Colin Loves Tractors » ventriculostomy

New Digs

Mom — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:52:00 +0000

The weekend was a blur, with several visitors and the excitement of a pending move “upstairs” to the regular pediatric area. Saturday morning represented Colin’s 48-hour challenge for the drain, which he passed with flying colors. His intracranial pressure remained good during that period and he received a conditional thumbs up to leave the PICU, [...]

Homeward Bound-ish

Mom — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:12:48 +0000

On Thursday morning, the neurosurgery team decided to clamp Colin’s drain to see how the intracranial pressure fares. If all continues to go well, we can consider removing the drain and moving Colin upstairs to the regular pediatric unit for continued observation.

As for the question of returning home to the next surgery, Dr. Tobias said it [...]

Changes and new experiences

Mom — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:50:18 +0000

Monday was a whirlwind. The hospital environment is very strange, where it seems that nothing is happening but different practitioners constantly drop by and the next thing you know, the day is over.

We received many visits from Colin’s neurosurgery/oncology team. The first was from Dr. Mohan, who is leaving town for a week but wanted [...]

Visiting Day

Mom — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 11:56:46 +0000

Saturday was a big visiting day for Colin. His overall condition was good and improving a little bit every day, though he continues to suffer from bouts of vomiting. He receives anti-emetics to control it, but this is a side effect to be expected from the area where brain surgery took place.

The doctors also adjusted [...]

We Don’t Need Roads

Mom — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:06:01 +0000

A treatment plan involving chemotherapy, additional neurosurgery and radiation starts to take shape and, as Colin gradually [...]

Weekend Visitors

Mom — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:50:45 +0000

Information on the general course of chemotherapy treatment and Aidan's anxiety about his brother's [...]

My Brain is Healing

Mom — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:04:30 +0000

Describes the immediate neurological effects following Colin's first surgery and his early [...]

Post-Surgical Update

Mom — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:01:26 +0000

This is the immediately post-operative update following Colin's first surgery and includes discussion of impending pathology, the installation of a subcutaneous port, and [...]