Post by Kristen Gamauf on Jan 10, 2006 18:27:26 GMT -5
This update is to tell everyone that Mike will have surgery on January 25th. He had his CAT scan to see if the brain swelling has gone down, and it has. This will be the surgery to put the part of his skull back in place. The same surgeon who did the initial surgery will perform this one (Dr. Markarian). Mike must arrive at 10:30am for prep., then the surgery starts at 12:30pm, lasting two hours. They will reconstruct portions of the bone as it was fractured in the fall (we weren't sure if it was or not). Actually, a small part of it directly above his ear won't be put back in because it was damaged (but so small you won't be able to see a dimple below his hair). Then I guess they use some sort of wiring technique to hold it in place. Mike will return to the surgical intensive care unit where he was before to recover. They plan on keeping him overnight, probably just the two days, but could be more.
We of course are excited yet nervous all at the same time. It seems so small compared to all that he has been through, but still, THEY ARE PUTTING A BONE BACK IN HIS HEAD!! There's nothing typical about that.
It is wonderful that Mike is able to have this surgery, because it will allow him to get more of his freedom back, specifically DRIVING. It has been too dangerous to consider letting him drive, but his doctor from Edwin Shaw said once he gets the bone back in he can go through the recertification class.
Other than that, we have had a wonderful holiday season. I am now back in the Akron house getting ready for school to start (next Tues.). I won't have any exciting cooking stories this semester--sorry, it's back to mechanical engineering. But if you want to hear about Basic Electrical Engineering, Energy Conversion, or Control System Design, to name a few, I'll gladly ramble on about that till you drift off to sleep. Anyways, I'm over here alone, but I know when Mike is well enough to make a trip over here once he has his surgery he will. I figure pretty soon he will be strong enough to meet up with his Akron buds, Kurt and Brian, and work out at the rec center. Then they'll start hanging out again like normal 20-something friends do, and probably be over here all the time. That will be something to look forward to, cause Mike is so bored all the time. He is going to take some online classes though this semester. They won't count toward his major (Political Science/Criminal Justice), but will keep him full time and engaged.
We of course are excited yet nervous all at the same time. It seems so small compared to all that he has been through, but still, THEY ARE PUTTING A BONE BACK IN HIS HEAD!! There's nothing typical about that.
It is wonderful that Mike is able to have this surgery, because it will allow him to get more of his freedom back, specifically DRIVING. It has been too dangerous to consider letting him drive, but his doctor from Edwin Shaw said once he gets the bone back in he can go through the recertification class.
Other than that, we have had a wonderful holiday season. I am now back in the Akron house getting ready for school to start (next Tues.). I won't have any exciting cooking stories this semester--sorry, it's back to mechanical engineering. But if you want to hear about Basic Electrical Engineering, Energy Conversion, or Control System Design, to name a few, I'll gladly ramble on about that till you drift off to sleep. Anyways, I'm over here alone, but I know when Mike is well enough to make a trip over here once he has his surgery he will. I figure pretty soon he will be strong enough to meet up with his Akron buds, Kurt and Brian, and work out at the rec center. Then they'll start hanging out again like normal 20-something friends do, and probably be over here all the time. That will be something to look forward to, cause Mike is so bored all the time. He is going to take some online classes though this semester. They won't count toward his major (Political Science/Criminal Justice), but will keep him full time and engaged.