Brain Surgery

I finally fell asleep late last night despite my intention to get to bed early. Instead I spent the evening sitting bedside for several hours waiting to hear the results of a late evening CT scan. I had just finished reading Lance Armstrong's book "It's Not About the Bike" to Phil from his Kindle around 5:30 p.m. yesterday when Phil started twitching his arms and legs and squeezing my hand. This continued and increased and it became obvious that he was having a generalized seizure. He was unable to respond to me although his eyes were open. The nurses came in immediately and started taking vitals, etc and the doctors were called. In summary, it only lasted about 2 minutes and he had no lasting effects. His CT was normal and he's had none since. It was just another indicator of the infection and swelling in his brain and the need for immediate surgery.

Surgery got underway at 7:30 this morning as planned and Phil was smiling and mellow, ready for what was ahead of him, yet subdued.

By 9:45 he was finished and Dr. Ghosh came to give us his report. He had indeed found a large abscess (3cm or about 2 inches) in the frontal lobe and was able to remove all of it. In doing so he confirmed that the source of the infection in the brain came from the eye and sinus infection. Although he had wanted to identify the infectious pathology in the OR he was unable to so we won't have those results for another 2-3 days. Phil did very well in surgery and had no complications and we are all breathing a huge sigh of relief.

So, Dr. Ghosh debrided the abscess and put in a paracranial flap to increase the efficacy of the antibiotics. Phil got his titanium plate and is now a million dollar man. He will have a repeat CT scan tomorrow to see that everything is holding steady and once the pathogen(s) been identified and a plan of treatment is in place, he could come home as soon as Monday.

When he wakes up in the Medical ICU I will tell Phil how he's been covered by the prayers of hundreds. And I will tell him how God works through people like Dr. Ghosh to perform nothing short of a miracle today.

GPS Surgery

For those of you who don't live in San Diego or follow our local weather, it is hotter than Hades here. I mention it because it has added a little something to the backdrop of our lives right now. While our time together has been sweet it has also been hot and intense. Yesterday Olivia spiked a fever of 102 and this morning my stomach didn't feel so good. It was bound to happen. On top of it all, although Phil has a nice big room, "the corner office" is a full exposure room almost all day and he (and his visitors) tend to roast. An extra fan has been brought in to keep him cool. As if he hasn't got enough to deal with...

After a weekend in which I was treated to sleeping in, being cooked and cleaned for and having all my laundry done by my sister-in-law Michelle, I am back to reality and we have received the results of today's MRI.

There were many words we didn't want to hear when talking with our physicians today, but unfortunately we heard several of them. The frontal lobe process looks ominous and it appears to Dr. Ghosh the neurosurgeon that an abscess could easily be forming. In his words, if he were to send Phil home, something "catastrophic" could " blow up" at any moment that could be devastating if not "life ending". Very graphic words with a clear message.

Phil needs to have a small scale surgery to determine once and for all what the infectious source is in his frontal lobe. There is a deeper brain infection going on as well but those areas are not amenable to surgery. So at this point a biopsy/debridement will be undertaken in the frontal lobe. He will have a high falootin' GPS MRI tomorrow to place markers to use during surgery then have the actual surgery very early Wednesday morning.

On a scale of 1 to 10, Dr. Ghosh rates this a 2 - it aint nothing! We're just going to open up the braincase, remove some tissue and replace it with a small titanium plate, ok? Anyone grow up with Steve Austin, the 6 million dollar man? That'll be Phil, minus the new eye because he gets to keep his. So far that part looks stable.

Please don't take me wrong here with the humor and levity. I am scared and exhausted and wrung out and sick to my stomach. I am also hopeful, relieved to finally be doing something about that damn thing in his head, and a witness to the power of God's people in prayer. My husband is willing to undergo a surgery that carries above average risks and is only a stop-gap measure. But he's still fighting. So, I've got to find things to laugh about. There have been too many tears of late.

On Our Knees

Today's blog is going to be short and to the point.  There are too many details to report and frankly they change with the hour yet don't change what you really need to know.  Phil needs prayer and lots of it.

As I am typing this he is undergoing surgery to diagnose the cause of this horrible infection in his brain.  Since I last posted, the infection in and around his eye has worsened and it looks like we are dealing with a particularly "wicked" fungal infection (to quote Dr. Kossman).  He and the 3 or 4 other specialists who've been consulted in this case are very concerned about the infection because it is extremely difficult to eradicate short of surgical debridement.

Debridement means going in and cleaning things out and since we're talking about the brain, well, you can grasp the gravity of the situation.  As of today Phil has lost the vision in his left eye and there is reason to worry about the right eye as well.  Fungal infections can spread quickly so information needs to be gathered quickly as well so the appropriate therapies can be continued or started.  

The goal for today's surgery is diagnosis, not therapy or cure.  That much has been made clear to us.  Having said that, our hopes for today are for an uncomplicated surgical course, sufficient biopsies that will lead to productive treatment and no further surprises or obstacles.

The kids and I are surrounded by family and good friends, including Jeff Breland, and feel the love and prayers that have been pouring in.  Phil is in excellent hands and Dr. Kossman has brought in the county's finest specialists in ENT oncology and neurosurgery.  The rest, as ever, is in God's hands.