Brain Surgery

I had planned to write about a family reunion and Labor Day picnic this week, but our weekend took a strange turn. On Friday evening one of Jasper's adult karate students noticed his teacher had a facial droop. I ended up taking Jasper to the Chester County Hospital ER where we were fast-tracked since facial droop suggests stroke.

The staff relaxed after examining him and were about to give us a regimen for Lyme Disease and send us off, but the CAT scan came back with an abnormality that had the ER jumping. We got some disconcerting news that he had a 1 cm bleed in his brain, and they were sending him to Penn Hospital in Philly. He wasn't feeling any worse than he has for three weeks, but he ended up meeting his flight crew and boarding a helicopter for the 10 minute flight. The neurosurgeon wanted him there quickly and with a nurse by his side. Since it was out of his hands, he was thrilled to ride in a helicopter over the Philly skyline and refused the drugs they offer passengers to 'take the edge off.'

The next day we found that the blip wasn't a bleed, but an oddly shaped aneurysm, or balloon off the side of a blood vessel deep behind his right eye, which could lead to a bleed.  We were given some possible treatments, then told why the less invasive one would not likely work in his case. They wanted to operate because he's so young, and risk of hemorrhage grows over time. His hair will get even shorter, folks.

When I asked one doctor how dangerous the surgery would be, he said, "Well, it is brain surgery." Later, driving down Rt. 76 out of Philly, I chuckled about that. Usually when brain surgery comes up in a sentence, the speaker is being metaphoric.

So, after mostly waiting through the Labor Day weekend in a hospital bed with subpar tv and plenty of Sudoku, Jasper learned he'd eventually be discharged and would have to schedule the surgery for sometime in the next month. He's also being treated for Lyme Disease, which probably caused his back pain. As of Tues. night he is still in the hospital following another test which may or may not be the last one. I've brought the girls home to York County for the night.

The little girls did not seem to notice he was gone as they were feted by their aunts and grandparents and saw several of Chester County playgrounds. Sapphire seemed to think her daddy was at karate all weekend. I did bring Pearl in to see him, and she enjoyed making friends with his nurse, but soon she got bored of hospital life, and her obliging aunts took her home.

We are very blessed by the prayers lifted up and support we are receiving from our family and friends. Prayers now can be that the surgery is scheduled when God sees it needs to be, and that the outcome and recovery are smooth, and that we will use this testimony to serve God in new ways. The wait for surgery will be a little rough, as he is not to strenuously exert himself or spike his blood pressure; of course, he's been living with it for months or years,  but knowing about it does make us uneasy.



Our deep thanks to everyone who has prayed for us over the last few days. It has been humbling. We were a little boggled at being so calm given such an unexpected diagnosis. It must have been all those prayers for peace.