The last 2 days were spent in the hospital, undergoing various tests...drawing blood (ouch), taking temperature & blood pressure (all good) & undergoing an MRI.
Now, the MRI is the big news here, so let me put the results out there: Yes, there is a benign growth (non-cancerous, thankfully) on the membrane surrounding the brain that is pressing in between the frontal & parietal lobes on the left side. This is what caused the seizure & it's removal should pretty well fix everything.
Fortunately, this growth is not "inside" the brain, instead it's pressing on it & as such will require no intrusion into those sensitive parts. The neurosurgeon has informed me the surgery (this Wednesday, 9/17) will take about 3-4 hours, will be sealed with staples & has less than 2% chance of complications. Given the nature of things, I'll take those odds any day. The staples should come out 10 days later & I guess all that's left is finding out how long I'll be on meds.
On the lighter side of things, any of you out there who think I need to have my head examined, you're about to get your wish... (hey, it's scary, I've got to get my humor in where I can).
Thanks again to all of my friends & family who are with me in body & soul. Your thoughts mean the world to me & you all have my promise that Hap is a fighter - he's sticking around for another 50 or 60 years...
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10 comments:
Well, I guess that this is good news, given how serious it could have been. Prayers will continue, especially on the 17th. We do need you around the next 50 or 60 years.
Wow, Hap - I'm relieved for you that it's benign, but we're praying for you still!
Take care, and we'll be thinking of (and praying for) you Wednesday.
-BR
Your crew back home and I are glad you are going to be okay and glad that this was not as bad as it could have been. We are all praying for your quick return to normal but not too quick if you have a hot nurse there giving you sponge baths, to which we would say; "YOU GO BOOOYEEE!"
On the other hand if the nurse is some Reject out of a Gulag nursing you back to health, do not rely on your martial arts skills, she may see that as a worthy challenge and make your life a ...well we don't want to think about that. eiew.
Thank God the growth is benign and easily 'got at'.
Praying for you... and your surgeon! :)
Wishing you a brilliant surgeon with steady hands, kind nurses with good pain management plans, and a very speedy recovery.
Da Goddess -- who knows what it's like to be a patient AND a nurse
Again, thank you all! It's going to be a tough time getting through this & knowing all of you are on my side means everything towards a speedy recovery.
I'll keep y'all updated & probably have one more post before the surgery. The follow-up post will be a few days delayed as the new digs will be an ICU & then a regular hospital room.
The good news is the doc wants me up & walking as soon as possible (2-3 days).
Good Grief!!! I'm so glad they know what it is.
I took Karate with a guy who had the very same thing. He was riding his bike one day and just... fell over. It was a benign mass, just as you described, and his was about as big as a golf ball. He had NO complications and was out sparring with us in no time. Other than scaring the ever living stew out of him, it was OK in the long run.
My prayers and good thoughts are with you...
Bou,
Thanks so much for the encouragement! This whole thing is nerve-wracking as I've never had to endure a major surgery before now.
Hopefully, I can be back out in TKD & HKD soon. I know it'll be at least 10 days before all the staples come out. Other than that, there's no set schedule for my recovery. I'm confident, thanks to the good doctor, that the convalescence will be brief.
Over from Mrs. Who... my prayers are with you!
...Did I happen to mention I shattered my skull when I was 17, requiring surgery to place a bone graft to cover the new "extra hole in my head?"
They used cadaver bone... So I never have to question the origins of The Voices In My Head®. ;o)
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