The Georges in Peru

I was able to pick up Amy and bring her home around noon.  She has a bunch of medicines to take for the next week and an appointment with the neuro-oncologist on the 23rd to see if there is anything that they would suggest as treatment.  Dr. Puccioni came by this morning and said that the post-surgery MRI showed that they were very successful removing the tumor without leaving any large remnants.  Hopefully, without leaving small remnants either, but it is hard to get all of the tumor in brain surgery because they have little tendrils that can go off in different directions and are hard to get. 

They spared enough hair that she's even able to mostly cover up the surgical site with her other hair without it looking like a comb-over.  She's resting now, glad to be home without beeping machines monitoring her!

Amy continues to do well.  She said that her head hurt less today than before the surgery when she was having lots of headaches.  Of course, she is getting narcotics now, but it's a step in the right direction.  This morning she had a repeat MRI.  The surgeon wanted to see if there was any tumor that he missed.  We haven't heard what it showed yet.  I was surprised how small Amy's incision looked, since before the surgery the surgeon had said that he would have to extend the previous opening in her skull around the back.  It didn't look any larger than before.  It turns out that they were able to reach everything with the previous opening, so they only had to shave the opening a bit bigger, so that is making her recovery much quicker.  She said it was hard to sleep last night because they brought another patient into the other part of her room and the staff were talking all night getting her checked in.  She is supposed to move down to 6th floor, but so far that hasn't happened yet.  She's eating well and had chicken quesadillas for lunch and in the afternoon we went for a walk down the halls.  She feels unsteady, but can't tell if it is the surgery or the narcotics.

I also didn't sleep well last night.  I thought I'd sleep great since I was so tired from all of the emotional stress.  (Did I mention my sister Carolyn's husband was taken by air ambulance the night before to Lincoln to get two stents put into his R coronary at around midnight?)  He's feeling great too!  Did I mention how thankful I am to live in the era of modern medicine?

I am so thankful for all of our friends that could join me in the waiting room yesterday.  Unless I'm forgetting someone, 23 loving people came and joked and prayed and ate and reminisced with me, making the 7 hours go by quickly.  Thanks!

6:27 pm. I'm in the room with Amy right now and am glad to report that she is doing great!  She can talk fine, move her arms and legs with normal strength and despite the surgeon saying she would certainly have a hemianopsia, she can see just fine in all directions!  She's hungry and they are bringing up some food.   I'm incredibly thankful as you can imagine. 

A sign on the wall I the waiting room says 'closing now'.  3:53 pm. Not 'closing now, please go home' but 'closing the incision we're done'!

"Are you anxious about your surgery,"  I asked as we went for a walk around Zorinsky Lake yesterday.  "No.  I just want to get it over with!"  She's almost there.  Amy's surgery has been moved up yet another hour (she said it must be all those people in the Ambassador class praying for her), now scheduled for 11 am tomorrow.  My sister, Alice, is going to help on the home front with the kids while I'm in the waiting room.  Thanks for your continued prayers.