Signs Of Hope

Sharon is starting to show signs of hope. She has had one continuous headache since thanksgiving 2002. Her recent surgery is going to put an end to the headache. Knockknockknock.
That's me knocking on wood. But there are some subtle signs that things might be changing. For instance - her needing less pain medication. Her not having to use the ice bag. Her not waking me in the middle of the night to have me put my hand on her forehead. Ever try to sleep with your hand on another person's forehead? Try it. tell me what you think. ( kinda weird). So, I, We hope that things might be lookin up. In the meantime, when she feels up to it, I'll be filming a thank you movie for the great care received by the hospital staff and support from friends and family. In the meantime, cross your fingers, etc. All prayers are much appreciated, in other words.

HOME

The eagle has landed! It is a done deal. Sharon is HOME.
I pray oh I pray... home to stay. Yesterday as soon as she got the new pain medication, things changed dramatically. She
could feel her surgical incision, something that she had not
been able to feel through the splitting headache. The new
medication has the ability to last four times longer than what the hospital had. So I took her home with he help of Aunt Julie, the sweetest lady in the world. Last night we slept. I mean for the first time in 14 days, we both really slept.
Hard.

The days are melting together

I thought I was going to crash and burn from no sleep today. We found out that one medication had been reduced, and they fixed that. She had a good shower, and ate
a fair amount of dinner. Her Excellent pain doctor will have them try a new medicine on Sharon tomorrow and the hope is that she can once again FLY THIS COOP.

Slow but sure

Well, I don't have much to add. We seem to be stuck in limbo. Sharon's existence has boiled down to moving about during the in between doses of Dilaudid. Increasing pain at the end of that two hour period. She has started to eat a bit more, (I really love that) and her hair is already started to grow back. We're going to get a change of address for the hospital, and have our mail sent there. All joking aside, I really want to get her out of there, because there are lots of really BAD cooties that live there. Time for Sharon and Billy Ray to come home!!

LITTLE BY LITTLE

Poco a poco. One day at a time. Yeah, we were all ready to go fishing at golden gate
park. Not yet, anyway. Sharon needs to make some progress just to make it home.
Friday night was very scary. Yesterday, she slept the deep sleep of someone with phenergan breath. No vomiting, though, thank God. Today was 50% better than
yesterday. Today she had a shower, and actually ate some food. We watched the second half of doctor Zhivago(we started the first half in the ER when my daughter was in last month). Strelnikov. Lara. Victor Komerovski. Wow, not bad for me. Memory... what a concept. Well, I will have to see that movie 10 more times before I really get the point.

Going home-coming back

Well, things were looking pretty good. We weren't knocking on enough wood. Sharon started to
have such severe pain a few hours after we got home, that she could barely open her eyes.
When she threw up, that was it. I called 911. Three days out from brain decompression
surgery, severe pain, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting... enough for me. Meets my 911
criteria. I can't drive. Even if I could, I didn't want her to vomit again. Brain surgery and
vomiting do not go hand in hand. The paramedics were so helpful. In the hospital she had a lumbar puncture and another CT scan to add to the long list of difficult experiences. They were finally able to get her comfortable around 1:00 pm today. This homecoming was just a dry run. The real deal coming up next.
Stay tuned.

BACK TO THE HOSPITAL!!

We weren't home 7 hours. Sharon's pain became so unbearable, she said "take me back."
So, as I was getting ready, she threw up. Not good. She got to ride in the ambulance.
I'll post again when I get a chance. Thanks again for all your support.


OK...phew! It's 8;46 am. I just got off the phone with the nurse. Sharon was in isolation this morning. Her white cell count was high, they did a spinal tap to check for infection in the CSF(cerebral /spinal fluid). No infection in there, at least. They suspect infection, but have not narrowed it down. CSF is a term familiar to all CHIARIANS. It is what they don't have enough of flowing around like you and I. The surgeon says that while most people have 4 milimeters of space between the brain and spine for flow, Sharon had less than 1. More later.

The bad owie

Today was a busy day. Sharon got up several times to walk around the ward. if all
goes well, she will get to fly the coop tomorrow. Things are going well right now. Everyone reading this- please stop right now and knock on some wood. Or say a prayer. Do something. Sharon smiled more today than she has in weeks. Things had gotten quite tense. The tension leading up to this event was immense. Sharon and I thank everyone for all the prayers, and well wishes. Me and the cats cannot
endure another night without our 'alpha'. Sharon, come home!

THIS MOVIE COULD NOT BE ADDED LAST NIGHT



THIS IS TODAY'S MOVIE

The healing

Now begins the healing. When she woke today, Sharon said she didn't know they made pain that bad. She called the nurse, and asked for an ice pack, and the nurse
scrambled to give several injections into her central line IV, but Sharon snapped
"I need ice!!!". So, we are trying to find that nurse so she so she can apologize. She
lost her composure for a moment, but hey, the doctor used a drill bit to remove
a 2 inch by 2 inch section of her scull, sew a patch over that hole, and screw a metal
plate over the newly made space. This was all about space. You know how when
theres too much stuff in the fridge and you stuff the OJ back in and something
on the other side squirts out? There you go. Sharon's brain. But not any more.
So, she got up, walked, sat up, all that " we need to get you moving,prevent complications, yada yada yada...











The saga continues...

Surgery Day

Brain and surgery. According to Sharon, these are two words that should never have to
be used in the same sentence. I agree. The surgery went well. Sharon is recovering this evening in the ICU. She is very brave. I am proud of her fighting spirit.
(unless of course it's me she's having the fight with! Ha Ha) Go, Sharon!!

Surgical posterior fossa decompression

The big haircut

Today Sharon and I had to get a ride to her pre-surgery appointment. She stopped taking Celebrex a week ago to prepare for the surgery and the pain came. Bad. She was in complete agony. Three days on the couch with an ice pack. So, when she got to the surgeon's clinic, he had her admitted to the hospital.

So, she is there, resting after three hellish days of chasing the pain.
Tomorrow, the big haircut.

Step two

On May 3rd Sharon went into the hospital to have an MRI while in traction. This was step two in the quest to end the 5 year headache she has been suffering with.

So, the wait is over. Tommorrow the pre surgery, and then on Tuesday, 'The Big Haircut'.