Fri 14 Mar 2014: What do you do whilst your husband is having his headopened?

It wasn't until I came to after the operation, and was moved to High Dependancy Unit, that I saw Pam. She had been worried sick as I'd gone in late and it was a 4-5 hour procedure!  To occupy herself she'd decided to have her hair cut (I had mine shaved too, although not to my usual style!). She said she needed to go somewhere that she couldn't escape from and the hairdressers chair seemed perfect.  If I am honest I never noticed her new do, but that was nothing unusual.

But first some details, as best as I know, about how they do the operation.  Lots of tumour in the brain are removed with the patient conscious!  Thankfully, I wasn't one of them.  So I was out to sleep, before they clamped my head in a metal frame and screwed it in position - yes, straight into the scull on either side!  It's to keep you still I've been told!

You may want to slip the next bit if you are at all squeamish!

Once clamped in position, the basic procedure is the slice open and peel back the scalp, for about 6-7". Then having revealed skull they work out where they want to go in.  Once confirmed they reach for their cordless drill - actually it might have a cord, but it's a drill anyway.  The surgeon told me that it has a very sensitive clutch and knows when it is through!!  Just a well I say!  Having drilled a ring of small holes, the get the next tool from the kit and saw around to join the holes together, and hey-presto, out pops a circle of skull, revealing at the brain cells.  I am not sure of the details, so go look them up, ubut there are some membranes to get through before you are actually poking about brain itself!  A sat NAV system guides them to dodgy bit and with a swift flick with the Stanley knife they whip it out.  Then they pop the membranes back in place, shove the skull back in, fold the scalp back over to hide the mess, and staple back together!!  So I make that a drill, a saw, a sharp knife, and a staple gun.  I've got all that in the garage!

Brain Tumour Removal Kit - available all good toy shops

You can read again from here...

I shouldn't make light of the,situation really, as it saved my life, and I was gobsmacked by the skill of the surgeon and his team.  I will never really get to thank him, but for the record, Mr Holliman - THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!