Infection?

Oh, one more thing I forgot to add.  I got the dreaded phone call from Dr. Shapiro's assistant on Thursday.  Apparently, I had a 'late growth' on the culture that was taken when they drained the hematoma.  Dr. Shaprio seems to think that it could have been contamination.  And I'm not sure what day after surgery this 'growth' appeared.  Usually they only culture it for 5 days...so not sure if this was on the 5th or 6th day after surgery.

I'm now back on antibiotics for 6 days.  I'll find out from Dr. Shapiro on Wednesday what to do next.  Mentally, I'm preparing for having to have a pic line for a month.  And hoping that's not the case.  Definitely a big bummer.

Public Service Announcement

The hole in the middle of my skull is the Burr Hole they made to drain the hematoma.  The string coming from it is part of the drain that they kept in for about 24 hours to make sure they got out all the fluid.

My hematoma was the exact same kind as the one Natasha Richardson had: an epidural hematoma.  Only mine just had fluid and presumably hers had blood.  It develops in between the dura (the protective layer surrounding the brain) and the skull.  They think mine developed just because my brain had so much space to fill and didn't fill the space as quickly as it needed to, and so fluid ended up building up.   And I'm glad that it wasn't a subdural hematoma, which develops between the brain and the dura.  That would have meant that they would have had to go through the dura, which would have presumably just made the surgery that much more traumatic.  I'll take whatever luck I can get at this point in time.

But....had I not gone to the ER last Monday night and gotten a CT Scan, Dr. Shapiro wouldn't have known by the MRI I had on Wednesday (about 36 hours later) that the fluid build-up had almost doubled within that short period of time.  That's why he wanted to operate within 24 to 48 hours.  Time really was of the essence.

So, please, always go to the ER if you are barfing like crazy and have a headache, especially if you've bumped your head recently!  I felt stupid at first, but boy, am I glad I went!

Frustration

I am sick of laying on my left side.  I can't go outside because it's so windy and cold and that makes my sutures hurt.  And I'm still trying to get everything sorted out at MPRI with this latest delay.  At this rate, I'll be lucky to have the proton therapy done by the end of summer.

This latest setback really has me bummed out.  I just wish it was over.  I'm beyond frustrated and I just want my normal life back.  

When I was in the hospital, I did get to reconnect with one of my old nurses, Jason, when I was in the hospital.  He was my first nurse and helped me through that seizure I had in the room late in the day of my first surgery.  This time, when I kept crying to the neuro residents and to Dr. Shapiro about how much pain I was in after the surgery (and I really WAS crying), he was very comforting and patient with me.  He reminded me that having two surgeries so close together is very tough.  Even Dr. Shapiro was trying to comfort me.  

Kevin was his usual awesome self through this latest ordeal.  And Kevin's dad, Eddie, was also awesome.  He came up to help take care of the kitties (and Kevin).  And he was the perfect visitor right after surgery!  

When I was transferred out of the neuro ICU and into the regular ward, I had 3 roomates in a 24 hour period.  One older lady had just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and was going to have surgery on April 27th.  Another just had half her pancreas taken out and was in a lot of pain - and in for a long recovery.  I guess compared to these two, I shouldn't complain...