Brian 2.0 - (aka, "The Fu" is Back!)

Surgery went well, or so the surgeons say. The first day I came to I was rather sick, vomiting, and generally not really "feeling" the anesthesia so much. But within a short time (roughly an afternoon) I got over it and made it through the many pokes, needles, vital sign-takings, and naps without too many problems. The only side effect of surgery that I really had to deal with was the apnea that plagued me throughout the first day of recovery. I was actually only breathing about 3-4 times per minute, and that understandably worried the nurses somewhat.

That same day I looked something like I did below (with the head bandage) which is somewhat remarkable considering that I had fully expected to be completely puffy and swollen across my whole forehead and face. The next few days I had wonderful nurses, apparently in the Neuro-ICU they staff the best, and they all helped me wonderfully. A special shout-out to one of my nurses, Sonya Wood, who specifically allowed Amanda (my wife) to stay at my bedside throughout the (two) night(s), and who shut the curtains and doors of my ICU "suite" when it was time to rest. Apparently she didn't have to do this, but I sure appreciated it anyway.










I also think it's worth mentioning that I shaved the Fu Man-Chu into my face simply because I thought it was kinda tough-looking. Ha! Well in retrospect I realize that it certainly WAS tough-looking, at least until I ended up in the emergency room, wrapped in a paper thin snuggie. Not too tough anymore, huh? The toughness quickly morphed into a somewhat pathetic, post-seizure tumorheaded law student, writhing on the emergency room bed. All I can say is to be sure that before you pursue any acts of toughness that you make sure no surprise seizures are in your future, otherwise you'll feel somewhat silly rather quickly. :)

Anyway, the second day/night in the Neuro-ICU (Saturday the 16th) was pretty much the same as the day before, but with a slight increase in my general cognition and comprehension. The first day I started with a lower baseline but that was to be expected. Though they did not test me for any specific cognitive defects or anything, I could feel right away that my brain was...kind of detached. It's hard to explain, but if you can imagine your brain and thought process being a bit far from reality and "looking" at reality from a somewhat distant place, that's more or less what it was like. To use an imperfect example, when people would ask me questions I would immediately know the answer, but I would only really "understand" its relationship to the world from a somewhat distant vantage. If that makes no sense I'll try to clean it up over the next few days/weeks and rehash it again. Either way, they had me up and walking around the ICU on this day and I did two laps around the central unit-not too bad for only the day after brain surgery. You could definitely say that I was one of the patients in "best shape" in the neuro-ICU, and it seemed like everyone else in there was close to catatonic from whatever condition from which they were suffering. Please pray for them.

The second day was also the first day of my second MRI, which was mainly used to determine the success of my original surgery and how stable it was. Apparently the brain was stable, and this lent some support to the surgeon's residents' 6 am assertions that the surgery actually did go well. Anyway, that's pretty much the story of my first two days in the hospital. Unfortunately, I'm on a bunch of meds right now (Dexamethasone-8mg/4x per day for brain swelling; Keppra-1000mg/2x per day for seizures; and Ranitidine-150mg/1x per day for as long as I'm on the Dexamethasone). I hate taking them, but they're part of the deal. The Dexamethasone and Ranitidine will be tapered to nothing within about 9 days, leaving only the Keppra in my regular rotation. Their side-effects are kind of severe though (dizziness and general feelings of detachment) but they are an important part of the healing process, and I guess I'll stick through them. I suppose they're one of the miracles of modern medicine, and since they're part fo the deal they're now a part of my life. At least for the next few days. Anyway, please enjoy the pics!