In Good Hands - post by Fay

Josh was in good spirits when they rolled him away from me...
The last few things he said were, "this is a slam dunk" and that "I'm in good hands".
Then he said, "Bye, Fay."

He's actually quite amazing.  He was so scared but managed to be in a good mood and have a positive outlook.

We had to laugh (quietly to ourselves) when the Anesthesiologist introduced himself!
How can you go wrong with Dr. Doufas watching over you!?

Think good thoughts...

Currently being put to sleep

A lot of time our energy is focused on the patient. What can we do, how can we help as they go through the surgery and recovery process. This is normal.

I'm currently being put to sleep, they will open and close my skull and I will "come to" several hours later in the ICU. I will then repeat this process 7 days later. Don't get me wrong, brain surgery is not an easy recovery (actually it's horrible) and I do not look forward to the painful weeks that I know lay ahead of me. That said, my family and close support group will pay a heavier price.

I can't imagine what my wife and close family and friends go through. Trust me, I've tried, but I can't imagine how hard it all must be.

How can our boys possibly retain a normal schedule with their father in the hospital? Will they be ok? How will they cope? They both handle my health issues in different ways  -  I love them so much and only wish that I can put there minds at ease.

Fay - We had no idea how much the "in sickness and in health" would mean only a few short years later. We have been through some trying times however you always have been there for me and our boys. I can't imagine the stress I put you through on a daily basis let alone the amount of pressure you are under right now.

I've scheduled this draft to post right as I go under for my surgery (8:15am). I just wanted one last chance to tell you how much I love you. I know how much you do for our family and I can't thank you enough for always being there for us. This will be a "boring surgery" (Dr's words - not mine) so I will see you in a few hours.

Love you,
Josh

P.S. Per our discussion this Friday, please don't hold anything over me that I might say when I am in the ICU - We both know that I am out of my mind.

Preop selfie

Here we go....

San Francisco Getaway - by Fay

Josh surprised me and the boys and planned a night's stay in San Francisco.
So we packed up Saturday morning and we were on our way.
But, before we headed to SF, we stopped at Planet Granite in Sunnyvale.
He thought the boys would have a good time and he was right!  They both loved it.

The weather in San Francisco was beautiful ~ sunny, warm and clear.
Our first stop was the Palace of Fine Arts. Next, we drove down Lombard Street. Both boys were laughing at how ridiculous all the tourists were. And, at how hilly SF is.

Grandma & Grandpa treated us to dinner.
But, Hayden decided he was ready to head back to the hotel so he ordered chicken fingers from
Room Service (the most expensive chicken fingers he'll ever have!). Dylan and I ran across the street to pick up a pizza at Buca DiBeppo.

To end the day, the boys went in the hotel pool, made some coffee & tea with the hotel Kurig and then called it a night.

First thing this morning, we headed to Stanford for one last MRI and then we headed over to Grandma's & Grandpa's to watch the SuperBowl.

This weekend trip was a perfect way to spend some time together.

Josh goes in tomorrow morning at 6:15.  I'll be doing updates and let you know how he's doing.

Planet Granite 

Unheated Hotel Pool

Palace of Fine Arts 

Pre-Op Friday

More appointments today..fun.....  Few hours of reviewing my medications, waiting, talking to the doctor, waiting, meeting with anesthesiologist, waiting, blood work and pre-admission paperwork.  This was a lot of time spent shuffling from floor to floor, room to room for several hours.

Q & A with Dr. Chang, my surgeon:

How long will the first surgery be? About 3 hours. Electrodes will be placed on my brain .

Me: Can I video the surgery?
Dr. Chang: No video of his surgeries is allowed (Damn)

How confident are you of this surgery? As the tumor moves closer to my speech and movement areas I am wondering just how worried the doctor is over this.
Dr. Chang: I do over 500 of these surgeries a year. In terms of complexity your case is boring (his actual words).
What you don't want, is an interesting case, that all the doctors are talking about. From our standpoint your surgeries will be pretty straight forward.

Will I need radiation?
Dr. Chang:  Let's wait and see what grade of tumor we are working with. If it is still a grade 2 Oligo, we may delay. However, if it is a grade 3 oligo, then some type of other action may be required.

Check in time is on Monday 2/2 at 6:15 am with a surgery start time of 8:15am. First patient of the day!!!! Once the surgery is completed (2-3 hours) I will be in the ICU for the next 24 hours. Then, I will be moved the the epilepsy ward for monitoring for the week.
At least I will have my own room where I can have one visitor stay the night with me.

During the second surgery on Feb 9th, they will remove the tumor and "do a color by numbers" for the seizure focus (again his words not mine). Basically they will be looking for data on which electrodes produce a seizure and removing those areas, if safe.
Again, I will be in ICU for 24 hours, then moved to a shared room (UGH) for 3 days before going home.

No matter how many times I have seen this doctor I can't believe he is this calm talking about my brain!