Brain Blog 2004 #5

HANK¹S BRAIN BLOG (#5)

Greetings and welcome to Hanks¹ Brain Blog for July 22.

RECOVERY

My recovery from the procedures is progressing (albeit much slower than

I'd prefer) and I¹m track to fully regaining my faculties. While some might

argue that I¹ve never had full control of my faculties, it sucks being

an invalid, and I¹m more than ready to be myself, my whole self and nothing

but myself again. Meantime, the doctor this week reminded me that the pain

and other side effects I¹m suffering are the result of major brain surgery

and that I should take it easy and get better. Well, OK.

BEFORE & AFTER

When I was a 98 lb. freshman in high school on the football team, I saw

an advert in an Archie & Jughead comic book for a Charles Atlas bodybuilding

offer.

The ad was the classic 98 lb. weakling getting sand kicked in his face

by a big bully at the beach. The weakling took the course, built up his muscles,

returned to the beach, kicked the bully¹s ass, and got the bikini-clad

babe.

I never believed the ad, nor that I could grow muscles; and I still don¹t

have much for muscles, but in the 35 years since, I¹ve gained 100lbs.;

does that count?

Anyway, when I was in the operating room on June 29 with my brain opened

up and the wires implanted, the surgeons hooked up a temporary stimulation

device to perform the "Spiral Test". They asked me to draw a spiral

(yes I was awake during the whole procedure) on a piece of paper with my left

hand.

Then they powered up the temporary stimulator and asked me to repeat

the action. (ergo a before-and after test). The results were amazing!

The first image looked like a snowflake from the tremors;, imagine that hand

holding a cup of coffee. The second after the dbs activation was a beautiful spiral!

Well, if this thing turns out like the second image, I look forward to joining each

and every one of you for a cup of coffee and some catching up...

NEXT STEP

The next step in my process is to visit the doctor next Tuesday for a

check-up and the first attempt to power up the 2 stimulation devices

implanted in my chest. Then we¹ll go about the process of programming

them to optimum effectiveness, which is expected to require several visits.

Meantime, I¹ve got orders to take it easy. Which also means my long

anticipated trip to Athens for the summer olympic games is cancelled.

I'm told to avoid metal detectors because they can interfere with my stimulation

devices; you suppose I¹d have seen a few of those at the olympics in Athens? So, it¹s

back to being an ornery invalid and healing one day at a time: Pacific Daylight

Time...

Thanks for your attention and interest.

Regards,

Hank

Brain Blog 2004 #4

HANK'S BRAIN BLOG 2004 #4

Hello everyone and greetings from San Diego. I

apologize for being out of touch for awhile, but I'm

back online now and happy to be in your inbox.

RECOVERY

My recovery has been a rocky road as I've been dealing

with all the pain and incapacitation one expects from

being screwed, drilled, cut, tunneled, inserted, and

plugged then being stitched and stapled 32 times. In

addition I'm in the process of overcoming temporary

side effects such as dizziness, nausea, imbalance,

sensitivity to light and moving objects, inability to

concentrate and focus, memory lapse, and overall

lethargy. The good news is that these are indeed

temporary and should subside over the coming weeks.

OTHER SIDE EFFECTS?

I've also noted the appearance of other possible side

effects, including what seems to be the development of

a rather large soft spot in my distinctly hardened

exterior. After watching "To Kill a Mockingbird" I

found myself in tears at the ending! Certainly this

had to be an anamoly, except that it happened again

when viewing "Field of Dreams". Could it be permanent?

Does this mean I'll now be nice to children and small

animals?

What else could be different? Wheaties instead of

Grape Nuts? MaryAnn instead of Ginger? Hey, maybe I'll

make some open lay-ups now!?! One thing I'm certain

hasn't changed is my political bent: W has still got

to go!

Another side effect has been the severe trauma caused

by a whole week in front of a television set; is it

normal to witness 100 murders a week? (not to mention

thousands of mind-numbing commercials). Thank heavens

for the Science Channel!! And also kudos to my locally

owned and operated neighborhood video store, who've

kept me stocked in archival classics, foreign titles,

indies, and documentaries to retain my sanity.

BACK IN THE SADDLE

I visited the doctor this week, got the staples

removed from my head, and received the all clear to

return to work (ever so slowly). So tommorow it's back

in the saddle again for a short ride, and I'm very

glad to be climbing back on that horse. Then the next

milestone is scheduled for July 27 when they activate

my stimulators. Until then, it's a slow but sure road

to recovery. Thanks for reading this and I'll talk to

you soon.

Cheers,

Hank

Brain Blog 2004 #3

Hank's brain blog (#3)

I'm Back! But just barely. I returned home from

Scripps hospital today, and wanted to get out a

mesage to everyone.. The first surgery Tuesday to

implant the wires in my head went very well and the

activation test of a temporary stimulation device

proved successful. They screwed a sterotactic tooling

device into my skull, drilled 2 holes in my head just

behind the hairline, and implanted wires in each hole.

Due to my good health (and the doctor's vacation

plans) they offered to "double-up" and do my second

phase during this visit. In spite of nausea and

vomiting from an intolerance of the anasthesia and

narcotics, I decided to tough it out and go for the

package deal. They subsequently on thursday installed

the dual stimulation devices in my chest and tunneled

the connecting wires under my scalp, then down behind

my ears and neck. That procedure also went very well,

and I should be ready for activatating the devices in

about 30 days.

Due to my weak stomach and the back-to-back surgeries,

I actually didn't eat anything between Monday evening

and Friday morning. (The brain surgery diet?). In

addition, I refused all pain medication, so it's been

a rough week. The good news is that I'm back home,

both surgeries are completed, and now it's just a

matter of recuperating and starting to eat once again.

Thank you all for your support and kind words; they

were very helpful to me during the ordeal.

I intend to provide you with continued updates as

practical and look forward to staying in touch.

Until then, cheers!

Hank