Yuku free message boards

November 1st, 2009

Update on Tom:

First off…. He looks great! Everyone keeps telling him he looks fantastic and today, at his request, I am taking him a big mirror lol.
He has lost so much weight and it is unbelievable how young he looks!

Medically:
As you know since July 18th Tom has been admitted 9 times to the hospital (well 3 hospitals total) He has had heart attacks, a broken arm, VT attacks, an ICD implanted (defib/pacemaker)
stents, more heart attacks, CHF, internal bleeding, then he fell again and now has a subdural hematoma which is bleeding in the brain. The neurosurgeon had wanted to wait 10 days for the blood to
Liquefy so he could remove the blood by drilling holes and placing stents to drain vs removing a large portion of his skull. He has passed the 10 day mark and hasn't reached the level of liquid-fication the doctor
had hoped for. Doc believes by Tuesday he hopes things are clear enough so he can operate. One catch is there is a pool of blood on the very top of the brain in a valley which is very difficult to deal with.
The doctor is hoping as the other blood is drained the pool will move to the side and be reachable. Blood itself is thick and sticky, after time it turns thin and watery …. reason for the wait.
If the pool doesn't move or liquefy then it will be necessary to remove part of the skull and remove the blood in another manner.

The major trick here has been a balancing act and huge cooperation among the doctors. Tom can't have thin blood because of the bleed and needs thin blood for his heart to work.
He has been off of some very important heart medications since he fell the last time. If the operation is successful he can start the meds back up about 4 days post surgery.

He is not able to walk and hasn't sat up in almost two weeks. When he does try to sit up his blood pressure drops to dangerous levels. (another balancing act for the doctors keep his bp just right).
Tom is in a lot of pain and has terrible nausea. For these reasons he spends a lot of time "knocked out" but never really all the way. He reacts to every noise and light change. There are times he can talk
and visit but not very long, it tires him out. He did get to see some kids and Grandkids yesterday and was thrilled. He had a pumpkin of trick or treat candy for them by his bed. Oh and Cay and Ed from Memphis
came by and trick or treated.

Tuesday is the big day so when you say your prayers put in an extra one for the surgeon's hands Tuesday.

We miss seeing and talking to everyone and Tom wants to thank everyone for all of their prayers and good wishes. He has tremendous faith he will be "repaired" and back on his feet soon.


Jennifer (jen)

Thanks again everyone!

What a day yesterday was........
Short Version: He made it! Tom will be in CCU (Critical Care Unit) for a day or so then to the Neuro floor for a week or so then to inpatient rehab for awhile then home.

Long Version:

The night before the surgery the surgeon expressed to us his concern about the risks involved in surgery. We could see the downright fear on his face.
Tom reassured him and told him there were too many people praying for the two of them and told him to just do his best. That was all he could ask. The next morning we were in pre-op and you could see some of the tension as they knew this was not going to be an easy go. One more Cat Scan just to make sure.... The mass was much larger and compressing the brain even more than before. Everyone took big deep breathes and rolled him in. This was around 6am. I got calls every 20-30 minutes on his progress, everything was said to be going fine.

My son, Al, and I waited in his room. At 11 the surgeon came in and you could definitely tell he was proud of his morning accomplishments. All I had to do was look at his face to know how things went. He spent about 45 minutes going into great detail of what happened during surgery. They ended up having to do a craniotomy (sp) with an incision about 9 inches or so. (Didn't mess with his "do" to much but the staples grab your attention lol) The surgeon created a flap and used a metal plate and some screws making a hinge. They were able to get most of the mass but some was just unoperable and hopefully his body will absorb in time the rest. Surgeon laughed and said Tom was up chewing ice in recovery and talking up a storm making everyone laugh.

He was to be sent to ICU. Well 3 pm rolled around and he was still in recovery and the nurse called and said I could come back there for a bit and visit. When I went thru the door I saw a room full of people busy as bees hovering over probably 30+ patients coming out of anathesia you could hear echoes of "what's your name" What day is it? Can you wiggle your toes? I asked the closest staff person if she knew where Cuthbertson was. I looked up and half the room pointed to the corner.

Behind the partial drawn curtain I saw Tom Smiling with a big zipper on his head. They pulled the curtain saying they were going to give us some privacy and Tom said No not too much he didn't want to miss anything going on in recovery and he would get hot if they closed him off. Then he told me to watch this... as he proceeded to bend his IV line until the alarm went off. Nurse was there immediately and was puzzled as to why it went off. He giggled and I am sure it wasn't the first or last time it would happen. Because of the cramped space there was just too much in Tom's reach. Next thing... the monitor went blank. Nurse and someone else worked and worked on it trying to get it back on (hitting it and panicking) if they had checked the power button they would have found Tom's fingerprint.

The Cheshire grin on his face was a major tell. He was talking silly about how he had figured out the conspiracy and some other silly stuff when the nurse asked me how he reacts to diluaded. I said he has been on it for about a month with all the stuff going on with him. Then she said how about Morphine? I told her he can be goofy but never violent. She said he was on it all plus the aftermath of being put to sleep. Then he told us both that during the operation he saw the doctor drill two holes then do something then drill two more holes and he thought he only had to drill 2 instead of 4. He explained the surgery and then told us the Lord called him...he said TOM and Tom said "yes, sir". Tom said the Lord told him he didn't need him right now and he would know when he did. Tom said he said "yes sir, I understand and I will be ready when you do". We immediately said Tom you couldn't have you were asleep. Then everything went silent and we all looked at each other and decided who were we to argue.

I left him teasing the staff as my time was up. I have been so blessed to know a man with such optimism and faith. He touches everyone he comes in contact with and makes the best of any situation he is dropped into.

By 7pm he was in CCU in the room next to the one he had occupied for a week a couple of weeks ago. One of the nurses called and said "he's back! Our favorite patient". I knew he was in good hands, so I finally got to spend the night back at home.

No matter how bad things are this man never complained. He has been in such tremendous pain, too weak to stand or even feed himself, but never too weak to make you smile or laugh or feel good about yourself.

Also I found out Doctors really do care. Doctors from another hospital have called my cell to keep up with his progress.

One in particular when Tom met him he flat out told him he didn't know if he was going to like him being his doctor. He told the doctor he would give him a try. The doctor looked at him stunned but kept quiet. A couple of days later he pulled the doctor aside and told him he decided he liked him and had a good feeling about him, he could stay. Again the doc gave him a stunned look. It's been 3 months now these two have developed quite a relationship. The doctor even called me while he was on vacation to check on Tom.

I realize I am rambling here but one more thing. When Tom first met his Neurosurgeon in ER he gave him the third degree. How old are you? 36 : Where did you go to school? Ever heard of the Mayo Clinic,
that's where I graduated from. : How many "brain surgeries" have you done? About 1,700. :
Yeah, but how many of those were successful? Sir, as many of those that were possible. : What's your name? Todd Fountain : Well I am going to call you Todd and you can call me Tom. We are going to have a lot to do and I want you to give me your best. : Yes, Sir. I will.

He did.

Thank you for all of your support and prayers. They all worked. God is Good.

Jen