email update: post-surgery

I remember when the surgeon came out to talk to us, I jumped up in a such a hurry to get to him that I fell over a table. lol. Here's the email:

Everything went well, and she's awake and moving around and talking to the doctor. Yay!

Here are the things that we were worried about & their outcome (all positive) -

• paraplegia (temporary or permanent) ? - nope! - moving her legs and feet just fine!
  
• malignant tumor ? - nope! - it's one of two kinds of benign tumors; they will be more precise about the type in 3-4 days.
  
• incomplete resection ? - nope! - (the surgeon said if it was stuck to other things that couldn't be cut (arteries, primary nerves) he would have to leave a piece of the tumor, so she would need radiation to keep it from growing back. But that didn't happen. As I understand it there will be no need for chemo or radiation).
  
• remove part of the dura ? - nope! - (the surgeon said that if the tumor was attached to the dura (the hard sheath that protects the spinal cord) he might have to remove a piece of the dura, which would require a patch, which could lead to a leak of spinal fluid and more surgery, etc. But that didn't happen either).

More good news - they had her hooked up to all kinds of monitoring equipment to test electric signals from her brain through her nerves to her feet and hands - this was primarily to prevent cutting any important nerves. But because of the monitoring they were able to see that, as soon as they got the tumor out, the nerve signals on her right side bounced back immediately. The surgeon said that that might not translate to improved function right away, but it's a very good sign.

Yay for Dr. K____! Yay for Loopy! (that's what I call her :-) ) Yay all around!

Four friends came to sit in the surgery waiting room with me (and with each other, as they are all dear friends of [Loopy]’s and were plenty worried in their own right). I made them do "the wave" after we heard the news. :-)

This morning before [Loopy] went into surgery we talked about how we both feel ready for the next phase, whatever it holds, and we'll get through it together. Now that we know it looks very positive, I'm even more cheerful about it. The surgeon confirmed that the prognosis is still 4-6 weeks to regain many functions, and 4-6 months to be fully back to normal. I will keep on keeping you posted.

I'm so grateful for all your support. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It means a lot to know that your thoughts are with us.

Love
[me]