Could you spare a few P&PTs please? Last Update 9/17
Aug 14, 2015 20:37:47 GMT
KikiPea, jackietex, and 2 more like this
Post by keithurbanlovinpea on Aug 14, 2015 20:37:47 GMT
I don't post here tons, and certainly don't ask for P&PTs but we just found out today that my 83 year old father has a brain tumor. He has had lots of issues in the last year but this wasn't the diagnosis we thought would come through. He is scheduled (tentatively) for 4-5 hour brain surgery on Monday afternoon, assuming his primary care doctor clears him as he currently has a mild cold (of course!). The doctor thinks he is strong and healthy and recommended the surgery based on that (it would have been radiation otherwise). My dad has passed all his pre-op tests, and other than being old, he has no contraindications to this being an otherwise successful surgery. Thanks y'all!
UPDATE 8/22 - His surgery was moved to Monday, 8/24 because he had a slight cold last week. The prognosis is very good, and after multiple conversations we are confident this is the best course of action.
8/25 - Thank you everyone for all of your good thoughts. The surgery went as expected with no complications. They were able to remove most of the tumor pressing on his optic nerve and other than some nausea and pain at the entry point (both to be entirely expected) his recovery is going well. He is awake and aware when he is not dozing, passing all of his memory tests, and recognizes everyone. He even claims his vision is better but he is so doped up that for all we know he is seeing sparkly, rainbow unicorns too. They took him for a brain CT this morning at 3 a.m. (!!!) and when he was wheeled back into his space, he said "Hey, that's my wife" to the orderly pushing his gurney, so at this point it doesn't appear that he is having any major issues with cognitive thinking.
The next few days will be in ICU while they make sure he doesn't have any acute swelling, seizures, a stroke or any of the other setbacks that can befell a brain surgery patient. Once he clears that hurdle, keeps down soft foods, and they can ensure his, ahem, systems are all working, they will transfer him to a regular room for another week or so where he will begin to walk around. Once he goes home, he can engage in his usual activities (bacon and eggs for breakfast, reading the newspaper, and watching The Weather Channel). He will probably have some physical and occupational therapy to ensure that he is getting his strength back and his synapses aren't misfiring somewhere.
The usual recovery is 6-8 weeks, but since he is 83 they expect it will be closer to 3 months before he really feels like himself. Our bare minimum hopes are that by removing the tumor, his vision does not worsen, but if it goes better than that he will regain some or most of his sight and have a quality of life similar to what he had before (although the jury is out on whether he will ever drive again due to multiple factors).
Keep my stepmom in your prayers. Poor woman has run herself ragged with worry and has barely eaten or slept since this all went down a week and a half ago. We're hoping now that she can see he is doing well, and is in good hands with the nurses, that she will take a break and go home to get some sleep.
Thanks again all!
9/1 - It has been a whirlwind! Brain surgery on Monday, 8/24, moved from ICU to a regular room on Wednesday, 8/26 and then released to go home on Saturday, 8/29. According to him his eyesight is almost fully restored, although he has not had any official review of his eyesight yet. We are hopeful that this course of action will return him to his regular activities. Of course, the downside is that he is feeling what my mother would have described as "poorly"... LOL. He has a pretty decent headache, which is normal, but he won't take the 2 pain pills prescribed and instead takes 1 (stubborn old man!). The surgeon had to make an incision from the top of his head down to the top of his ear, and that has understandably left the muscles and nerves in his face a little sore, so it is difficult to eat (this is also normal). But the anti-seizure meds upset his stomach and kill his appetite, so he isn't eating very much anyway. He is drinking plenty of water and staying hydrated, and he spoke to the doctor's office yesterday to ensure that everything he is going through, while not fun in the least, is completely normal. So he is resting as comfortably as he can and getting healed up. He has a surgical follow up on 9/15 and they will remove the 40 something staples in his head. Hopefully they will be able to reduce the dosage on his anti-seizure and the headaches will begin to let up so he doesn't have to take so much medicine and can give his stomach a break.
I appreciate everyone's P&PT!!
9/4 - What a week! As I said, my dad went home 8/29 (Saturday). He was fatigued, of course, but doing ok until Monday AM and then he started vomiting. The doctor said to take Pepto Bismol, and that did help with the nausea/vomiting, but in the end he wasn't drinking/eating enough and got re-admitted to the hospital for dehydration. Nothing super serious or concerning, but they are keeping him for observation and tests for another couple of days.
9/17 - They released my dad from the 2nd stay on 9/5. Turns out his, ahem, system wasn't moving along and then everything just started getting worse. Stubborn Dad! He was given orders to eat more, drink more, and take the stool softener, along with salt tablets, and go to his regular doctor after a week to check on his dehydration and digestive issues. He was happy to go home (again!) and took his gentle scoldings from various nurses and family members with grace. Basically he knows what he has to do to stay out of the hospital. His regular doctor's appointment was this past Friday and he said all is looking good. Even better, his neurosurgery follow up was two days ago and the surgeon is super happy with the outcome of the surgery and his recovery. He removed the 40+ staples from my Dad's head and said as long as his MRI next month looks good, he can travel at Thanksgiving to go see my stepbrother in California.
Thanks again for your P&PT!!
UPDATE 8/22 - His surgery was moved to Monday, 8/24 because he had a slight cold last week. The prognosis is very good, and after multiple conversations we are confident this is the best course of action.
8/25 - Thank you everyone for all of your good thoughts. The surgery went as expected with no complications. They were able to remove most of the tumor pressing on his optic nerve and other than some nausea and pain at the entry point (both to be entirely expected) his recovery is going well. He is awake and aware when he is not dozing, passing all of his memory tests, and recognizes everyone. He even claims his vision is better but he is so doped up that for all we know he is seeing sparkly, rainbow unicorns too. They took him for a brain CT this morning at 3 a.m. (!!!) and when he was wheeled back into his space, he said "Hey, that's my wife" to the orderly pushing his gurney, so at this point it doesn't appear that he is having any major issues with cognitive thinking.
The next few days will be in ICU while they make sure he doesn't have any acute swelling, seizures, a stroke or any of the other setbacks that can befell a brain surgery patient. Once he clears that hurdle, keeps down soft foods, and they can ensure his, ahem, systems are all working, they will transfer him to a regular room for another week or so where he will begin to walk around. Once he goes home, he can engage in his usual activities (bacon and eggs for breakfast, reading the newspaper, and watching The Weather Channel). He will probably have some physical and occupational therapy to ensure that he is getting his strength back and his synapses aren't misfiring somewhere.
The usual recovery is 6-8 weeks, but since he is 83 they expect it will be closer to 3 months before he really feels like himself. Our bare minimum hopes are that by removing the tumor, his vision does not worsen, but if it goes better than that he will regain some or most of his sight and have a quality of life similar to what he had before (although the jury is out on whether he will ever drive again due to multiple factors).
Keep my stepmom in your prayers. Poor woman has run herself ragged with worry and has barely eaten or slept since this all went down a week and a half ago. We're hoping now that she can see he is doing well, and is in good hands with the nurses, that she will take a break and go home to get some sleep.
Thanks again all!
9/1 - It has been a whirlwind! Brain surgery on Monday, 8/24, moved from ICU to a regular room on Wednesday, 8/26 and then released to go home on Saturday, 8/29. According to him his eyesight is almost fully restored, although he has not had any official review of his eyesight yet. We are hopeful that this course of action will return him to his regular activities. Of course, the downside is that he is feeling what my mother would have described as "poorly"... LOL. He has a pretty decent headache, which is normal, but he won't take the 2 pain pills prescribed and instead takes 1 (stubborn old man!). The surgeon had to make an incision from the top of his head down to the top of his ear, and that has understandably left the muscles and nerves in his face a little sore, so it is difficult to eat (this is also normal). But the anti-seizure meds upset his stomach and kill his appetite, so he isn't eating very much anyway. He is drinking plenty of water and staying hydrated, and he spoke to the doctor's office yesterday to ensure that everything he is going through, while not fun in the least, is completely normal. So he is resting as comfortably as he can and getting healed up. He has a surgical follow up on 9/15 and they will remove the 40 something staples in his head. Hopefully they will be able to reduce the dosage on his anti-seizure and the headaches will begin to let up so he doesn't have to take so much medicine and can give his stomach a break.
I appreciate everyone's P&PT!!
9/4 - What a week! As I said, my dad went home 8/29 (Saturday). He was fatigued, of course, but doing ok until Monday AM and then he started vomiting. The doctor said to take Pepto Bismol, and that did help with the nausea/vomiting, but in the end he wasn't drinking/eating enough and got re-admitted to the hospital for dehydration. Nothing super serious or concerning, but they are keeping him for observation and tests for another couple of days.
9/17 - They released my dad from the 2nd stay on 9/5. Turns out his, ahem, system wasn't moving along and then everything just started getting worse. Stubborn Dad! He was given orders to eat more, drink more, and take the stool softener, along with salt tablets, and go to his regular doctor after a week to check on his dehydration and digestive issues. He was happy to go home (again!) and took his gentle scoldings from various nurses and family members with grace. Basically he knows what he has to do to stay out of the hospital. His regular doctor's appointment was this past Friday and he said all is looking good. Even better, his neurosurgery follow up was two days ago and the surgeon is super happy with the outcome of the surgery and his recovery. He removed the 40+ staples from my Dad's head and said as long as his MRI next month looks good, he can travel at Thanksgiving to go see my stepbrother in California.
Thanks again for your P&PT!!
