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| leftmost button shown is called the fart recycler |
I am so grateful to tons of friends and family for looking out for me so closely. As I recovered from eyebrow craniotomy, my mother in law arranged for daily visitors for me. One day very near labor day, my lunch visitor (Ami, of dream-snack denier fame) arrived to find me doing poorly. She had to call 911 on me, I don't remember the events that followed (thank goodness!), but it was concluded that I had cerebral spinal fluid built up in my brain. I got an ambulance ride to Iowa City and had a temporary emergency brain drain installed: commercial break: cerebrospinal fluid is a beautiful yellow color with a touch of greenish (not unlike a lemon lime pop). A few days later, my amazing surgeon and his team of residents (I called them my flock of seagulls) installed a permanent
ventricle shunt. It drains the fluid into my peritoneal
(belly) cavity. My kids call it my fluid recycler, kinda like the fart recycler button in your car. It's magnet controlled. My head is half shaved and I have several sets of stitches. They come out on the 16th. I look like a character out of the movie Trainspotting, except with better teeth.
After a week long stay at University of Iowa Hospitals and clinics, I was discharged to Acute Rehab in my hometown hospital. This was a great place to recuperate. I just got sent home today. Things that are getting better but still have room for improvement: my endurance, my short-term memory, my strength, my distractability. I tell you what, brain surgery doesn't get any less exhausting the more often you do it.
