November 2023

Well - it's been a while since I last shared some history of my DBS and some thoughts about it all.

But a couple of landmark events have transpired this year that are worth noting here.

First - I received my latest replacement of the DBS devices in a successful (though not uneventful) procedure in Brno in February. 

The surgeon Dr. Chrastina successfully removed the old devices (the batteries were almost dead after 5 years) and implnted 2 new devices with rechargeable batteries.

Now although I was heavily sedated, before I passed out, I could recognize his body odor (Czechs aren't offended by body odor and many don't use it) - and studies prove that the olfactory sense is directly connected to memory in our brains - and I fell asleep remembering previous oeprations.

Rechargeable batteries! Since 2004 I've had the old system of DBS batteries (replaced 4 times), and now I'm enjoying unbridled DBS usage, knowing that I can recharge regularly.

That brings us to the other landmark event: I turned 70 years old last week. Yikes! This might be the last DBS devices I'll ever have - depending of course on the quality of the devices, and my lifespan. 

When I got my initial installation (San Diego 2004) I was the youngest patient they had ever treated with this system - now I could be one the the longest patients as I'll hit the 20 year mark in 3 months. For reference, Medtronic stopped supporting the old devices 3 years ago...

Anyway - I'm still here - and still grateful for the quality of life the treatment has afforded me. Hopefully it will continue for many years of quality to come!

Bucket List Item #12

As regular readers of this blog know, I'm a DBS recipient to treat my condition known as intentional tremor. In 2013 I had new replacement devices installed to give me service for the next several years. Thx to the doctors and staff at Hospital St. Anna in Brno, my regular routine continues and I'm enjoying a good quality of life.
That brings us to the bucket list.
Way back in this blog somewhere is a list of actions I wanted to pursue/accomplish with steady hands - and on that list was learning to play the guitar. When you say "intentional" tremor, it doesn't get much more intentional than this: placing your fingers quickly in specific combinations precisely on the guitar strings. Yikes! I'm wary of the very thought. But here we go!
So today is the start of that journey; one that I've always dreamed of accomplishing. We're not talking Eric Clapton here - I just want to learn some chords, sing (badly as always) some simple songs around a campfire, and enjoy the company of family & friends. In Czech they call it "tramping". Back in Wisconsin, we call it camping. Either way, I'll call it fun; and #12 on the bucket list :-)

And now for your entertainment...

While back in the real world enjoying life between procedures, I was recommended this great comedy/tragedy/parody hospital flick: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXYxAC1TRRQ
Now I pass it on for your entertainment...

See you next month for the next procedure: installment of Hank's left-side DBS battery device at St. Anne Hospital in Brno :-)

I'm out!

Saturday 13 April 2013

I'm out!

Greetings from sunny and warm Brno. I know it's sunny and warm because, after 10 days of incarceration, I'm out of the hospital and really walking around town :-)
Doctors gave me the all clear, and after paying the standard bill (800kc), and the upgrade to private room bill (8000kc) I was cut loose. What I came away with is a new right-side DBS unit pictured here:

Well, it's not really pictured, but you get the idea...

Feedback
One of the benefits of blogging is the feedback I get. My readers respond with good wishes, horror, humor, and what's especially rewarding: updates of their own. Among the news I've received are: new grandchildren, a bike trip to Spain, a new job, a PhD scholarship, and not surprisingly several medical issues including a collapsed lung, prostate surgery, and even a kidney transplant. So thx to everybody for your encouragement, wishes, and updates. Let's stay in touch as we travel on our journeys, and share the moments :-)

Next stop for this blogger is a visit to the doc tuesday for stitches removal, then a return to Hosptial St. Anne next month for replacement of the other side DBS. They say it will be routine; I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Ciao for now!
Hank

Fond memories of vomit?

7 April 2013

Fond memories of vomit?


Things are looking up. On the 3rd day post surgery I'm upright and upbeat; feeling good without much pain or even substantial discomfort. That's good newz, because as I proved in the operating room, me and powerful pain medications and/or anesthetics simply do not agree. The nurses offer pain meds, but I learned the hard way that my stomach just won't cooperate; it's better to tolerate the pain, than to tolerate the nausea and vomiting.
Which reminds of several stories from my childhood (doesn't everybody have vomiting stories from their childhood?); and who doesn't love a good vomiting story or two :-/


Story #1
1958
With my family on holiday and driving through California for a week in a cabin at Clear Lake. Dad and mom in the front seat with the baby, in our aqua blue Ford station wagon, 5 girls and Chuck in the back seat, and two more kids in the way back in the "well" - me and brother Don. Amongst the usual commotion with lots of giggling and the occasional skirmish breaking out, brother Chuck announced he felt like "throwing up". Of course dad wouldn't have any talk of pulling over to accommodate a sick kid: "If we did that, we'd never get anywhere!" He was on a mission to get to our destination, so minor disturbances were to be dealt with at 60 miles per hour. That included a supply of empty coke bottles we could use to urinate in. So in this emergency, we went into code orange alert status, moving Chuck to the window and mom telling him to "pant like a dog". That of course works only temporarily, after which Chuck let loose with the inevitable, showering the side of the car, and the substantial blowback into the well area. Now my bother Don always was bigger and badder than me, (at least until I reached 18 years old and put an end to that) so he made sure I was stuck in the blast zone and received a pretty good drenching of Chuck's reprocessed pancake breakfast. To me it really didn't seem so bad, or even so unusual, as I probably witnessed dozens of family hurling episodes in various locations from restaurants to churches and such. You just get cleaned up, and get out of the way next time. One of the many joys of being in a big family :-)

Story #2
1965
St. Joseph's School in Waukesha, Wisconsin was a strict Catholic gulag with some fairly nasty nuns running the place. Our 6th grade class (Sister Virgilius) was on a scheduled bathroom break, where we all lined up waiting to use the toilet at the end of the hall. I was enjoying a laugh or two with my buddy Mickey Thompson when I noticed out of the corner of my eye, a large body moving swiftly out of Sister Mary Janet's 7th grade classroom. It was Jeronimo Cortez, a big guy who played on the football team, and he was sprinting for the bathroom with his hand covering his mouth. Now Mary Janet was notorious for running a locked-down classroom, and there were many stories of students who got sick and vomited in class, then were forced to clean it up. Jeronimo however, was not having any of that, so he bolted for the door, out into the hallway, and right towards me. That's when his hand dropped from his mouth and out came a huge shower of chunky smelly hurl. Now because I saw the whole thing coming, I nimbly stepped aside to avoid any contact with said chunks. Mickey Thompson however, was not so fortunate. He turned to see the commotion just in time to get a full frontal drenching from Jeronimo's apparently large lunch. Like people go to auto races to see the crashes, it was particularly entertaining to have a front-row seat to this disaster. The further good news was that I got accompany Mickey down to the boys locker room where he got a shower and a football uniform to wear for the rest of the day. Jeronimo, on the other hand, was handed a mop and bucket.


So here I am in the hospital with a keyboard and an internet connection enjoying memories of my childhood. I guess my recovery is going well :-)

Recovering from a Rough Ride

Hank's Brain Blog

5 April 2013

Recovering from a Rough Ride

Well, I'm back; alive and mostly well. The surgery wasn't quite as smooth as planned because my right side DBS unit had caused internal bleeding and was difficult to extract. So the surgeon opted to reinstall only that side to prevent possibility of infection - meaning I'll be back here at St. Anne's in a month for the same procedure on the left side :-/

The ride was rough because they used a local anasthetic for the procedure with a mild inhalation sedative, neither of which were particularly effective. The surgery site was not fully numbed, giving me quite a few grimacing moments. In addition, the gas made me nauseus, resulting in a plea to "turn it off!" midway through the event. My mother always coached me to "pant like a dog" when I wanted to avoid vomiting; forturnately that worked at least until they had me sewed up :-/

So then it was a long night wrestling with the nausea, internal bleeding through a tube stuck in my chest, and lots of new stitches hilding me together. Not much sleep, but I figured complaining wouldn't help, especially because none of the nurses here speaks english anyway...

But, enough of the whining. Today is a new day, and I'm feeling much better: stomach is returned to normal, I actually ate something for the first time in 36 hours, and recovery is underway! Fact is I've got one new DBS installed and I'm recovering nicely in my luxurious top floor private room complete with bathroom and a great view of Brno :-)

Now, did I mention the food?

So good news from here as now I only need to sit around for another 5 days waiting to get released. Maybe I could study for my PhD? Good idea :-)

Ciao for now!
Hank

Hank's Brain Blog - Back in Brno for Batteries

4 April 2013

Greetings from Brno and welcome once gain to Hank's Brain Blog - continuing reports about my brain defect "familial tremor", the mechanical/electrical solution, and the experience that comes with it.

In 2004 I was equipped with a DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation) electrical system of wires implanted in my brain and connected to battery-powered devices implanted in my chest. The system works well, and I'm really delighted with the results providing me the ability to function normally, and thus a much better quality of life. You can read more about it in my previous posts on this blog.

Normal expected life of the batteries which power my DBS system is 3-5 years. That is of course, when all goes well, which it did for the first 5 years. Unfortunately, in 2009 at my first battery replacement, I received a defective unit, which was reinstalled in 2011, but again with problems. So now that defective unit is to be replaced along with the matching battery unit (one for each side of the brain) here at St. Anne Hospital in Brno, Czech Republic.

This being my third trip to St. Anne, I am more savvy now about the Czech healthcare system and the regimen here on the neurosurgery floor. Last time I spent a memorable 10 days in a room with seven other guys who snore. This time I've upgraded to a private room and plan on actually getting some sleep at night :-) The nurses and doctors all remember me, and it seems I'm in good hands here. Too bad the food is also the same, as evidenced by the attached pic of last night's dinner offering :-/

In addition, I'm also encountering the same holes in my Czech language vocabulary, searching to understand words for "urinate" and other unmentionables...

So, here we go again. Surgery is tomorrow, and hopefully I'll be here to report
some good news. I look forward to see you on the other side :-)
Cheers!
Henry