...good thing, little faith is all I have right now.
Today was my visit with my AMAZING Neurosurgeon, Dr. Elias. He stated the following:
"I was so happy to see Jessica in the clinic today with her husband. She had a severe traumatic brain injury in May that required emergency bifrontal craniectomy and prolonged intensive care management. She has now completed rehabilitation and is at home."
See, Dr. Elias last saw me when I was admitted into trauma care and unconscious. That was the last time he saw me. So now to see me awake and active, he was happy that I have come so far.
Now more of what he said:
"On examination, her tracheostomy has been removed and her speech is clear but very slow. Her extraocular movements are severely limited and especially with no medial nor lateral gaze. She seems to have bilateral 6th nerve palsies and probably 4th and partial thirds. She is minimal facial function that is impaired on both sides with limitations on eye closure. Her trigeminal and somatosensory examination seems preserved. She ambulated with minimal use of her cane and her gait was not particularly wide. Her cranial defects are sunken. I did not appreciate papilledema on her eye exam."
Papilledema is when your optic nerve is swollen due to cranial pressure. More on his findings:
"It is difficult to say if the ventricles are enlarged although you can see your temporal horns. I will follow up with her Neuro Ophthalmologist to see if she sees papilledema. If not, we are going to send the CT scan off to synthesize a custom cranial flap. We will then begin the scheduling process for bifrontal cranioplasty. I mentioned to them that we will also do a ventricular tap to measure her ICP at the time of surgery. I just want to assure that she does not have occult hydrocephalus."
Basically, they are making my new skull in the lab. So, I will have a fake plastic composite skull! He didn't want to use my actual skull in the event it was contaminated with something to decrease the risk of infection.
Hydrocephalus...in the long run is where spinal fluid no longer reaches the brain thus causing dementia...among other things.
I am reminded of a famous quote by Henry Ford. I know...random. But he says, "If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing. You're right."
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