My Beach Vacation

[moe]

Today is the day, prayers going your way, Alicia.
Maureen

[Lilan]

WHOOP-WHOOP!
Alicia rocked her surgery despite the earthquake aftershock in the middle of it in L.A. this afternoon!


Here is the first update from her husband:


It is 9:05 central.  We just spoke with the surgeon and everything went Excellent.  The tumor is 98% removed and the facial nerve is working well.  Dr. Friedman is confident Alicia will not have any facial issues and said she went through surgery very well.  This is even with the 4.1 magnitude earth quake that hit the area around 4:00 central.  They are now doing the closing and we expect to see Alicia in the next hour.  Keep praying for Alicia during recovery and I will send everyone an update tomorrow.
 
Thank you for your prayers

[Lilan]

I am just -- WOW -- the story of a lifetime for Alicia -- an earthquake during her brain surgery!!!

 

[Kate B]

Wow!   Alicia had the earth move under her feet!  (Isn't that a line in a song?)  It was Mother Nature's way of saying Welcome to California.

Thank you for the update. It sounds like the surgery itself went well.  I await future updates.

[NL]

Lilan,

Thanks so much for the update! I spoke to David about 10 minutes after the earthquake. (I didn't feel it, but he did, and he's on the same side of the hill as St. Vincent's.) He said Alicia is the first person we know to be in the OR during an earthquake!

I actually asked Dr. Friedman about what they do in this situation prior to my surgery (one of my 1000+ questions for him). He explained to me that the way they are positioned and touching the patient's head, everything would move as one in the event of any shaking, so it's not like anything is moving around inside your head. I also asked Dr. Schwartz -  he also said it was not something I should worry about, and that he had been in the OR during an earthquake a few weeks before my surgery.

Alicia -  You'll be getting those refreshing ice chips before you know it! In the meantime, we're still sending lots of prayers and good vibes your way!

Nancy

[Adrienne]

Yay, happy it went well!!!!
Can't wait to see how you're doing in the next few days........

Adrienne

[suboo73]

Alicia,  Speedy recovery to you!  What a great story - surgery and an earthquake!
Lilian - thank you for the update!

Thoughts and prayers,
Sue

[NancyMc]

Welcome to Postie Land, Alicia!
Now you can relax and take care of yourself.
Nancy

[Jim Scott]

Congratulations, Alicia!   Great to have you here in 'postie-land'. 

Jim

[NL]

Just a quick update to Lilan's update.

When David & I were leaving Seton Hall today after visiting Beth & Joseph, we thought we'd give Alicia's husband a call to see how she was doing. We were SO surprised when he said Alicia would love a quick visit! She'd just been moved to a private room, and the ride made her somewhat dizzy, but I was happy to walk in and see the same smiling face I saw on Monday. If she didn't have the bandage around her head, I would not have known she had brain surgery 24 hours earlier!

We stayed long enough to hear about her night in ICU, and then she drifted off to sleep as we were saying goodbye to her parents. I hope someone told her the first 3 days don't count, because I didn't get a chance to! Though we were only there a few minutes, it was really nice to see her safely on the other side of her surgery.

Congrats, Alicia! We'll be anxiously awaiting Lilan's next update!

[Lilan]

That is so great to hear.

It is a wonderful gift you all give to us travelers to be there. There is a feeling of "the unknown" to travel so far for surgery and having you all as ambassadors sure helps alleviate it.

[JerseyGirl2]

When David & I were leaving Seton Hall today after visiting Beth & Joseph, we thought we'd give Alicia's husband a call to see how she was doing. 

Nancy,

I agree with Lilan -- the L.A. "welcoming committee" has become an outstanding support group -- you all are great! It's good to hear that Alicia is doing well. How are Beth and Joseph? Forum readers may recall that they're the young couple (Beth is an NF2 patient) from southern Louisiana who've made several trips to House -- their first one occurred in January 2008, just as I was leaving after my surgery.

Catherine (JerseyGirl 2)

[JerseyGirl2]

Nancy,

Well, I just answered my own question! After posting my previous message I continued looking through "recent posts" and saw your good news about Beth in the "community" section -- that is wonderful news! Thanks for keeping us updated.

Catherine (JerseyGirl 2)

[Lilan]

More this a.m. from Todd, Alicia's hub:

Alicia is still doing well and out of the ICU.  The doctors have had a difficult
time managing the pain but it was significantly better last night.  The goal for
today is to get her up and walking. As difficult as that will be I think she is
ready to get out of bed and move around.  Her facial nerve is showing some
weakness but the doctors believe that is due to swelling from surgery and should
only be temporary.  They tested the nerve shortly after surgery and it was
working perfectly so we expect it to get back there.
Keep Alicia in your prayers

[moe]

Lilan,
Thanks for the updates, very much appreciated.
And Alicia sounds like she is a trooper. Do tell her that the first 3 days don't count and not to sweat the facial symptoms-most likely post op swelling.
Maureen