Bridget's Surgery Updates: Day -2: Hello!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Day -2: Hello!

Welcome all!

This blog is all about your favorite person, Bridget, and her journey through brain surgery and recovery.

As you all know, Bridget is scheduled to have her surgery this Wednesday, June 13th.

Bridget's current status: nervous, trying to remain distracted, but feeling loved and supported by all of you. She knows she is making the right decision, even if it is a scary one. We know she is in the best possible hands with this procedure, and that no matter what, everything is going to be OK.

We both had a lot of things that we planned to get taken care of before the surgery, so that we'd be all ready to relax for the next day and a half. So Bridget is now officially on "take it easy" status! She's hanging out with friends this afternoon and evening, painting her toenails, knitting, and going to see a movie (Moonrise Kingdom). Tomorrow the plan is to take relaxing to a new extreme, so that Bridget is in the best possible mental place for her day on Wednesday.

Thanks you to all of you who have sent cards to Bridget already! They will make her feel so loved and supported when she wakes up in the hospital. I currently have them stashed in a secret location in the house. Bridget saw a few of them when the mail came, but I quickly made her unsee :) We both feel so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends to help us through this difficult time in our life. So props to YOU!

Anyhow, just a short post for today. Check back in each day for more updates!

- Jeph

4 comments:

MaryJeanJune 11, 2012 at 5:29 PM
Bridget
Missed you at work today but glad to hear you are kicking back. I am preparing to project positive energy your way in a big way over the coming days.
MJ
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MeredithJune 11, 2012 at 6:17 PM
Have a super relaxing day tomorrow! I hope Jeph and the cats cater to your every whim. Many good thoughts and best wishes are being beamed from Ann Arbor to Seattle....
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Shin ShinJune 12, 2012 at 7:30 AM
Dear Bridget,

Wishing you all the best and a great recovery! You'll both be in my thoughts and I appreciate having the blog. :-)

love
Shin Shin
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UnknownJune 12, 2012 at 9:40 AM
Sending warm wishes from Eugene. We love you, Bridget!

Melissa
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Add comment

What is a cavernous malformation, and why does it need to be removed?

A cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) is a vascular abnormality shaped like a raspberry, that sometimes can develop spontaneously in an otherwise healthy brain. Bridget has one in her brain stem, on the left side of her pons.

These CCMs will sometimes leak out blood, and when they do, they cause neurological problems, sort of like having a small stroke. Bridget's has bled twice now, and doctors suspect that it will continue to bleed. To try to prevent future neurological problems from developing, it makes sense for it to be surgically removed.

What will surgery and recovery be like?

Surgery will cause Bridget to have some neurological problems like facial numbness and vertigo. There is some chance that she will also have facial muscle weakness, double vision, weakness/numbness in one arm and leg, or hearing loss after surgery. Hopefully most or all of these problems will go away with time.

She will also have a lot of fatigue, and will have to heal from the incision and from the removal and replacement of a "bone flap" in her skull.

If everything goes well, she will be feeling good enough to be out and about after a month, and closer to normal after 3-6 months.