Davis’ surgery - overview
April 27th, 2008 Posted in Connie, DavisOverview:
The surgical odyssey began April 3rd at Stanford Hospital when Davis literally got screwed by his neuro-surgeon (thanks Jaimie Henderson!) - 5 bolts screwed into his skull that is. These are called Fiducials and they are markers for the 3-d imaging that allows docs to get inside his skull with accuracy (that’s good) but the bolts do hurt. ouch. Up at o’dark hundred on the 4th for surgery. This is the biggie - four hours on the table - lots of drilling (2 dime sized holes cut in his skull), probing, tweaking, buzzing, a little sleeping, but mostly awake - as the wires are threaded into the part of the brain called the subthalamic nucleus (STN). 34 staples in his skull at the end of the procedure - but he feels no pain until he’s moved to the recovery area where he has to stay overnight, the pain is short-lived but intense.
April 9th, Kelsey’s 14th birthday and another surgery to run the wires from the top of the skull to the pacemaker power unit that is installed sub-clavicular (under the collar bone). This surgery is shorter, more intense and while it’s considered out-patient in that you go home the same day - it feels worse than the fours hours of the previous surgery. Again, pain is short-lived but intense.
Davis recovered for 16 days prior to the moment of truth - and btw stayed with friends both in PA and Tiburon - thanks so much for the hospitality Sheila, Jim, Candie, Carl and Monique….!!!
Here’s a link to cycleto.com which has some footage of Davis prior to the ‘on’ phase:
The ‘generators’ were turned on Friday April 25. During a two hour session with Dr. Helen Bronte-Stewart & co - of testing and tweaking here at Stanford University Hospital, Davis emerged quite literally a new man. While the tremors are not reduced to zero, they are markedly (let’s say 90%) reduced - but even more evident was the return of the brightness of his eyes and the intensity of his smile. During the session there were moments where he felt ’jolted,’ tickled, and others where he felt muddled but somewhere in the middle was a peace and ease that most of us feel everyday….if not every minute of every day. Eating with a fork that’s not flipping food across the table, shoulders relaxed because you aren’t carrying the weight of the armor that his body felt trapped in - words don’t suffice…except to say that the number one outcome is of tremendous relief. Life is good. And then it gets better.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/cycling/2008-04-25-1763828279_x.htm
jumpin for joy
(pre-surgery photo courtesy robert beck)
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