11/25/08 - Surgery Complete

Posting from my cell... Surgery went well. Two photos - One of me in my hospital bed (where I am now), and one of me 'ead. I should be home tomorrow.


Multiple IVs, Ommaya Reservoir Implant (click to enlarge)
I originally sent this post from my cellphone, and it turned out HORRIBLE! So, here it is, edited with my computer. Same content, except for this paragraph. I was able to look at the posting with my phone, and I called Laura to confirm that is was "messed up." I could have sent it a separate way, but it was hard enough to send the original post from my hospital bed, so one attempt was it. I'm obviously home now, but I need to dedicate all of my time to recovery. Yes, my head hurts...

11/24/08 - Penn State

I mentioned this in a post long ago - I'm a Penn State football fan. It's mine and Laura's (and my dad's, and her parents) alma mater. Laura and I (and sometimes my dad) go to watch the weekly football game with our alumni group at a local sports bar. We also help out the local alumni group and do other activities when we can.

Unfortunately, Penn State's regular football season ended last week. Fortunately, they did well, with an overall 11-1 record earning them the title of Big 10 Champs and a likely trip to the Rosebowl in January. If you follow college football, we were also contenders as the #1 team... My intentions not being completely pure, I needed a reason to post the photo below.


Penn State fleece, Karl, and some of his friends
Here we see Karl the cat sitting on a Penn State fleece blanket (thanks Rob) last Saturday. Laura and I saw a comic strip (Get Fuzzy) about a year ago that said something like,"Cats might rule the world, if they could resist a fleece blanket (and the extended nap to follow)." True in Karl's world. Beyond Karl, you can see some of what has become Laura's sock monkey collection. I can't say that I didn't have a hand in it to start, but that's all I'm going to say for now...

11/24/08 - Quick MU - Pre-Op Complete

Not much to update here. My pre-operative appointment actually consisted of three separate appointments, and they were finished a full hour before the third one was scheduled to start! Being done early - that never happens!

I had a CT Scan of my head, multiple blood tests (luckily from a single blood draw), and a bunch of questions about my medical history. The anesthesiology nurse that asked me the questions and rescheduled some tests that were "off" did an excellent job. I also met with my neurosurgeon's nurse, who I knew from before and also does a great job, but I didn't have many questions to ask her because the previous one did so well. It's not just medical expertise, they have to know how to work with the system they have - computers, protocol, people, etc...

So, my Ommaya Reservoir surgery will be tomorrow at 10:15AM. It should be a relatively short surgery, lasting about an hour. After it, I will be transferred to a recovery room for tomorrow night. I actually look forward to this and hope I can relax. I'll have more appointments on Wednesday including multiple MRIs, I should hopefully be home by dinner time.

Not that I don't have other things on my mind, but I may post sometime after surgery tomorrow...

11/23/08 - Quick MU - Pre-Op Appt

Tomorrow (Monday, November 24th), I have three pre-operation appointments fo my Tuesday Ommaya Reservoir surgery. The medical professionals are going to run tests on me and plan my surgery, and likely tell me more about what to expect. I may update tomorrow evening, if I'm up for it...

11/23/08 - Radiation Ceiling

As one of my friends pointed out (thanks, Melvin), there is a picture of a beach scene on the Radiation room's ceiling. It is lit during treatment. I guess it soothes most patients by taking their minds off of their predicament for a while...


The above picture is eerily similar to the one on the radiation ceiling. Why eerie? It's of a mousepad I got back in 1993. You're probably asking yourself, "Why does he remember when he purchased a mousepad?" Hmmm...

Thought process. I purchased my first computer (PC) from my employer at the time, Sun TV (similar today's Best Buy), even though I graduated from Penn State in 1991 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. I started at Sun TV in November 1992 because the week between my job interview and job start, I drove to Florida with my friend, Big Ed. I quit at Sun TV in 1993 for a higher-paying job (ironically, my "summer job" during college). Finally, I was still living in Pittsburgh (I moved to Florida in 1995) and perhaps dreaming of Palm trees when I bought the mousepad... So, it must have been 1993, right?

If you've seen one tropical beach, you've seen 'em all. Maybe not quite, but that's how the saying goes...