Brain surgery today, scared

[Gumbo]

That's it really.

I'm not afraid of dying, I'm afraid of leaving my wonderful child. We're ridiculously close...we both have Aspergers and 'get' each other, and although he loves DH very much he'd struggle without me.

And most of all I'm afraid of brain damage. The awfulness of the stage between living and dead is horrendous.

It's all so sudden. I was only admitted on Friday night unexpectedly, now they're sawing my head open later this morning to deal with a bleed and tumour. A couple of days ago I was planning an active bank holiday weekend outdoors.

Has anyone had this done and woken up fine and dandy and happy to have had the surgery?

Thanks.

I had a tumour and surgery to remove it. It was a longish recovery but I work now in a fullfilling career. Chin up and stay positive

Good luck OP, two of my friends have had brain surgery for tumours and both are fine now. I think as a patient it is much more unsettling than any other condition, our sense of our brain is so closely linked with who we are - but for the medical team its 'just' another body part and I am sure you are in safe hands.

Re work - my friend's work HR classed her as disabled while she was recovering and made loads of adjustments. Cross that bridge as and when but I am sure you will have a lot of options to resolve the not driving.

Thanks so much for the lovely comments, and thanks for those who have been through it that's really helpful to hear your experiences. I'm still waiting to hear when I'll be operated on.

It's not something in my wildest dreams I ever thought I'd need to have, it's just random bad luck I've got this. Also amazingly good luck it was spotted so it sort of evens out!

I hope I don't have to wait to long, I'm so thirsty...

Best of luck and may you have a swift recovery

All the best OP

Just take one step at a time OP. You are in the very best hands and everything seems to be in your favour. Best of luck and please come back to update us when you can

Thinking of you Gumbo, all the best. X

What an awful shock. Thinking of you and sending positive thoughts that this time tomorrow you’ll be so relieved and on the road to recovery

I've had planned open skull surgery, I had lots of time to come to terms with it and even I had a wobble on the morning! It is scary to think of someone being inside your head - that's absolutely normal!

You'll be in good hands, rest as much as you can afterwards - it's more tiring than you think. Don't worry about the driving for now, your work can make adjustments. In my case, the surgery worked fantastically well so I have no regrets (different condition).

What a shock for you, must be so hard to process quickly what has happened in such a short period of time.
Wishing you all the best for today and a speedy recovery

Thanks

I promise to update once I'm able to... Absolutely no idea how long before I'll be typing or writing.

I've just been told I need another MRI scan from a different angle before surgery... I guess it gives them a better window of what they're working with.

But I realise that in order for this not to become one of those threads that drives people mad from not knowing whether or not I ended up in a vegetative state I need to return to it when I can... I promise to do so!

Good luck Gumbo! 🍀💕

I’m sorry you don’t have anyone holding your hand, OP. I’m even further away (Australia) or I’d offer to come and sit with you. (Am also studying nursing, so could explain why some things are beeping, why things have to be done in what order, etc if it would make you feel calmer and in more control. I know how alien and unnatural hospitals are to most people.)
I do wish you the best of luck, and I am genuinely sending you warm and fuzzies with complete confidence that you will be feeling much better very soon! X

Here for a handhold @Gumbo . Do they know what sort of tumour they think they're looking at?

All the best OP. Brain surgeons are amazing. My DH is another who has been successfully treated. You are in good hands.

Afterwards - take everything in steps. DH is driving and very fit once more. It took a while , but looking back, we can all see how this period has actually improved our ordinary lives. There are things that none of us take for granted anymore .

Wishing you the best of luck

Thinking of you today Gumbo!

Thanks all... I can't work out how to link to invidual posters on my phone, and can't get my tablet to connect to the NHS WiFi.

To the poster offering to sit with me and explain why things are beeping, that would have been great since they're driving me mad! Even my IV machine beeped at me for some reasonon- we had words

To the poster whose husband had this and looking back life has improved...how? I'm now being told I may not be driving for a year or more- or forever- Which is just horrendous...my work will be helpful and tolerant for a few months, but there are limits!

To the poster who asked the type of tumour, it's part of a carvenoma which has had a big bleed...that in itself is rare apparently

Anyhow I'm a lot calmer than last night and just want it over now ..

Going to theatre around 2 pm, will be there 5-6 hours. Will try to update tonight or tomorrow...

Gumbo no rush to update. Would you like any photos or jokes to come back to?

Lol thanks Daisy... Jokes! If I can read them and see the humour the it will have been a success!

Sending you love and luck for today @Gumbo

Sending you a bit more luck and love

Hi - I'm the one who says that looking back we can see that life improved.

It didn't look like that from the ground - especially not at the beginning. Losing permission to drive seemed like a catastrophe because work depended on it and we lived far from public transport.

However, hand on heart , I can day that many of the happinesses in our lives now and the closeness we retained through other of life's ups-and-downs came from the forced re-organisation and re-assessment of priorities that happened back then. There is hope!

Wishing you a safe and successful day OP. You are in my thoughts.

Good post 1Wild.

Gumbo I'm thinking of you. Sending love and strength.
Also sending this saying - I loved it when I read it. It certainly resonates with me.

I'll be thinking about you. Looking forward to your update! 🤗