I haven't mentioned Pambo a whole lot lately because, frankly, things have not been going so well for her since around December. The Trigeminal Neuralgia kicked back in with full force. She hasn't even been able to leave the house most days. Fortunately, when she is able she has been working from home but even that is usually not been in full day increments in several weeks. It has again gotten to the point where something has to give.
Her doctor, Dr. Casey, from the previous surgery was able to persuade our insurance company to approve him to perform a different surgical effort to control her pain. This one is called Motor Cortex Stimulation. It was an option we briefly considered the first time, but it is much more involved than the Micro Vascular Decompression surgery which is considered to be a standard treatment for this condition, so we elected to stick this one in our pocket for later "just in case". Basically, the principle behind this one is that they will open a different section of her skull and implant some electrodes which will deliver shocks to the Trigeminal Nerve to try to disrupt the pain signals that it is sending out. These electrodes are connected to a pacemaker like control device that is implanted somewhere by the collar bone in a separate surgery once the electrodes are set to the proper frequency. As you can imagine, there is a bit more extensive of a hospital stay with this option... there is approximately a 5 day time span between the first and second surgeries in order for the initial headache to clear from the first surgery and for the control device to be properly tuned.
Unfortunately, I will not be able to tag along on this trip. I knew that she was working with her doctors to get this approved but we had no idea that it would be approved and scheduled this quickly. She just got word of the approval on Friday and was told that her surgery is scheduled for Thursday. She will be leaving in the morning (Tuesday) for the trip up there. Richard is going to give me updates as to how she is doing as he can, so I will in turn let you guys know how it is going.
Please say a prayer or think positive thoughts for her as your personal belief structure allows.
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MM
That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.
I will definitely keep her in my prayers Mema, and thank you for keeping us updated.
You know, as I've gotten older I so rarely feel 100%. It seems like something is always making me ache or just feel under the weather. Often I think to myself "Can't I just have a stretch where NOTHING is bothering me"
Knowing what Pambo goes through really puts into perspective how minor those things are. I can't imagine how she has managed to put up with this as long as she has AND keep her sense of humor and a positive attitude to boot!
I'm sure it has something to do with having good people like you and Richard around her.
I really hope this surgery can give her some permanent relief.
I am thinking of you guys and keeping you in my prayers. If I could I would send a Big Ole Gay ray of sunshine because it brightens everything
I agree with Riggs. I rarely feell 100% anymore but thats about to change. I will quit smoking by july and am making some changes that I think will be for the better
