August 28-7 Days After Surgery

Emotional Recovery is as important as physical recovery. Reasons for Jocelyn's good emotional
recovery: 1) Being told initially she had a benign brain tumor by Dr. Mike Armstrong, 2) Having
Bernie's Daughter in Richmond,VA and Googling her diagnoses, 3)Listening to the diagnosis over from Jocelyn's IPhone and hearing from the doctor tumor is BENIGN, 4)Having a Godlike
Surgeon, Dr. Sahni, and a friend, Janet Goode, who knew Dr. Sahni well and use to work for
him for 7 years as a RN, 5)Friends, Best Friends, praying, supporting and knowing they really
care for me and feel the pain I am going through emotionally.

Jocelyn's Brain Tumor Prognosis Information

Meningiomas make up about 20 percent of all brain tumors. A meningioma is a type of tumor that develops in the meninges, the protective membranes that cover the brain and the spinal cord. Most meningiomas are non-aggressive, or benign, although up to 5 percent are aggressive, or malignant. Benign meningiomas are slow-growing and do not invade surrounding tissue or spread to other parts of the body, but they often require surgery, because they compress adjacent brain tissue as they grow.


Prognosis
Meningiomas fortunately carry an excellent prognosis--complete recovery usually occurs within a few months.

Initial symptoms

indicating the growth of a frontal lobe brain tumor can be difficult to notice. However, over time noticeable symptoms such as seizures and frequent urination will begin to develop. It is important to stay vigilant if someone you know displays these outward symptoms or others, such as personality change and mood swings, as they may not be readily acknowledged by the person

Discharged, 3:55PM

Jocelyn is on her way home. She was discharged from the hospital at 3:55PM today.

Bernie with his Sweetie, Sunday Night Post

Television remote in his hand, his Sweetie by his side and he gets to sleep in a
recliner all night. He's happy. Hopefully, last night at the hospital.

Hospital Stay, Day 7, Sunday Evening

Jocelyn woke up at 4AM to have blood work done since she is on steroids, anti-seizure, analgesics, saline, docusate sodium, etc. Celeste left this AM because she has to work in Indiana for the next two days. Bernie arrived at 7AM to relieve Celeste. Jocelyn decided to visit Carrington who is in this hospital. He is on 5th floor. She had on regular sweatpants and was excited about this. However, after the visit and seeing Carrington's scar due to his knee replacement, Jocelyn felt woozie. Bernie and Jocelyn went back to her room, about 3 rooms from her room, Jocelyn's felt like she was falling. Many nurses came to the rescue. Her blood pressure was so low it didn't register and her sugar was high due to Dexamethasone(steroid) use. They put her back to bed and she started feeling better a few hours later. The prune juice and stool softener worked for the first time since surgery. Jocelyn walked again this afternoon and did good. She had a good dinner while Bernie was eating Subway at the hospital. Jocelyn should get her first bath in her own room later tonight. The basics of life are the things she is yearning now. Since I am blogging, Bernie said he felt left out so I'll add that he just tinkled. Bernie added that he tinkled and tinkled. He is watching 60 minutes now and he is sporting a fancy fashionista sweater. Tomorrow we aren't sure about now because she has to be released by her neurosurgeon, then physical therapy needs to see if she can walk 30 steps. Can you imagine Jocelyn wondering if she can safely walk 30 steps? So, we are waiting to see how tomorrow goes. Bernie is staying the night in a recliner next to Jocelyn's bed. We hope she will be released, but we will update you, as soon as we know.

Hospital Stay, Out Of ICU, PM Post

Good news. Jocelyn was moved out of the ICU today. The hospital was full all week, so they kept her in the ICU. Celeste was told today, Jocelyn will be going home Monday. She is in a regular hospital room now. Jocelyn is doing good. She continues to go to bed at 8:30PM and she is sleeping through the night. Good night everyone! (Oh, Celeste continues to spend the night with her Mom. Jocelyn is being taken good care of by Celeste and Bernie.)

Hospital Stay, PM Picture, August 23, 2012

This picture was taken post surgery. Jocelyn said it was okay to post. Picture was
taken at 9:00 PM or so. I stopped in to see if  I could help and update the blog, as
I was instructed to do by Jocelyn during this process. I think she looks great. Her
hair is growing in nice and thick. She'll be looking like herself shortly.