Comedian for Rent

Six hours of waiting, six LONG hours. I walk into the ICU and can see that Brian is awake.

(Me) Hi.
(Brian) Hi. I thought most nurses wore white.
I think a lot of them do, but I'm not a nurse.
You're not?! Who are you?
I'm your wife. Don't you recognize me?
No...

oh, I'm just kidding.

He is so in trouble, the little comedian. I have to live with this verbal abuse...and I love it!

I only have a quick moment to write, and hope to post more tomorrow. I'm going to try to just list things.

Surgery went well, just as expected
Brian was stable all along
Tumor was near the surface, directly below the motor and processing areas.
Went in at an angle to avoid damage to these parts.
Tumor came out easily, except for the backside, which was hunkered down, attached to the part of the brain that controls the face muscles and the right side.
Had to irritate that area some to get the tumor removed, so expected droopiness of the right side of his face, significant weakness in the right leg and moderate weakness in the right arm.
Don't know until Brian wakes up, so just speculation. All considered fairly easy to fix with meds and/or therapy, not permanent damage.
Did not remove entire tumor. Some minor spots attached to blood vessels that would have caused great damage to remove. Feels these are minimal, and we'll have to watch and remove again if necessary. Removed some live tumor cells, but took out lots of dead cells, which means the radiation in Jan. did work.

Back to seeing Brian...he appears to have NO face drooping, except for the fact that he was trying to make his face droop after I told him. He is hoping it might affect his smile (what smile?) and he mentioned changing from the teaching profession to being a clown. He has increased weakness in his right arm, as expected. He could move it fairly well, though. His right leg is nearly paralyzed. He pushed up on his feet, and his right foot didn't even flinch. He was able to generate some movement that appeared to originate in the hip and thigh area. The therapists will evaluate him, maybe even tonight, to see what the first steps are in getting this corrected.

He was battling a very mild headache when I left, but otherwise felt great. I am out of ICU for now, as they make family leave for a few hours in the evening for patient evaluations. I hope to know much more by noon tomorrow, and hope to post again. This leg deal might prolong our return home, but it is out of our hands.

How are those prayers going? I've been praying for you all. I also prayed today that Dr. Litofsky had a steady hand; that the candy striper working the front desk where I got my pager wouldn't be so scared (she looked terrified to be working); that Rachel feels better with fighting the stomach flu; that the people from 3rd floor ICU that were there two weeks ago and were also still in the waiting room this morning would have their loved one make progress and heal quickly; for Brian's roommate who was discharged today after having tumors removed a few days ago; and that Brian lived through this surgery.

I'm trying to focus on prayer, which is bringing me much peace and easing my anxiety. Many blessings to you all.

Jenni