Update from The City That Never Sleeps

A letter from mom and dad...

Hello Family, Friends and Well-Wishers:

It’s Wednesday, the day after Kelly’s brain operation, and what a wonderful day it has been! 

Kelly walked the hallway of the ICU this morning and went up and down a flight of stairs. The two nurses that monitor the ICU patients’ motor skills were in awe of her energy and determination.  They told her that they will not be coming around any more to check on her because they say that after the hike she took today, her motor skills appear to be perfectly fine!  (CHEERS and LOUD whistling, banners and flags waving!!! Yahooo...  Way to go, Kelly!)

Kelly enjoyed her spectacular view from ICU.  She overlooked the East River and the Queensboro Bridge and on to Lower Manhattan.  In her quiet alone moments (which were very few!), she watched all the activity and the beautiful sailboats as they gallantly sailed by on the river.  She has also been pampered by all the hospital staff.  Their care giving has been unique, warm, helpful and friendly.  

One day Kelly will tell you about all her funny stories and hospital experiences (e.g., this morning a team of 6 residents tested her mental and physical abilities.  They began by asking her questions about POLITICS.  Those of you that know Kelly, know that politics is of zero interest to her.  After the second question, she quickly told them that she did not like politics and it was best not to measure her abilities in that curricula area!...and the story goes on...).  She has the gift of seeing things with a big humorous twist and her interpretation of life is fun to listen to!  She doesn’t miss a beat about her surroundings and if they keep her here long enough, she will have all the quirks in her hospital world identified with recommendations on how to fix the problems....she’s doing this within hours of having a brain operation!  That’s our Kelly!

I don’t know how Kelly and Ani swung it, but early this evening they moved Kelly to the “penthouse” recovery room.  We had been waiting all day for a private room to come available.  I think her brain started churning in this direction round 2 p.m. because she told family and friends to please leave her alone because she wanted to rest.  No sooner we got across the street to our hotel room, she started to send text messages saying we needed to do something quick about getting her a private room because the hospital needed her room in ICU for new emergency cases that had been admitted.  Mark and I were too exhausted and fell asleep, too tired and worn to deal with a problem that was not ours but the hospital’s.  Two hours later when we awoke, we found out that she and Ani had been busy spinning their magic web on the hospital offices.  

Since there were no private rooms available, the hospital put Kelly in their $1,600/night luxury recovery room at no additional charge!  Now, what are the chances!  The room has ceiling-to-floor windows overlooking the River and a fabulous view of the whole NYC skyline!  You know Kelly; she is twinkling with delight!  Tonight she had a meal prepared by the personal chef of the penthouse suites and she took full advantage!  Ani will tell you about those details!   

We may leave the impression that all this has been fun and games, when in reality it’s been one of the most stressful times our family has experienced.  Nevertheless, everything we read tells us that half the battle of sickness is maintaining a positive mental attitude.  From the moment we heard of Kelly’s tumor, we entrusted her care into God’s hands.  Your petitions and prayers have helped to cushion her and our family from the awful pain, sorrow and fear that accompanies this scary journey.  But, the journey is not yet over; there is still a ways to go.  We ask that you please continue to pray for Kelly’s quick and complete recovery.  

Kelly told us that when she went into her pre-op MRI, she broke down crying and couldn’t stop.  She quickly started praying and begging God to hold her tight in his arms.  Soon she was flooded with good vibes and started to think, “Why am I crying?  Everyone is praying for me, I am surrounded by loved ones and I have a hospital full of friendly people reaching out to help.”  Shortly, she started to feel enveloped by a renewed confidence.  She came out of that intimidating MRI machine smiling at the technician.  He proceeded to say that he had never seen someone with such a positive spirit and so much family presence at the hospital.  He asked her how she accomplished her good cheer.  She told him about all her wonderful loved ones and the messages she got daily on her blog and e-mails and how so many people were praying for her.... this was a great part of what inspired her to move forward with high spirits.  He thought that was so cool and wished more people would look at it that way!

Kelly and family knew the details of her operation before she went into OR.   When you hear some of these details, you will wonder how she kept her chin up so high and you will realize that the energy force to go forward in such a positive manner came from the incredible support that she has received from all of you.  Do you know that to date, she has received over 7,000 hits on her blog which was opened on October 14! There have been prayer groups going on all around the world.  The response has been daunting.  

So many of you have been asking for more details, so, as difficult as it is to write about this, here is a description of what Kelly has gone through so far, information that was explained to us before the operation (and forgive me if I say something incorrectly, but it’s as close to what I remember as possible): 

We were told that brain operations are the least painful of all operations because the skull and brain do not have nerves, only the scalp has nerves and you don’t have muscle and ligaments to cut through.  The process is as follows:  

1. The resident medical team, not the surgeon, prepares the head for the operation. They shave a very small strip of hair where the cut is to be made. The cut for this particular tumor extends from the top part of her Right ear slightly over the meridian line. The scalp is cut and  then both sides of the scalp are folded over to expose the skull. They drill holes to form an ovular pattern over the location of the tumor and then they cut between these holes using an electric saw instrument.  The skull section is temporarily removed.  
2. The neurosurgeon, Dr. Stieg, then takes over and does his art work, the careful and skillful removal of the tumor and its many tentacles.  
3. Once the tumor is removed as thoroughly as possible,  the surgeon’s job is over and the resident doctors clean up and close the wound sealing the area with a metal plate and staples.  A drainage tube is attached and a monitor is inserted to measure the brain pressure.  She is under close observation for about 2 hours after the operation and then she is taken to Neurosurgery ICU for 24 hours of constant monitoring and care.   

When we heard about the procedure, naturally, we freaked out!... but then, we got down to the common sense level of reasoning and realized the operation was really just as gross as breaking your leg or arm while skateboarding and being opened up to have the bone reset with staples and metal plates inserted.  Once we saw it in this light, we could emotionally handle the details of the operation. Medicine now a-days is truly amazing.  

We have been told over and over again by the experts that Kelly is very lucky because the tumor was on the Right side of the brain and science still doesn’t know much about what this side of the brain controls.  If it had been on the Left side of the brain, she would likely have had some serious side effects, maiming her for life.  

Based on it’s huge size, this tumor has been living happily on the Right side of the brain for many years and it hasn’t been affecting any of her life functions.  As a matter of fact, if you look up oligodendroglioma (oli-go-dendro-glioma) you’ll see that this is a tumor that lives inside of a person’s brain usually from childhood, growing little by little until it finally makes it’s presence known with a seizure.  This is exactly what Kelly experienced!  The average age level when it makes it’s presence known to the world is age 36.  Kelly’s tumor announced it’s presence at age 29, which is good because the younger you are, the better and quicker the prognosis for recovery.  

Thankfully Kelly’s operation is a thing of the past. She’s on medication that controls the pain and other than that she feels wonderfully well.  We now sit waiting for pathology to give us their results.  We should have their diagnosis by Friday.  Everyone assures us that there is a very good chance that the tumor is benign because cancer doesn’t co-exist for a long time in our bodies without bringing major health problems.  Kelly has never had any symptoms beyond the seizure on October 8.  But, as we all know, life can bring all kinds of surprises...so we beg you to please CONTINUE with your prayers; only half the battle is behind us.

We also need your continued prayers because there is one more serious worry.  Glioma tumors send out tentacles (roots), and these tumors can return at a later date.  In other words, if any tentacles or oligo cells are left imbedded in surrounding tissues, the tumor may regenerate.  She will be given another MRI on Friday to determine if all the glioma cells were removed from her brain.  The results of the MRI and biopsy on Friday will determine is she needs to undergo radiation treatment.  If so, the radiation can take anywhere between 5 days and 6 weeks.   We pray that there will be no reason to require further testing and treatment.

The good news is that medical science has advanced so much that the radiation can now be focused to concentrate on a specific location of the brain....area-specific radiation.  Kelly agrees with us that if the doctors decide she needs radiation, she will march forward and into treatment with confidence in God’s love and the best of medical care.  The important thing is that she comes out of this cured and healthy.  

We will continue relaying information and updates of progress whenever we have the chance.  

Your messages and prayers have been some of the most powerful instruments to Kelly’s PMA before and after yesterday’s surgery.  Our gratitude for your “continued” prayers and messages of love go beyond words.  We are truly blessed to be surrounded worldwide by people who love and care for Kelly (and us).  Every day she reads, giggles and enjoys the multitude of notes sent via her blog.  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  You have been wonderful!

Besos y abrazos grandes,

Mari and Mark