[If you have read the previous installment of these reports
(click here), you know that Barbara's inability to walk or
talk made it desirable for her to return to the relatively safe environment of the hospital on Sept. 29. Shortly after she returned
to MSKCC,
she had a spinal tap. This allowed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to leak
out, the intention being to allow a reduction of her cranial pressure and so improve her ability to walk. The tap (or lumbar puncture) was carried out but there was little or no improvement in her walking.
I suspect that the atrophy that is quite apparent in her leg muscles
may also be implicated in this problem.]
In the hope that further reduction of Barbara's cranial pressure might
improve her condition, Dr. Omuro proposed that Dr. Gutin should
install a shunt in the fluid between the skull and the brain. This would be a conduit of the CSF to the stomach where it would be
disposed of. The operation was scheduled for Oct. 5, but Dr. Gutin
decided it should wait until the treatment was completed. However,
it was then realized that Dr. Yamata had decided that the radiation
should be halted after five weeks, not the six weeks we had thought
was in store. The operation was then scheduled for Oct. 7. Originally I was told that it would take place at
around 2:30 p.m. But, late on the afternoon of Oct. 6, a surgical
nurse dropped in on me in Barbara's room to tell me that the operation would take place at 7:00a.m. He told me that Barbara would first be taken to the pre-surgical ward at 6:00 and that I was permitted to accompany her there. So I notified sister Mimi and
left for home a bit earlier than usual to get to bed.
The next morning found me at B's bedside at 5:30 and, sure enough,
her bed was wheeled out at 6:02 by the wall clock and we went down to pre-op, as we old hands call the place. A nice fellow took
my cell phone number and said that, when the operation was over,
he would call me to come and get a report from Dr. G. I mentioned
that my cell phone had not been ringing on the previous day and
had not been taking voice mail messages.
He told me not to worry since he could page me if I remained in
the lobby. I suggested he then page me as Edoardo since I would probably hear the final O even though I might miss the rest of the
announcement. Then sister Mimi showed up and gave him her
cell phone number so we seemed on firm ground.
At 7:26, Barbara was wheeled off to the OR and Mimi and I went
down to the lobby where we were close to the information desk
and the gift shop. The latter offered cappuccini and I had one
with a raisin scone and we settled down for the nail-biting session
that we had been told would last about an hour. Around 9:30,
Mimi made inquiry at the information desk but nothing was known
as yet. An hour later, when she tried again, she obtained a number
to call. On calling, she learned that I had been sent a voice mail
(which my phone did not record) and that attempts to call her
failed. (The wrong number had been recorded for her.) At around
11:00 we went upstairs to where we were to see Dr. G. and Barbara.
I did finally see Dr. G. (while Mimi was off having breakfast) and he
reported that the operation had gone well and offered the hope that
it would do some good. Then I settled down to wait for Barbara to come to. This took quite a while.
Around 12:30 we were taken to see Barbara who was finally
awake. She had a very beatific look despite the oxygen source
for her breathing and the bandage on her forehead and her vital signs were good. We greeted
her briefly and, after a couple of minutes, left to make way for the
doctors who would check her out. By 1:30, we were waiting in her
room for her return.
The next issue is whether the operation has done any good. We
may not know that for a couple of days, so I'll stop here till next time.
