Further updates.

Further updates available on Laurie's blog Oligo-Lucky.

Major milestone passed but hearing is still dodgy

A major milestone (for me) was reached today when the surgical staples were removed from my scalp. The photo shows my "zipper" - the neat row of staples installed by David Walker to close up the skin flap he created to access my skull. Forthe curious, have a look at:http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/Ce-Fi/Craniotomy.html

These staples had become quite itchy over the last3-4 days and I was very relieved to get them out.

The job was very capably done by Briz Brain and Spine nurse, Vivian Biggs. The only minor problem we ecountered today was that David had also (interestingly) used some glue to close the cut and some of the staples did not want to let go of the glue,causing a few "ouch" moments.






























This is my new look: a nice neat scar that will be hardly noticable in a few months.

What did not go so well today was a trip to my local GP, Heather Jeffries, to check if my right ear was blocked.I have not been hearing properly in that ear since the surgery and I had become convinced that it was blocked with wax or dried blood and was looking forward to getting it back to normal. Unfortunately, there was no huge blockage in there that could be cleaned out, and so this may be another side effect of the surgery. Possibly another thing that I will just have to wait for to rectify itself.(As I am also doing for my faulty emotional control!) Before the surgery I did tell David to be as aggressive as he could be without killing me.So perhaps this is part of the price I pay for that approach which will most likely give me the best long-term outcome which was also the reason for doing all this in the first place!

Some left lip control returns!

This photo shows me making duck faces at speech pathologist, Kylie Perkin's practice today. It might look rediculous, but after a bit of this work, I actually managed to move the left corner of my mouth for the first time since the surgery this morning.

A key element of the work Kylie is doing with me is for me to observe what my face is doing in a mirror while I try to control the various facial muscles.

The lady who is working at putting words in my mouth and a smile back on my face! Kylie Perkins, at St Andrew's medical centre

The daily exercise regime

This is my daily exercise regime now. just a short walk around Kangaroo Point with Cheryl. Here we are making our way through Dockside. It was a fine, clear Winter's day today. Perfect for bush walking-sigh, It won't be long now.... :-) Sorry about the scowl, I still can't pull back the corner of my mouth on the left sideto form a proper smile.We are going to discuss this problem with Kylie Perkins, the speech pathologistfrom St Andrew's hospital, tomorrow.

What's with the name of this Blog??

You may have been wondering about the reference to Rocket Science in the name of this blog. Well it is a reference to an old joke that started at the end of 2006when I needed another Craniotomy.A work colleague at the time, Kevin Ferfguson, and Gary were examining my MRI scans which showed that the tumour was in the shape of an inverted mushroom.Gary anf Kevin were kidding around and decided that if they sharpened up the edge of a teaspoon, then they could get in there and scoop out the tumour for me.

Once they had it out, they were goingdown to Coles to select a mushrooom of just the right size to plug up the hole. They were going to do a Craniotomy on the cheap!Afterall, they argued, it was only brain surgery, not rocket science!....We all had a good laugh at the time and so it seemed appropriate for Gary to referback to our old joke. It is certainly not meant to be de-valuing the skills of brain surgieons Michael Redmond and David Walker, who beteeen them, have keptme alive three times now! I just wanted to make that clear.

Emotional overload at Banff Film Festival

Last night I attended the brisbane showing of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. See:http://www.paddypallin.com.au/default.aspx?page=122&product=697 for more information. It is an event we have attended every year for the last five years. There were lots of my climbing and sea-kayaking mates there and it was great to catch up with some people that I have not seen for a while. The strangest thing happened in the opening few minutes of the show. They started off with lots of amazing footage from the films we were about to see. I could feel myself getting very emotional,but instead of experiencing a feeling of elation, (as you would normally expect), my bottom lip started to tremble and I started to weep like a baby! It was really weird! I just could not control it!!!!- today I discussed this with one of the clinical nurses at BrizBrain and Spine, and she pointed out that the Right frontal lobe, where the surgery took place, is an area responsible for some very primal emotional processing, so it may take some time for things to return to normal and it was probably a case of too much, too soon for me last night.

Transferred to Saint Cheryl's home sweet home hospital today

This is Laurie typing tonight. I am home now and Gary has given me the keys to the Blog so I can maintain it myself now.Thanks for all your good work to date on this Gary. Below is a photo of Matt and Sue, two of the fantastic team of nurses in ward 2F at St andrew's war memorial hospital,who have been looking after me since I returned from the Intensive Care Unit on Monday.All the nurses have been incredibly kind and helpful despite a tendency to want to jab me in the tummy regularly with a needle(That was a regular Heparin injection to stop blood clots forming, so I didn't really mind)It is just another aspect of an alreadydifficlult job that these exceptional people perform.-you guys deserve more money!!!The other photo is me installed in my familiar bed at home. and very nice it is to be back there again with my loving partner Cheryl looking after me(She is a saint I reckon,to go through all this with me)

Going home :-)

There was a small crowd of friends for Laurie's last night in hospital. He is all set to head home tomorrow morning to continue his excellent recovery.

Laurie asked the surgeon today when he could get back on his mountain bike. Dr Walker suggested that he wait for 3 months before taking to the streets on his trusty metal steed. Its not because of any weakness in his skull which will have already repaired itself by now, but the Dr didn't want the slim chance of Laurie having a seizure while riding his bike.

If you are going to the Banff film festival on Thursday night, look out for Laurie kicking up his heels for a night out on the town. (less than a week after brain surgery). Great work Laurie 

 :-)   :-)   :-)   :-)   :-)   :-)   :-)   :-)   

The man with the hands.

This is Dr David Walker with Laurie checking his progress. David is the surgeon who was able to delve deeply into Laurie's mind (literally) and remove the tumor while leaving Laurie intact. Not rocket science, but pretty impressive nonetheless.

David was also able to bring good news that the tumor was not malignant which is another positive.

A speech therapist visited Laurie today and identified that he has got a speech deficit but has already given Laurie some exercises to overcome this. The palsy is also effecting his tongue which contributes to the speech deficit. With the palsy being a temporary issue the future is looking good.

The nursing and medical staff are so happy with Laurie's progress that he could be heading home on Wednesday. If this is the case, he'll also be going to the movies on Thursday night. You just can't hold a good man down !!

Again, Laurie is enjoying reading your comments and knowing he has your support so please keep the messages coming. Visitors are welcome, with Jenny (fellow Griffith person and rock climber) visiting this afternoon.

PS. I got Laurie to smile at one of my jokes .... maybe he was only humouring me :lol:

Out of Intensive Care

The biggest news of the day  is that Laurie is out of intensive care !! He would welcome visitors and is in Room 222 in St Andrews Hospital, Spring Hill.

The surgeon (Dr Walker) said that Laurie's palsy on the left side of his face and the resulting speech difficulty will only be temporary. These issues are side effects of the aggressive surgery aimed at providing the best long term outcome. Laurie is expecting to have both radio therapy and chemo therapy in about six weeks as a further positive strategy for the future.

As you can see from the photo, Laurie is quite mobile and the physio is happy with his movements after making him walk up and down the room. 

He had a number of visitors today and is glad of the company as life in hospital is not what he is used to after leading such an active lifestyle. 

 

Saturday night dinner.

Laurie has spent the second day in the ICU for observation. As you would expect, he is getting bored with the view and no bicycle or kayaks in sight. Laurie is happy that he has full movement of both sides of his body. I got him to squeeze my hand to check his strength and he certainly hasn't lost any (ouch!).

His is able to get out of bed, walk to the bathroom, eat by himself which may seem minor to most of us ... but after brain surgery these are all important steps. Laurie is concerned, however, that he has some palsy (paralysis) of the left side of his face. This is effecting his speech to a small extent. Hopefully, this may be a temporary issue.

There is certainly nothing wrong with Laurie's memory or ability to think. When asked the standard question after an op "Who is the current Prime Minister?" he answered with "Kevin Rudd, my local member."

You may be interested to know what sort of heavy duty painkillers are given to Laurie after his brain surgery. Morphine, or maybe lots of morphine? No, he gets panadol !!! Laurie is one tough individual.

Laurie is enjoying hearing the comments that people are leaving here or emails showing your concern and thoughts. Please keep them up. (Although Julie, I won't be passing the kiss on to him!!)

The nurses (male and female) have been very good to Laurie and he wanted to make them famous by putting their photos on the blog. Below is Laurie and one of the nurses, Mark.

Thumbs up!

When asked how he was, Laurie was able to give the thumbs up although he was too groggy to say so. He will stay in the ICU until tomorrow, then after an MRI will go back into the ward if everything continues in the positive direction it has so far.

For those who want to see the business end of the operation, below is as far as we'll go for the moment.

... for those who want to see the machine that goes "ping" here it is:

Still able to dance

Although still groggy under the influence of anasthetic, Laurie has tested is muscle movement and all limbs, etc are working as they should. Life as a professional dancer may still be on the cards.

Out of surgery.

(photo taken last night)

Surgery has been completed and the Dr is happy with how it has gone. Laurie has now been moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) which is normal and will be monitored closely. The next 24hrs will be critical to how Laurie recovers.

Surgery starts

In good spirits, Laurie went into surgery at 7.50am this morning and should be in there for about 3 hours.

Op minus 12 hours

Laurie was in good spirits tonight with 12 hours to go before the operation.  And of course why wouldn't he be feeling good with his lovely partner Cheryl there at his side.

Prior to the operation Laurie has some strategically located lifesaver looking markers placed at various places around his head. This was done in conjunction with a MRI which will be used to locate the tumor during the operation.



For those who want a closer look at the locater lifesavers:

Why this blog?

While Laurie is in hospital undergoing surgery and then in recovery this site will be used to post the most current information available.