on my face.

Recovery: Day 1

I got in to see Kris several times today. She is sleeping most of the time and very groggy from the pain medication when she is not. She's bothered by head pain (does this surprise anyone?) the most and she's soar from being strapped down in an awkward position for 10 hours during the surgery. The ICU staff says its not uncommon for her to have this soreness and pain, and things should get better as the hours march on. Long surgery + lots of brain displacement = difficult recovery.

She is really bothered by opening her eyes, so she doesn't do it too much right now. She says it makes her head hurt so she has to be pushed by us and the staff to try every so often to get used to it. The doctors have done full exams on her and gotten good response out of her eyes when they do, so they don't think there is any lasting issues there it might just take a little time to adjust. She also had an MRI today to check for fluid buildup and such and it came back clean which was good.

I did notice that as the day progress our conversations went from one word answers to more reciprocal interactions. I believe that with another night of rest the progress will continue.

As Dr. Marvin once said....Baby steps.

Post-Op Summary

Well I finally got to a computer to type up a real report. The public network blocked the social networking sites, so I had to update via my phone which is a pain.

In any event, things went very well yesterday. Kris went under anesthesia around 11am local time and she was out around 9pm. A little longer under the knife than we were quoted, but it's not uncommon for a tumor of her size to take that long. She was stable the whole time, didn't lose much blood, and the doctors were able to do what they needed to do. They got 99% of the tumor out, with the last little microscopic bit stuck to her facial nerve. They don't push the issue too much, because the facial nerve is a very important thing to keep in tact, as it controls the whole side of your face including the eyelid (think about not being able to blink or close your eye - Ben Stein doesn't have enough drops to cure those dry eyes). Thankfully, the facial nerve remained in tact and was responsive to stimulation throughout the surgery. She's now in ICU being monitored for 24 - 36 hours to make sure there are no compications. None expected, but they can happen from time to time.

Now she just needs a little time to recuperate from a long surgery, and it can take a few days for her body to react to not having a big mass in her head. The doctor said that the tumor was "plunging into her brain", which was really upsetting her cerebellum and causing the symptoms she was experiencing. She may experience some issues things with her face, balance, coordination, eye function, etc. but its likely those things are temporary. Outside chance of permanent effects from the tumor, but its too early to tell on that. The important thing is that she is healthy, has no tumor and will be ready to start recovering very soon.

For those of you who were previously unaware, Kris is now deaf in her left ear as a result of the surgical approach. She had a hearing test just before surgery and it was almost gone anyway already, so its not a surprise and was on the bottom of the totem pole of things to preserve. The doctors were going to try to get a bone anchored hearing aid implanted during the procedure, but with the length of the surgery they did not feel it a good idea to tack on additional time under anesthesia. No big loss, it was a mere convenience to do these at the same time. We'll get it done locally sometime down the road through an outpatient procedure.

I'm off to see her in ICU now, so till next time....

good stuff

they got the tumor out and are closing up. went very well im told. will post more details later when i get to a computer

the beat goes on

doc just checked in. still going, probably a few hours to go still yet. that would make 10 hrs under. they say shes still doing well though. got tom petty on the brain...."the waiting is the hardest part"

ongoing

got an updat.e about an hour or so ago. surgery is going well, not much blood loss so far. they have everything opened up and are working on taking out the tumor next. it takes awhile just to get setup and then crack open her noggin. hopefully it comes out easy from here. will post as i know more

Underway

surgery started .a little under 2 hrs ago. kris was in remarkably good spirits this am, and is looking forward to feeling bettter. she wanted me to put a reward out for anyone that tracks down an authentic Brett Michaels bandana for her to wear. she was really funny this am , it was nice to see a glimpse of her in an unburdened state like old times...yea meds!

till later