Day 3 Sunday, December 12th surgery complication STROKE

I was thinking these updates would get easier to write but that is not the case. Unfortunately this morning we received news that was unsettling to say the least. The post surgery MRI images came in and they showed that Elizabeth has suffered a stroke during surgery. We were obviously concerned the past few days with the left side weakness and slurred speech. I like everyone was hoping it was just the normal process of all this but the film shows the harsh reality of what we are now dealing with.... which is something more than smooth sailing. It’s taken most of the day for the reality of this news to set in for me. That being the bad news I will get to the good..... The area where the stroke occurred in the brain is one that heals more easily than other places in the brain and the stroke was small. Ultimately we knew of the risks going in as some of these removals are more dangerous than others. Hers is in a tough, deep location. Most nuro surgeons wouldn’t even attempt this surgery and we would be left with this ticking time bomb in her head. The positive side of all this is, again, it’s in a good location for healing, it was small and she is young. ... and they expect her to do well. And the truth of it is there are many, many other things that could have gone wrong that would be a lot worse and we knew that like I said.....but you weigh out the risk/benefit factors and we were left with this extremely tough decision.
Elizabeth is un-surprisingly upbeat and positive about this... as she/we knew the risks.... as she says "at least I’m alive"..."at least I’m not paralyzed" and "at least that thing is out of my head" "I can walk and talk" "I'll get through this.... it's just gonna take some extra work”. I can’t tell you how awesome her attitude is for the situation we're in. She is like that strong oak tree I talked about. I'll post that encouraging poem later... she is strong and she makes me stronger! We will get through this!

We will be in the hospital longer than expected and will be starting neuro rehab in the morning. She has been moved to a regular recovery room in the neuro wing. The room is very nice.  I can’t say enough about how nice this facility is! Barrows neuro is really top notch. She is still very tired and is trying to rest a lot. Still not eating much as she is still nauseous and jaw is still very sore.  She is getting around better and was able to take a shower today with her mom's help. Hopefully we will see some fast progress with her speech and left side weakness once this rehab work begins. We will start this rehab work here tomorrow and then in a few weeks continue at home for as long as it takes.

A philosophy I always try to fallow in life is to not dwell on what you don’t have but to appreciate what you do have! To not dwell on the bad but look for the good. It’s all about perspective ya know.  I have a wife and a little boy that love me and I love them more than I ever thought I could love anything ...it just runs so deep! The malformation is out of her brain and she can walk, talk, has all her wits about her, and is ALIVE! It's not gonna be the smooth road we were hoping for but this is doable.... It’s just gonna take more time than we were hoping for.

Elizabeth has told me to tell everyone that she is sooo grateful for all your thoughts prayers and well wishes...she is truly thankful for all of your love and support. It means so much to us during this time! I echo all those thoughts 1000%

We are truly THANKFUL FOR EVERYDAY!

I will update tomorrow... Thanks, John