Surgery day

Braeden was scheduled for his laminectomy surgery at 10:45 AM, and as Duke time would have it, he was not taken back to the OR till around 12:30.  We were updated hourly by the OR team, which means they told us during each hourly call they were still working on him.

It was a long day of waiting, and nerves, and tears.

We were called to the consult room around 5 PM to discuss with Dr Fuchs how surgery went.  During those 15 minutes or so, he went over A LOT of information.  I unfortunately know, I didn't capture everything, nor will I remember it all.  I hope that what I did hear and put to memory are the most important pieces.

One of the biggest concerns going into surgery was the damage the actual surgery would do to Braeden.  Keep in mind, "digging around the spinal cord" is a dangerous thing and we honestly didn't know how Braeden would be affected.  (Would he have to learn how to walk again?  Would he suffer any more nerve damage, and lose the use of his left hand completely?   These kind of questions ran thru our minds, because they were real possibilities.)

This is the reasoning behind having the "nerve team" during the surgery "probing" to ensure that Dr Fuchs wasn't causing any kind of impairment.   It was quite a relief when Dr Fuchs that even though he had the "spinal cord" opened up, and was working to remove the tumor, that the nerve testing never reflected that any deficits were being caused.  I think Dr Fuchs was surprised as well.  This in short is a miracle in itself.

Dr Fuchs described the tumor as very "sticky and flimsy."   He said it was hard to grab pieces of it.  He got as much out as he could, but there is still tumor left behind.  He left tumor behind because he felt it was to dangerous to keep digging,  because he didn't want to damage anything, especially since the nerve testing was going so well.

(He also did not return the C6 bone, he felt that there was a lot of inflammation, and having the bone there may cause more pressure/issues in that area.  In the long term, this shouldn't cause him any issues.)

He said that he thought the tumor is what is known as a Pilocystic Astrocytoma and it is considered a  Grade 1 benign tumor. (Grade 1 is the "better of grades to have in the tumor world.  Grade 4 is not what you want to hear.)

The tumor pieces have been sent to pathology.  The results will not be back until the very earliest Friday afternoon, but more likely after Monday.   The plan once they return will be to likely involve Neuro Oncology after they figure out exactly what this thing is.   The next hurdle for Braeden will depend on their recommendation, this could either be chemo or radiation.  (I got the feeling that another surgery is not ideal.)

It depends on the pathology results, so we will wait until they return impatiently.


Braeden got to the PICU at around 8 or so.  He is sleeping off and on pretty heavily.  He did wake up and talk to us briefly, and was appropriate.  He is able to move his head, and seems to be overall doing well.

Good news today should also include that Braeden was able to stretch out his left hand, which as you know from earlier posts, he had lost this ability.

I am watching him sleep now, and I am praying he has a restful night.  Those prayers also include that his pain level will be manageable over the next few days.

He has another MRI planned for tomorrow to see where we stand with the "leftover" tumor.

A BIG thank you to all you wonderful people.  The amount of love felt today was immeasurable.  It means the world to have you all in Braeden's corner.

#BraedenBrave
#MrUnlucky