I know it's been a while but I do have some news now!
Tracy went back to work on the 15th of February. We did however manage to fit in a short trip to Vegas! Believe me, it was only for 2 days but we needed it. It was nice to relax...so to speak.
Anyway, things are good. Tracy still gets some headaches and the nerves are still causing some blurred vision. Issues swallowing, and some hearing issues. His voice goes every now and then too. The doc says it will be about 6 months before the nerves fully recover.
He has a follow up MRI in about 2 months. It may be that long before another post.
Until then everybody.......
: )
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Sunday, February 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
A Small Complication
I know I know….I have not updated the blog for quite some time.
As you have all probably assumed, things have been a bit busy since Tracy got home. He has been in quite a lot of pain and the largest part of it seems to be his side (remember that huge welt.) Apparently the muscles have gone dead and it will take some time before they fully recover. He has been doing some stretches and massaging that area to help the process of getting things working again. The biggest worry we have had is the swelling he is having in his brain.
We assumed when the area around the incision started swelling, it was not good. We thought this because they wanted to make sure he had NO swelling before they would discharge him from the hospital. The swelling was very mild when he was up and moving around but when he would lay down for naps or go to bed at night he would wake up with a huge bubble along the incision. When we would touch it, it felt like fluid was behind the skin. It was very very weird. Plus his eyes were shaking back and forth again like before and he was have a lot of pressure. So, of course, we called the doctor.
We spoke to the nurse and she said she would talk to the doc about his symptoms. They called us back and made an appointment for him to have a CT and then we saw the doctor after. We had to do this on the day of one of the worst snow storms (Wed, December 27, 2009). It was very scary driving home!
After the doc reviewed the CT, he said that the spinal fluid was pooling in the void left after the tumor rescission. This is what is causing the swelling. He said he did not want to drain it but would rather like to train it to redirect to the brain like it was supposed to. He gave us a thick pad and some suture wrap and told us to place the pad on the area that was swelling then wrap it tightly around his head. This would apply pressure to the outside and not leave such a large area for the fluid to pool. He also suggested we put some blocks or something at the head of the bed to elevate it. The swelling started to occur after he finished taking the steroids so he also gave Tracy a prescription for another 8 days of steroids.
The swelling stayed for about 2 -3 days after wrapping his head but now it seems to be a bit less. It still swells but there is improvement. When he his up and walking around, there seems to be no swelling at all. In fact, it is actually a bit sunken in around that area. We are assuming this is because the muscle that they had to cut and manipulate during surgery has lost all of its strength and is a little tiny muscle now and will just need time to recover and rebuild. We are going to call the doctor to make sure that this is the case. I assume that is something that is probably normal.
Otherwise, the doctor said everything else looks great and the brain has actually started to move a little. He said that this is the reason for the on again and off again hearing loss and the double vision at times. The nerves are moving along with the brain which will happen through the process. It will only be temporary though.
So there it is. I will try to update more often but you know how things can get!
Talk to you soon!
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Monday, December 21, 2009
He's Home!!!
Well as you can tell from the title, Tracy is home. We actually brought him home Friday night.Things have been so busy since he arrived home I have not had a second to update the blog.
He is still in a lot of pain and the welt on his side has been causing serious pain as well. His voice is no more than a whisper right now. The doctor had some concern about this on Friday. This is only because he was talking fine on Wednesday after his removal from the ICU unit and placement in the NAC unit. Then on Thursday his voice was gone. The doctor said his throat may be having the delayed effects of the tube that was in there during surgery and all of the vomiting. His throat may be a bit sore from that but the doc asked that we contact him if his voice is still having issues after a week.
T is still pretty wobbly and dizzy. He has been having a hard time getting into a comfortable position to sleep well. He has already tried to push himself more than he should have and became nauseous. He is still taking the steroid for the muscles they had to move to get to the tumor and is also taking Lortab 7.5. So it is helping the pain but not as comfortably as it was at the hospital.
The doctor has told him not to do ANYTHING for 2 weeks. He does, however, have to get up and walk around at least 30 minutes a day. This will help with circulation and prevent blood clots.
He is doing rather good otherwise but we were told it will take up to 2 months before the headaches, dizziness, and focus will be back to par.
I have attached a few pictures of the incision. He has a total of 24 staples. He has 17 for the incision and 7 above his right ear. I am not sure why he has an incision above his right ear. We did not notice them at first because his hair was not shaved and was hiding them. When I asked the nurse why he had an incision there, she had said that sometimes they have to insert a tube or something like that during surgery that is not expected until they are in the operating room. I had asked Tracy to ask the doctor why they had to cut there, if he could remember to, but he forgot to ask.
His staples are supposed to be removed in 14 days and I suppose we will ask at that time. He will also have a follow up appointment with Dr. Schmidt in 4 weeks and I will update then. I am sure I will have the occasional post in between that time.
One last thanks to everyone for all that they have done for us during this time. Everyone has been wonderful and it is good to know we know so many people that care!
He is still in a lot of pain and the welt on his side has been causing serious pain as well. His voice is no more than a whisper right now. The doctor had some concern about this on Friday. This is only because he was talking fine on Wednesday after his removal from the ICU unit and placement in the NAC unit. Then on Thursday his voice was gone. The doctor said his throat may be having the delayed effects of the tube that was in there during surgery and all of the vomiting. His throat may be a bit sore from that but the doc asked that we contact him if his voice is still having issues after a week.
T is still pretty wobbly and dizzy. He has been having a hard time getting into a comfortable position to sleep well. He has already tried to push himself more than he should have and became nauseous. He is still taking the steroid for the muscles they had to move to get to the tumor and is also taking Lortab 7.5. So it is helping the pain but not as comfortably as it was at the hospital.
The doctor has told him not to do ANYTHING for 2 weeks. He does, however, have to get up and walk around at least 30 minutes a day. This will help with circulation and prevent blood clots.
He is doing rather good otherwise but we were told it will take up to 2 months before the headaches, dizziness, and focus will be back to par.
I have attached a few pictures of the incision. He has a total of 24 staples. He has 17 for the incision and 7 above his right ear. I am not sure why he has an incision above his right ear. We did not notice them at first because his hair was not shaved and was hiding them. When I asked the nurse why he had an incision there, she had said that sometimes they have to insert a tube or something like that during surgery that is not expected until they are in the operating room. I had asked Tracy to ask the doctor why they had to cut there, if he could remember to, but he forgot to ask.
His staples are supposed to be removed in 14 days and I suppose we will ask at that time. He will also have a follow up appointment with Dr. Schmidt in 4 weeks and I will update then. I am sure I will have the occasional post in between that time.
One last thanks to everyone for all that they have done for us during this time. Everyone has been wonderful and it is good to know we know so many people that care!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Heading to the Hospital
Well I am off in a minute to go to the Hospital.
I had to go home last night because my sitter had to leave. I did call and check on him last night and they were able to get him up to walk again. He is finally eating a bit more...yet still nauseous. He has managed to keep his meals down now though.
He is still in a lot of pain and always really tired. He also has a lot of dizziness when they get him up to walk but the doctor said it will be at least 2 months before he fully recovers from the balance and dizziness problem.
Everything is pretty steady right now. I will let everyone know when he is able to go home.
Thanks
I had to go home last night because my sitter had to leave. I did call and check on him last night and they were able to get him up to walk again. He is finally eating a bit more...yet still nauseous. He has managed to keep his meals down now though.
He is still in a lot of pain and always really tired. He also has a lot of dizziness when they get him up to walk but the doctor said it will be at least 2 months before he fully recovers from the balance and dizziness problem.
Everything is pretty steady right now. I will let everyone know when he is able to go home.
Thanks
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Chillin at the Hospital
Hi everyone!
I am just going to do a quick update as I am posting this from my phone. Tracy is still vomiting at certain points in the day. His head still hurts pretty bad but he still has that push button.
They have started to give him Lortabs orally today. They said the pca (patient controlled analgesic) is great because it is instant relief but it does not stay in the system long. The lortabs will remain in the system longer and hopefully help bontrol the pain as good. They may take away his button today.
The doctor has been in a few times to check on him and said everything looks good. He has asked physical therapy to come in and get him on his feet. They may possibly get him in the shower today. Good thing too!
: )
One last thing...Dr. Schmidt said they had cut a square section from his skull to get in there to the tumor and after the surgery was done they had placed a plastic plate over the hole for safe covering.
The church has been bringing my mother and the kids dinner as I have been at the hospital every night and I wanted to say thanks to them for feeding my family. I appreciate it so much.
Okay...I'm off now to take care of my hubby!
Oh...I have attached another photo or two!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I am just going to do a quick update as I am posting this from my phone. Tracy is still vomiting at certain points in the day. His head still hurts pretty bad but he still has that push button.
They have started to give him Lortabs orally today. They said the pca (patient controlled analgesic) is great because it is instant relief but it does not stay in the system long. The lortabs will remain in the system longer and hopefully help bontrol the pain as good. They may take away his button today.
The doctor has been in a few times to check on him and said everything looks good. He has asked physical therapy to come in and get him on his feet. They may possibly get him in the shower today. Good thing too!
: )
One last thing...Dr. Schmidt said they had cut a square section from his skull to get in there to the tumor and after the surgery was done they had placed a plastic plate over the hole for safe covering.
The church has been bringing my mother and the kids dinner as I have been at the hospital every night and I wanted to say thanks to them for feeding my family. I appreciate it so much.
Okay...I'm off now to take care of my hubby!
Oh...I have attached another photo or two!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
It's Finally Over
Hey everyone! Sorry I didn't post last night. It got a little crazy once I got to the ICU room.
Well everything went great. After the surgery, his doctor came to talk to me in the waiting room. He had said that he was able to get the whole tumor out. Of course with these things and the way they grow, there may be a very very small piece somewhere in there that over time may grow again. That should be about 20-30 years from now...we hope. The consistency was more like feta cheese and he mostly scooped out the middle of it and had to pick at the membrane surrounding the center. He said there were some tough areas but he managed to remove it from the stem and nerves safely. This guy is AWESOME! After they closed him up, he ended up being in surgery a total of 9 hours.
When I arrived to the ICU room Tracy was not doing well at all. He was vomiting from the anesthesia and apparently had a reaction to the morphine. Because he had not had anything to eat since midnight the night before, he was vomiting bile. It was pretty nasty. Also the pain was incredible. It was much much worse when he vomited because of the pressure it put on his head.
Once they got the right pain med, that his stomach could tolerate, they gave him a pca. A pca is the handy trigger which will feed the pain med to you with the push of a button. things started to calm down a bit after that. At about 1 o'clock he was able to have some ice chips and small sips of water. He was getting pretty good at pushing that little button! He was in and out of sleep for the next few hours.
They came in periodically to check his vitals, give him shots of stuff, and check his functions. They would ask him questions or have him squeeze their hands or wiggle his toes. Everything seems to be working great.
This morning they said he may even be able to be moved from ICU to the NeuroAcute Center. They are going to do a cat scan today and if all looks well he will probably be moved. The NeuroAcute area is basically one step down from ICU. They will still monitor him pretty well. They think they may even be able to get him up and walking tomorrow. Of course this is what the nurse was telling us. I will know more from the doctor later.
I will be sure to post everything I find out. I apologize again for posting this so late. I know there are a lot of you that are very concerned and were awaiting the update.
I have attached a few pics of T after surgery. There is a picture showing a huge red welt/rash on his side. The welt was caused by lying on a rubber roundish long cushiony thing to position him for surgery. I guess after laying on it for 9 hours with his full body weight on it caused some skin irritation and possible bruising of the ribs. He says it hurts pretty bad. It is really swollen.
Thanks again to everyone. I think your prayers helped him to have such a great recovery!
Well everything went great. After the surgery, his doctor came to talk to me in the waiting room. He had said that he was able to get the whole tumor out. Of course with these things and the way they grow, there may be a very very small piece somewhere in there that over time may grow again. That should be about 20-30 years from now...we hope. The consistency was more like feta cheese and he mostly scooped out the middle of it and had to pick at the membrane surrounding the center. He said there were some tough areas but he managed to remove it from the stem and nerves safely. This guy is AWESOME! After they closed him up, he ended up being in surgery a total of 9 hours.
When I arrived to the ICU room Tracy was not doing well at all. He was vomiting from the anesthesia and apparently had a reaction to the morphine. Because he had not had anything to eat since midnight the night before, he was vomiting bile. It was pretty nasty. Also the pain was incredible. It was much much worse when he vomited because of the pressure it put on his head.
Once they got the right pain med, that his stomach could tolerate, they gave him a pca. A pca is the handy trigger which will feed the pain med to you with the push of a button. things started to calm down a bit after that. At about 1 o'clock he was able to have some ice chips and small sips of water. He was getting pretty good at pushing that little button! He was in and out of sleep for the next few hours.
They came in periodically to check his vitals, give him shots of stuff, and check his functions. They would ask him questions or have him squeeze their hands or wiggle his toes. Everything seems to be working great.
This morning they said he may even be able to be moved from ICU to the NeuroAcute Center. They are going to do a cat scan today and if all looks well he will probably be moved. The NeuroAcute area is basically one step down from ICU. They will still monitor him pretty well. They think they may even be able to get him up and walking tomorrow. Of course this is what the nurse was telling us. I will know more from the doctor later.
I will be sure to post everything I find out. I apologize again for posting this so late. I know there are a lot of you that are very concerned and were awaiting the update.
I have attached a few pics of T after surgery. There is a picture showing a huge red welt/rash on his side. The welt was caused by lying on a rubber roundish long cushiony thing to position him for surgery. I guess after laying on it for 9 hours with his full body weight on it caused some skin irritation and possible bruising of the ribs. He says it hurts pretty bad. It is really swollen.
Thanks again to everyone. I think your prayers helped him to have such a great recovery!
Monday, December 14, 2009
It's out!!
We just got our last update. The tumor has been removed. I'm not sure yet if they got it all. I will not know that until the doctor comes out to talk to me.
He has been in surgery for 7 1/2 hours now. They are closing him up which will be another hour and 30 minutes.
I will post again when I am sitting with him in recovery/ICU.
Thanks to everyone for your prayers! I know they helped!!
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He has been in surgery for 7 1/2 hours now. They are closing him up which will be another hour and 30 minutes.
I will post again when I am sitting with him in recovery/ICU.
Thanks to everyone for your prayers! I know they helped!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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