Thursday Surgery

Tomorrow is a big day for Sherrie!!

She heads into surgery tomorrow to have a titanium plate fixed to her skull to replace the segment that was taken out during her craniotomies. The segment that is missing is about 3’’x3’’. Two weeks ago she had an intense day of doctors appointments and testing to make sure she was healthy enough for this procedure. We are very grateful that the doctors think she is strong enough to handle the surgery. They tell us it is a routine, low risk procedure, and minimally invasive. To me, it seems strange to hear the words ‘routine’ and ‘minimally invasive’ when you are opening up a person’s head and placing screws into their skull. Welcome to the world of Traumatic Brain Injury! 

Right now, without the plate, she has to wear a helmet for protection anytime she is moved. No one will be happier to get rid of that helmet than Sherrie.  I think we’ll host a helmet melting party when she gets back. Another benefit is obviously aesthetic appeal and a normal appearance. Our Neurosurgeon told us that sometimes a patient will show dramatic improvements in brain activity after the operation. They don’t have conclusive information on why the change, but suspect it has something to do with the fluids in the brain flowing in a more natural pattern.

She will recover at Northwestern for 2-3 days, at which time our Doctor at RIC, Dr. Roth, will evaluate her to see if she is ready to be readmitted to the full time program downtown.  We want her to go back into the program. Ultimately, it seems like having her back at RIC would be the best thing for her. One of the biggest benefits is that she has consistent therapy that only requires a short ride down the hall, or can even be done in her room. Right now she goes to an RIC satellite rehab center 20 min away, three days a week. She has always been prone to motion sickness and still is. The drive can wear her out and cause sickness. At the RIC program she will be consistently monitored and her progress is measured. We know there are great therapists there, with whom we feel we have built relationships. We want Sherrie exposed to their influences as much as possible.  

There are a lot of benefits of having her at home right now: we can see her all day and every day, she is comfortable and in familiar territory, the family has a chance to be very involved in her care and stimulation, we can control and change her surroundings to make sure she is comfortable, and most significantly she is accessible to Ron for longer periods of time. She responds the best to him in therapy and interactions so having them under the same roof is a good thing.

We are not sure what the result will be; either coming home or being readmitted, and we pray that the Lord will direct the doctors and us to know what will give Sherrie the most benefit.  We would love your support and prayers with her progress. Our prayers are to  have the surgery go as routinely and easily as possible, to get her feeding tube out and have her be able to swallow. We also need her to become consistently responsive to therapy. She has made huge progress in this area but we need her to be even better.

So many wonderful friends have asked if they can visit and spend time with Sherrie. First off, we want to thank you for your love and friendship in being willing to help Sherrie and us. While we post on the blog the progress that she is making, it’s important to also emphasize that she is still in a very delicate situation. Exposing her to too many different faces and changing her environment too much still causes distress for her. At the same time, interaction is good for her. We are trying to maneuver the best we can to provide what is best for her. As she gets better and better, we want her to see more and more people! We ask for you to stick with us through the long haul because as she heals, she will want and need more support. We are four months into an unknown amount of time. We couldn’t have come this far without your support and I know we will feel the same way four months from now.

Love,

Carol