Thursday, November 18, 2010

Home Sweet Home!

Kent is home!

His blood pressure normalized during the afternoon and the CT scan revealed an "air bubble" (no swelling) - which Dr. Pakzaban said was normal for this type of procedure. He was released around 4:30pm and is already home - looking forward to a shower and washing his hair ... at least what he's allowed to wash.

Checking In on Kent

It's been almost 24 hours since his procedure began and word from Toni & Mary is that Kent had an uncomfortable night - headache, nausea/vomiting & very little sleep. His blood pressure this morning has been dropping (currently 92/52) so the nurses are keeping a close watch.

He just returned to his ICU room from a CT scan - they are looking for any swelling of the brain after the procedure - and soon Dr. Pakzaban will come to check on Kent and deliver the results of the new scan. It is unclear at this time whether he will be released today or moved to a different room - we'll update the blog as soon as we have some answers.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Good News - No Tumor!

Kent got out of surgery around 2pm and Dr. Pakzaban said everything went well. The good news is that it is not a tumor, although they will send the biopsy for analysis to be sure. According to Dr. Pakzaban, it is a "dead mass", from an old stroke, with fluid around it.

We've heard this story before, so there are many questions to be asked and not many answers today - the focus now is Kent's recovery. As of about 4:30, he was in ICU with a headache, but said he is hungry ... always a good sign!

The post-operative schedule has changed and he will be released to go home around noon tomorrow, when he gets out of ICU. He will see Dr. Pakzaban in one week and will get his biopsy results and have an opportunity to ask LOTS of questions at that time.

Today's the Day

Although he may not be thrilled when he sees it, Toni & Nan wanted to post a few pre-surgery photos to let everyone know Kent is READY!

Here he is - without glasses & looking a little tired - at about 8:15am in the surgical prep area.






The first procedure of the day is a new CT scan and by 8:45am they had his IV in place and wheeled him off for the scan ...

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Brain Surgery

The next step in Kent's condition is determining exactly what these "ghost shaped" inactive areas of his brain are. The slow growth over the last five years has led his doctor to believe it is a tumor, but the only way to confirm the diagnosis and determine the right course of action is through a "biopsy for right frontal lobe brain lesion with Stealth".

Kent has selected Dr. Peyman Pakzaban, his neurologist, to perform this procedure at Bayshore Medical Center on Wednesday, November 17. He is scheduled to arrive at 8am, with surgery at 11am, and will spend one night in the ICU followed by one night on the Neuro floor. If everything goes well, he will be released on Friday evening to go home with a three week recovery period before returning to work or additional surgery/treatment.

Visitation in the ICU is very limited, so Toni & Mary will text out information that will be posted on the blog. Please become a follower (see lower right hand panel) to receive email updates when new information is posted, or simply bookmark http://www.kentcain.com/ and check back often for updates and information.