Our December was far from normal. Not just because it was 2020 but because my Husband just had brain surgery. Not the news you really want to hear going into the holiday season but it is what we were faced with.
Here is the back story. He has dealt with neck pain most of his life but just thought it was sleeping wrong, bad genes, or something else. I finally convinced him to start seeing a chiropractor and after 6 or so week so of seeing Dr. Payne, I know the irony right, he just want not getting any better. He asked could he try something else, maybe an MRI to just make sure there wasn’t something else going on. Just hours after the MRI Dr. Payne called and referred him to a Neurosurgeon and told us he had a condition called a Chari Malformation. This just means that his brain is bulging from the base of his skull and applying pressure to his spinal cord thus causing an array of other issues. We meet with the Neurosurgeon over the phone for the first visit and he says that surgery is the only option and wanted to see him in the office very soon to show us more images and talk about the surgery. One week later we are in his office looking at his images and the Neurosurgeon points out that he normally recommends this surgical procedure when the brain is bulging 5 mm out of the base of the skull, and Brandon’s brain was out of his skull by an astonishing 28 mm. So we spend the next couple of weeks getting ready for the surgery and on December 4th we went in for this procedure to remove a portion of his skull to allow room for his brain and to get it off of his spinal cord. A grueling 5 hour and 15-minute surgery while I am waiting in my car in the parking garage because I did not want to be in the hospital and risk getting COVID-19. I am finally able to see him about 8 and a half hours after they took him off for surgery. The emotions that came over me when I walked into his ICU room and saw him lying there in that hospital bed with blood on his face and all of the tubes and cords. Let me just say this was one of the most stressful times of my life. My husband, My Partner, My Best Friend having brain surgery and I am totally helpless. Sitting there in my car those feelings weigh on you. I have experienced loss in my life before, as most of us have. I lost my dad to cancer when I was only 14. This was a very different kind of feeling. My life partner, My Person there in that hospital alone. It was very tough for me to sit there in the car and be totally helpless.
He is such a strong man and a fighter. He was discharged from the hospital after only 4 days. Can you believe that? Only 4 days after such a crazy surgery. He made amazing strides after he got home. Walking by himself in 4 more days. Back to work in 23 days. He is so amazing! But because of the risk of him getting an infection and such, we did have a very chill Holiday Season.
All of this made us really look at our family and want more. We have always wanted kids and have looked at starting the journey several times but this experience made us take that leap. We have an appointment scheduled with an agent on Wednesday! Wish us luck. Tell me all of your stories. I want to read all about them!
