Yesterday, Tuesday, was Mom's first day in the NICU. They determined that she's allergic to morphine which explains why she was acting so bizarre in the recovery room. She called it the worst place on Earth and told us it was filthy, that she could see lint and dust all over. She was hallucinating. We also know this because she called me good-looking. In the NICU they switched the morphine for something else and gave her a diabetic diet to help with her sugar. She was annoyed that we were not there earlier but didn't have the strength to say much. She dozed off and by the time my sisters left she was sleeping.

Just so you know, the NICU is in the 4th floor of the main building. No visitors are allowed between 6-8 both a.m. and p.m. And no more than 3 visitors at a time in the room but other than that there are no rules. It is not a comfortable place by any means and we discourage visitors because of Mom's weakened condition. If you do come, however, Mom will like to see you but please keep it short. We trust that today they'll move her to a private room like she had before, as soon as her sodium levels are stabilized.

Mom had a very hard time in the recuperating room. She was there until 8 p.m. on Monday, waiting for a room to open up in the Neurosurgery Intensive Care floor (NICU), also on the 4th floor where she had previously been.

When Christy and Lex went in, they met Dr. Jekyll. She was wonderful and in good spirits and apologized to them profusely for being bossy and demanding. This was sometime around 4 p.m. I guess. About an hour and a half later they allowed Susana and me to go in, and we met Mr. Hyde. Her mouth was very dry and when I tried to get her not to talk because it would make it worse she not only refused but said she had to talk and I was the one being bossy. Mom's mood was very black and complained that she was in the world's worst place and would not have made it were it not for the one angel there who stood by her the whole time, nurse Michael. She said the worst part was a patient who was deaf. When the staff tried to get him to do something like wiggle his toes, he would yell at the top of his voice that he did not understand. Mom yelled back, "get him a pen and pad." The staff laughed but could not find a pen and pad. They have thousands of dollars worth of equipment and not one pen and pad around with which to write simple instructions to a deaf person. Something to think about. Disabled people need full access in hospitals too.

Nurse Michael, a 20-year veteran of the profession, was amazing. His professionalism and caring were top-notch. I suspect you don't get to be a recovery room nurse unless you're very good at it. But Michael and the whole staff down there had their hands full with a full ward because of a shortage of rooms in other floors. It was a domino effect and they were doing the best they could.

We went back to the waiting room and about an hour later Michael came out to give us a report. "I hammered her," he said. And we all laughed. Michael said that she was sleeping and would probably sleep for the rest of the night. He warned us that trying to spend the night (which none of us wanted to do,) would be pointless. Mom would be drugged and the room would be brightly lit and with lots of action during the night. Anyone staying there other than the patient was guaranteed a sleepless experience. So after deliberating our next step, we decided to take up Vicki's suggestion to dine at wonderful little Italian place nearby, Buon Appetito. Paul joined us. It was every bit as good as she said it would be and we had a great time not only because of the delicious food but because of Justino (Tino) Cantú, a guitar player that looked like he was born about the time the guitar was invented. He serenaded us with beautiful music and funny banter.

We all got some rest last night. I cooked breakfast for Christy, Lex and Susana and then we parted ways. Christy and Alexie went back home and Susana and I headed for the hospital.

Arriving at the NICU bed 2 we found a very groggy and crabby Mom. I think she was upset that none of us had been there for awhile but we needed to get a way for a bit or we would have been useless too. So no apologies.  We helped her get better situated in her bed and eat a little food. The nurse, Ruth, also went to Presbyterian Pan American School in Kingsville but about 20 years after I did. That's a big coincidence because the school is rather small. Ruth told us that Mom had a bad night last night, fitful and restless. I went down and got her some sherbet and after taking a couple of sips of that she dozed off.

Susy and Julia were here this morning and just now left after briefly going in to see Mom. According to Ruth, the plan is for Mom to have another MRI today and then hopefully move her back to a private room in the same section where she was prior to the surgery.

3:25 p.m. Mom is now in the recovery area. Only two of us were allowed to go in, and only for one visit. Christy and Lex got the job since they're leaving tomorrow.

Dr. Zhang came to see us around 1:15 p.m. He said surgery went well. The tumor was indeed right next to the part of the brain that controls motor skills on the right side, specifically her arm, eye and hand. So he took out only 70% of the tumor.

The tumor is indeed cancerous. The type is glioblastoma. You can read more here:

http://www.abta.org/understanding-brain-tumors/types-of-tumors/glioblastoma.html

At 2:20 Mom still was in the recovery room. She'll soon be brought to the ICU where she'll be for a couple of days. The doctor said he expects her to stay here for a further five days during which time we'll know a lot more about the tumor, her condition and prognosis. There are a LOT of unknowns so don't ask too many questions. We just don't know much though at least we know more than we did yesterday. That's sort of how things will be, one day at a time.



As I wrote earlier, our lives have all changed. Here's the letter to Hui. You can see how Mom's hand-writing has changed but her heart hasn't. Always remember that. 







Below is another one of Mom's nurses. They've all been great.

12:15 p.m.

Nurse Tamara came out to talk with us about an hour ago.  She actually had come earlier but she asked for the "Ramón" family. I thought to ask but didn't. So she came out again and told us that surgery began at around 9:15 a.m., after a long prep. They had taken Mom downstairs at 6:30 a.m.

Nurse Tamara said that everything was going fine and that she was feisty. Tamara said she liked Mom a lot. The surgeons had already tapped into the tumor and a sample had been sent for biopsy. Meanwhile they're taking more tumor out and preparing the equipment that is used to align their instruments once they know exactly how much tumor they can remove.

Once they close it will take another hour to hour and a half.

Coqui and I arrived at the hospital around 5:20 a.m. Christy, Alexie, Vicki, Susana and Ron were already here.

We collected Mom's things and prepared to be able to leave with Mom. We knew that Mom would not come back to this room since she'll have to spend a couple of days in ICU first. And then she'll be given some other room

Mom chatted about everything and nothing, sort of out of it. Between the tumor and the medicines she's taking she was loopier than the Beltway/Hwy. 10 exchange. We all felt very calm, however. I know she'll come out of surgery fine. I'm not worried about that. I don't think any of us around here are. The question is what will happen after. There's life before surgery and after surgery. This is the beginning of a whole new chapter in all of our lives.

Beauford Wells, Paul's dad and a retired anesthesiologist arrived right before they came to get Mom. He used to work at this hospital long ago. It's good to have someone around that can understand medical lingo and the workings of a hospital. Well, Vicki does that too so we're covered one way or another.


We've had fun keeping things light around Mom. I posted the sign you see here on day 2 because the nurses called her "troublemaker" in a kind, teasing way. They actually like her a lot. She's won many friends. Below you see Hui, her favorite nurse. They've all been great but Hui in particular went above and beyond. Mom wrote a letter to him that was posted in a bulletin board at the entrance to the floor, where patients can acknowledge good service. The bulletin board for bad service notes is somewhere in the basement I think. I doubt anyone uses it, however. The staff here has really been outstanding.




We actually took photos of most of her nurses but there's not enough room here for them. We have uploaded them to her electronic photo frame that Vicki bought her so hopefully you'll get a chance to see that at some point.

Jonathan Hart, aka J.J., also was here. It's always great to see the Harts around. It's a huge morale booster. Anyway, J.J. and some of us have been walking with Mom, keeping her as fit as possible. 

I found out the hard way that Mom can't handle more than light thoughts. She prefers to do most of the talking. So what's new, right? But now she really prefers to do that. She has a hard time following conversations. So keep the conversation light.














 Vicki with the help of Christy and others knit Mom a cap. 

Mom had a Fudici stealth protocol mri, generically known as a functional mri. This test lets the surgeon know what parts of her brain control certain functions like speaking, moving the tongue, raising the arm, etc. It was conducted, according to Mom, by an German doctor that inspired great confidence in her. In addition to removing the tumor, I've asked them to install a button directly wired to the part that complains. It's a simple on/off switch which I know will come in handy.

On Saturday Mom had her hair cut very short and on Sunday the doctors placed the anchor points that will hold the device that is used to keep the surgical instruments on the tumor regardless of any head movement.You can see them in this photo.Coqui thought she could charge her iPhone on one of those. The photo was taken Sunday evening, on the eve of the big day.

Mom told us she could not believe the amount of love and support that she has gotten from so many corners; people have sort of spread the word and everybody knows her situation. It's blown her away so thanks to all of you.

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Andrea Higuita is an oper from Colombia. She met Mom at Lone Star College where Mom was teaching ESL.  Over the past few months Andrea and Mom have gotten very close. It was Andrea who first talked with Mom on the day Mom went to the ER. When Andrea heard Mom tell her about her symptoms she quickly urged Mom to call Paul immediately which she did. And that's what got the ball rolling. We found out later Mom planned to drive herself to the ER!

Eric and Christina also came down from Dallas. They've recently bought a house and are planning to wed next year. 

Ibis and Joan Arrascaeta and Joan's mother, Teresa, are our Cuban friends that immigrated from Cuba via Spain about a year ago. They've adapted extremely well and have become very good friends of all of us.

Had to take Tessie in last week for a check up with her vet, Dr. Caballero. I told him about Mom's situation. He told me that his mother had brain surgery about 10 years ago in Honduras and she's alive and well. He also showed me the little angel that Mom gave him for Christmas, something that touched him very much.