3. The Pick

We went in to McKennan at 05:00 AM to check in on Tuesday, February 28^th, 2012. We checked in and then were to have an MRI to exactly pinpoint the location of the tumor prior to surgery at 08:00. The facility and people are beyond description. I want to say here for all to know that these are great people, all very kind and compassionate. These are the best people doing a very difficult job in a Christian and caring manner. If you have to have your brain worked on, this is the place to go. The thing is, Margaret and I know a lot of these people and families through having lived our lives here. There are no better people than your friends to work on you and care for you. The anesthesiologist was a friend of ours who John and I had built a house for years ago. I think this was kind of hard for him, but, outstanding job, Ron. They did not get me an orange cool looking hat like his helper had, but I will forgive them for that. Ron talked me through the beginning of the process, and asked we had any questions. He asked if I wanted to see any of the operating equipment or room, and I said to go ahead and take me to happy land. I got the easy part – I just lay there, and people work on me. I cannot imagine having to wait in the waiting area to see how it is going on one of my family members. That is another huge reason why this is such a gift to me. Anyway, they confirmed once again that I had a brain and took out the stuff that did not belong – at least as best they could. Dr. Puumala told my family (and there were quite a few of them there) that he did not like what he saw, but they would not know until the pathology reports were in. The family decided, along with Dr. Puumala not to tell me anything that first day to allow me to wake up and recover from the brain surgery.

I guess I was quite the lip again once I started to come around - telling people not to trip on my large catheter line etc. Poor Margaret later told me she couldn’t go in right away because she thought I would see her crying. I was in and out of happy land all day. At about 5:50 PM I noticed that things started to clear up. No pain, lots of great drugs, very, very caring and loving people all around me. My niece, Angie, is a charge nurse at the hospital, and became my personal guardian angel throughout my stay. She got to have me cry with her, and helped with many, many little comforts for me. Angie, you will never know what that meant to me to have you there. I spent that day and the next mostly in the ICU. They give you morphine, anti-brain swelling drugs, steroids, etc. A lot of good stuff. You can feel the things flowing through your system. One time I told the nurse my teeth were chattering after I got a round of meds. They hit you with some good stuff. Anyway, I was moved to Neurology Acute in a very nice room. We had a nice size room with lots of space for all my family to stop in. We waited for the news and prayed a lot together. I tended to drift off occasionally.