Kathy M Update part II

[Kathy M]

finally the wait is over! my mom's surgery ended at around 3:30, almost two hours before they thought it would! Dr. Tew and the EEG specialist Dr. DeAngelis came to talk to my brother, dad, and I about how the surgery went (the pastor also came into the consultation room with us). Dr. Tew said everything went just as they anticipated, but with a few surprises. The tumor wasn't sticky at all, in fact, he said it practically fell apart in their hands! Also, she has just a tiny bit of facial weakness, and although that may increase throughout tonight and tomorrow morning, it is only temporary and not severe.
But the most amazing thing is that they think she still has hearing in her left ear!! Dr. Tew initially said that there is a 100% garantee she would be SSD with the type of procedure they were doing. But according to a test that they ran in the procedure room, her left ear was showing signs of picking up sound.
They said they wouldn't know for sure until she is awake enough to answer their questions. At the end of the consult, dr tew asked my pastor if he could lead us in a quick prayer! dr. tew and deangelis formed a circle with us and held our hands! i could not believe it! Our pastor said that that was the first time a surgeon had ever asked him to pray with the family. It made me feel so good, and really comforted my entire family. He really does care.

Right now, she is in ICU room number 1 and she is in A LOT of pain. The nurse said that the pain is elevating her blood pressure, but that is normal for this type of surgery. It worries me, but they said she is doing just fine. We went in to see her for about 5 minutes and she said hi and she loved us. We told her how proud we were of her and that we spoke with dr. tew and dr. deangelis, and she even asked "what did they say?". we told her the good news and mentioned the prayer at the end, she was happy to hear that.

so thank you for all of your continuous prayers and support. i will keep you updated. they said that if all goes well tonight, then she will be moved to a regular hospital room tomorrow afternoon.

my family is staying at a hotel that is part of the hospital, and we are all exhausted! it has been a very long day, i am so thankful that she is alright. i pray for a full and speedy recovery.

more later! love you all,
Kristin

p.s. i can't wait to get some rest! i think i'll actually sleep a little tonight, unlike last night

[windy]

Kristin,

Thank you for providing an update on your mother's surgery.  I will say a prayer for her that all goes very well.  I wish her the best possible recovery.  Also, I hope you and your family are able to get some much needed rest.  Tell her the board is sending her well wishes!!

Windy

[Jill]

Kristen,

Thanks for the update.  It was great for me to hear the good news.  Prayer does work!

Jill

[cindyj]

Glad her surgery is over and sounds like all went very well!  How great that it looks like her hearing was saved.  These will be the roughest hours for her, but she should see improvement before too long.  Please let her know we're thinking of her.  Get some rest, now!

Cindy

[Keeping Up]

I do hope your mom is feeling better, and in less pain over the next 24 hours.  Your story of the compassion of the doctors is touching - sometimes you wonder if the surgeons are real people!

I am a newbie - and I do feel relieved as each one of those ahead of me (in whatever I might have to choose) has a positive experience.

Ann

[Kaybo]

Great News. Kristin!! 

That is SO awesome about the surgeons wanting to pray with you guys - even intiating it!

Get some rest!

K

[Kabe]

Kristin,

Thanks for the update.  I live in Cincinnati and I know that your mom is in very good hands.  Sorry for the deep freeze coming tomorrow.  Despite that I hope you are being treated "warmly".

All the best to you and your mom.

Mike.

[sgerrard]

Kristin,

It looks like we will have to tell both you and your mom to get plenty of rest. 

Don't worry about the pain or other symptoms during the first few days - they are not an indication of what will follow. It is great to hear that it went well, and that your doctors are caring people as well as professionals. Best wishes for smooth sailing ahead.

Steve

[lori67]

Kristin -

I just knew she'd do well!  I'm sure she feels like heck right now, but that will get better.

How great to have such caring surgeons - it makes a world of difference in your recovery.

Let her know we're proud of her and can't wait til she's feeling better!

Now, the rest of you - get a good rest!  You deserve it too!

Lori

[leapyrtwins]

Kristin -

I knew your mom would do well too and I told her so just the other day.  I'm glad I was right 

The first day or two are generally the toughest; things will improve.

Get some sleep,

Jan

[LisaP]

Kristin,

Best wishes on your mom's speedy recovery!!


LisaP

[texsooner]

Kristin, thks for the update....just like Jan, I also told your mom the other day that she and her surgeons would do great and it sounds like that's exactly what happened. Your mom will probably have a rough couple of days recovering from surgery, but it will get better as time goes on. Get some rest.

Patrick

[Pooter]

I can't add to what others have said about the first few days not counting and that she'd feel bad the first few days, etc.. But, I will jump into the chorus thanking you for the update.  Get some rest.  That was the hard part for you guys.  Now comes the (relatively) hard part for your mom.  Recovery is just plain slow.  Facial weakness for this type of surgery is not uncommon and it should pass albeit VERY slowly.  Have patience with your mom and let her know to have patience with her recovery.  Tell her hi from all of us when she's more alert.

Regards,
Brian

[Debbi]

Hi Kristin-

Just wanted to pop in and see how your mom is doing.  Do not be too concerned about the blood pressure - mine was very high for the first couple of hours and I was told it was because of the pain (for some reason, they had some difficulty getting the pain under control quickly enough, although I don't really remember all that much of it.)  Anyway, hopefully by now she is back to normal on the BP, and fully loaded with pain meds.

Looking forward to your next post, and sending your entire family prayers.

Debbi

[Jim Scott]

Kristin:

What a pleasant experience it is when I can read a relative's post describing a trouble-free and apparently successful AN removal surgery!    You gave all of us such an experience today and I appreciate it. 

The doctor's praying with you must have really been heartening.  I thought it was impressive when my neurosurgeon brushed off my post-op compliments (I had no complications) by stating that God deserved the praise, not him, and that he was 'only an instrument'.  We had never discussed religion (and never did) but knowing your surgeon is cognizant of God's rightful place in our lives is very reassuring.

I'm sorry your mom is in pain and hope it can be controlled and will resolve quickly.  Now, get some rest. 

Jim