Sunday, May 3, 2015

DBS: One more Chapter

Personal Parkinsons

DBS: One More Chapter

Posted: 03 May 2015 12:37 PM PDT


Then he said to the man.  "Hold out your hand". The man held out his hand and it was healed.

Mark 3:...5


I slept surprisingly well the night before the latest and hopefully my last dbs surgery.  In the previous 24 hours more than once I  began to wonder, "could I some how get out of this?" The answer quickly flashed back inside my head from somewhere, "no, you are much too far down the road to turn around now."replied my inner voice.  It was time to put second thoughts away.  After a brief morning with no coffee or meds Carolyn and I gathered our things and started on what appeared to be a long journey. 


We stopped at admitting and the check in person attatched a wrist band which would identify me right down to matching medications by way of bar codes. Then I was given very precise directions, "walk down the hall with windows on one side and then turn right, go up the incline, and then pick up the phone and tell the person on the end of the line your name." I did this and the voice at the other end was real.  The time had actually arrived and they were waiting for me.


The nurse at this first stop was very helpful and happened to be a man of about my age whom coincidently loved the Mariners and baseball.  He talked a lot, probably more than I personally wanted at the time. He checked my history, took vital signs and he eased tensions somewhat.  I think when I walked into to this department I was fully clothed, accompanied by Carolyn and perhaps still a bit groggy, having no coffee or breakfast. but now I was ready to leave and found myself dressed in nothing but a hospital gown, alone. on a gurney being wheeled out and down a long drafty, and windowless hallway to another hidden department.


I entered the next area that  appeared to be populated by anesthesiologists going over their plans for their part of surgery with their patients. Plans for people much sicker than I.  I found that humility and thankfulness were most appropriate  properties at this level


Here also I was also greeted  by the Surgeon's assistant. She appeared while the anesthesiologist was going over her plans and they now began to work together.  She once again said my previous surgery for the left side of my brain lead placement had ended in a less than ideal situation.  They believed that several things together had left me with me without any ability to clear my throat, in respiratory distress and very low oxygen  saturation. The end result was subsequent cancellation of the second half of the surgery.  She explained I had people concerned and that they were determined to not let that happen again.  Their plan included: keeping me at as high a level of consciousness as possible, adjust the angle of the halo to improve the opening of my airway. (A halo is a steel or aluminum device that attaches like a Christmas tree stand and immobilizes your head) They were determined not to let me fall asleep this time and diminish the risk that the pooling of fluids at the back of my throat might cause.


When I finally arrived at the Operating Room I felt like a rock star, there were plenty of people there.  Mostly nurses eqiuipped with advanced specialties. No one appeared nervous but maybe they would not have been, given the expertise that was walking around that room.


It seemed to be only a few minutes and the surgeon appeared and reintroduced himself and began as soon as the halo was in place.  He began by numbing portions of my scalp where he intended to cut the skin of my scalp back and then to bore a dime sized hole in my skull.  He warned that I might feel a little sting at first and then a little pressure similar to work at the dentist's office.  I felt them both, but neither amounted to anything significant.  No further local anesthetic was necessary.  Since the brain itself has no pain receptors. The drilling began and the The sensation of my skull being bored into was, loud and I felt the vibration.  I was given sedation at various times both morphine and propofol in low doses for light sedation.  The propofol felt as if it burned my veins as it went in but by the time it reached my elbow The burning had ceased.  I lost track of things somewhere around this point, but picked up again when time for insertion of the lead began and my participation was asked for.  The surgeon called out the position of the lead in millimeters.  It went something like this: "10, 9.5, 9, 8.5".  He was inserting the lead and he took it down to a negative number.  He then asked for my participation.  Working on the right side of my brain he turned on the power and then said, I want you to say when you feel a difference in your hand.  I soon felt a tingling sensation.  He adjusted things a bit  and then asked that I stretch out my left hand.  There was no tremor at all.  What an incredible feeling! Squeeze your thumb and finger together.  Usually a difficult task but this time It was smooth as silk.  I could have not felt better if he had called for me to stretch out my hand......and see it healed.


At that time I became aware of music. Credence Clearwater and Who'll stop the rain.  Then some one asked if I wanted to stay awake the rest of the way.  Of course I did,  I wanted to savor this moment.








  


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