A second craniotomy

Mon 08/06/07
We awoke at 3:00a, were on the freeway by 4:20a, and made it to UCLA in 25 minutes instead of the usual 60-90 minutes. I realize how close Bellflower is to Westwood except for traffic. Arrived at Admissions Dept on time at 5:00a and learned about our $3500 co-payment. They'll bill me.
Went to pre-op area at 5:30a and Susan's anesthesiologist and some of her nurses, including Laurie, our liaison for surgery updates. Susan had an initial exam, got IVs started, and went into surgery on schedule at 7:30a.

• 10:30a update from Laurie – all is going ok in O.R.
• 1:30p update – first phase is done and went well. They're doing an inter-operative MRI scan to check tumor location before 2nd phase. About 1-2 hours remain.
• 3:10p Dr Liau spoke to family while her assistants finished closing. (Susan's parents David & Helen, Aunt Linda, Randy & Dorothy with David & Nathan, and friend Vicki Gelberg were there with the kids and I.)
• The craniotomy revealed there had been quite a bit of brain swelling due to the significant tumor size. The tumor emerged and kind of lifted up when the skull was opened, which made the resection easier. Susan did not need to be awakened during surgery. Dr Liau removed about 8 grams of tumor; all samples tested were composed of glioblastoma cells. There are some tendrils remaining, including a portion across the mid-line to the right side. She said to plan on Susan having memory & cognitive setbacks due to surgery that should improve during recovery.
• The surgery was successful in significantly de-bulking Susan's brain tumor and in her coming through without complications. Now radiation and chemotherapy have a better chance of success since there are fewer tumor cells to target. Also, there is a possibility that Susan may be eligible for a clinical trial cancer vaccine.
• Great joy as the family visited Susan in ICU at 5:15p. She was waking up well and was still groggy, but has carried over memory from before surgery. Instead of asking all the where-what-who questions like before, she knows where she is and what's happened. She didn't talk much, but she said "I'm pretty clued-in to what's going on." All thanks and praise to God for a great day.
• My 9:00-10:00p ICU visit went well. Susan was more alert than earlier and aware of her surroundings. She was in quite a bit of pain and really wanted to sleep, so her nurse raised her dose of morphine. She remembered that Adam has "sore eyes" and needs to see the doctor. Actually, he has a muscle spasm in his neck & shoulder, but she had the general idea – a month ago, Susan couldn't remember our kids at all.

The family gathered in the cozy chapel at UCLA Medical Center after Susan's surgery to give thanks to God and ask for His continued hand of healing upon Susan.