On Monday, October 7th my husband Marshall was scheduled for surgery. On Sunday we were extremely nervous and tried to occupy ourselves with movies and light TV shows. On Monday at 5:30 AM we checked in to Jackson Medical Center in Miami. From then on it was a whirlwind of meeting all the doctors, nurses and other teams who would be in the OR. All asking him which side the operation would take place! I guess after some horror stories of the wrong limbs being cut off at various hospitals across the country, they wanted to make extra sure that everyone knew it was the right side. They even marked it with a marker. I felt a bit more secure at that point. At 8:00 AM they whisked him away to the OR and put me in a private area waiting room for Families of International Patients. I don't know why they gave me the "royal" treatment as there was only about 4 private rooms while most families had to wait in the much larger waiting room without even a TV. I was equipped with TV and food!!! Thanks so much to whoever arranged this for me!
While I was in nice surroundings, it didn't help to alleviate the natural fear I had thinking about Marshall having brain surgery. The Hospitality Team notified me every two hours as to his progress. Finally at 3:15 PM they said that it should only be another two hours. That would mean 6 hours of actual surgery (and there was one hour of prep time in the OR getting him positioned, shaved, etc.). There were no complications and he was stable throughout. However at 5:15 PM, they came in and said that the surgery was not finished and now they couldn't give me any idea of how much longer it would be. But, of course, as they said, "everything was fine". At last notice at 3:15 they expected the surgery to be over at 5:15 and now they had "no idea how much longer it would be"! That didn't sound "fine to me". By that time, my cousin had joined me in the waiting room and she managed to keep me calm.
Finally after 8 hours of surgery, I found out it was over and they had gotten the entire tumor and managed to keep his facial nerve intact!!! What terrific news!!!! I finally got to see him in recovery at 8:00 PM. He was a bit out of it, but managed to talk and tell me his throat was dry and he was wondering how long the surgery took. His voice was extremely hoarse but that it to be expected as he had a breathing tube during the operation and they also give them a chemical to keep the mouth dry during surgery which lasts about 24 hours. He looked well all things considered.
At about 1:30 AM they finally had a room for him in ICU. After 12 hours there, the physical therapy team came to evaluate him as they wanted to see if he was able to get up off the bed and walk. He was able to get up and walk the entire hall of the hospital without any problem. They immediately cleared him for no further PT and he was transferred to a regular room by 12:00 Noon on Tuesday. I went to visit him and didn't know what to expect. But there he was sitting in a chair, having a cup of coffee and watching CNBC and commenting on the stock market. We had been warned that short term memory loss could occur from this operation and here he was telling me about all the stocks and what they are now and what they were last week and why! I couldn't believe it. Then they brought in his lunch which was soup and a bar b Que beef sandwich and he at most of it. He said it really didn't taste exactly right, but he was hungry. So much for all the Jello I had stored at home because I thought he wouldn't be able to eat anything for a while!! His taste buds are not all back yet, but some things taste fairly normal. He also has sores in his mouth which they say are due to the breathing tube they had in during the surgery. But that is getting better too. His jaw hurts a bit too so no huge subs for him anytime soon, but all in all he was doing great!!!
On Wednesday AM at 2:00 AM they took him for an MRI. The hospital is not a good place to get rest! They explained that during the day they try to keep the MRI open for emergencies so the pre-op patients get selected at some weird times. Having said that, his MRI was PERFECT, so we were so happy that everything was going so well.
The doctors visited every day and asked him to move his face and eyes in various ways to make sure he could and he passed with flying colors.
On Thursday AM the doctors released him and said he was doing terrific. His doctors Telischi and Marcos from the University of Miami are fantastic. They are the main reason he is doing so well in addition to the fact that I think his vestibular nerve in his right ear had stopped providing balance for him for years and the nerve in his left ear had taken over. Otherwise, he would have been just as "wonky" as others have described.
We couldn't have had a better outcome. Marshall is experiencing the usual stomach issues, some pain in his ear, and problems with his TMJ in his mouth but it is my guess that with being in one position for 8 hours and having a breathing tube down his throat, I would be surprised if he didn't have some pain.
I know everyone's AN journey is different, but I know all the prayers and good wishes from friends and family helped to provide a successful outcome. Now we have 6 weeks of recovery ahead. I only hope he doesn't get bored!!!
Margie
