Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Dr. Jayaraman with yours truly pre-procedure.

Side view, notice the dimensions on the side of the frame (XL). This unit locks into a receiver that eliminates all movement when the gamma knife is in operation.

I realize that Connie has already sent out an email to the blog list to let everyone know that the Gamma Knife procedure went smoothly. But there are a couple of pictures that I think are amusing, especially if you look closely and realize that they had to get an XL frame, (check out the dimensions on the frame) to fit my head and nose.
Hey, it's my heritage and I'm not complaining. I'm just stating fact here.

The procedure was on a Friday with an overnight stay for observation. Rest assured that I was up, washed and dressed by 6:30 Saturday morning. I figured that I'd get an early discharge by being ready......Nope!

Connie threatened that I'd walk out AMA at 11:00 a.m. if they hadn't grabbed a Doctor to sign the discharge papers. At 10:50 they scurried into my room with the requisite signature, etc. They weren't being deliberately slow, but the ER was busy and I assume everyone was involved with providing care elsewhere.

The Dr. in charge of the procedure won't know for sure about the outcome, but he was confident that we'll see shrinkage in 6 months when we do a checkup. Modern medicine is amazing! While the process was extremely long, (12 hours) and uncomfortable it was much better than an open incision with all of the side effects and limitations. The Dr. standing next to me in the picture, Dr Jayaraman) is one of the team that was involved. Trust me, this was high priced talent on the team that included a Physicist, Neurosurgeon, Vascular Surgeon etc.

We are enjoying our summer, and hope that wherever you are the sun is shining and the breeze is warm.

Paul & Connie
m/v The Rose, GH37
Brewer Greenwich Bay North
Warwick, RI