Nora minutes before her surgery.
Nora's surgery went ok today. It took a little longer than expected and the neurosurgeon was a bit surprised by what he saw in her brain. There was less pressure in the brain than he expected from looking at her MRI's. As a result, the membrane between the two sides of the brain was not as thin and week from being subjected to pressure as he had thought. So, it was a little thicker than normal during this procedure and took longer to cut through. Also, since it was thicker, he had to apply a bit more pressure than normal which tugged on the inside of her brain more than he would have liked. Also, when he got a chance to look around the left ventricle, it was clear to him that the left side of the brain is abnormal as well. We had been somewhat operating under the theory that the right side was not draining properly thereby putting pressure on and squishing the left side. The doctor said that the left side is not just squished, but that the walls of the ventricle appear abnormal. This doesnt really mean anything specific and there isn't really anything we can do about it. It is just "interesting." I guess we are back to the "What To Expect" theme of this blog! It never really goes away!
Her recovery took a little longer than normal as well. Actually, she is still recovering now! In the recovery room she just slept and wasn't moving around much at all. The doctor and anestesologist both examined her and said that they think she is just sleepy and to just wait. She has been sleeping ever since.
She has woke up wimpering a couple times since we have been settled in her room in the PICU and I have called the nurse to up her morphine. Hopefully she will be closer to her old self in the morning.
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