Resection & Recovery
May 19, 2021 by Stephanie Daigre, Team Member
During the early morning hours on Monday 5/17/2021, Emily bravely climbed onto a transport gurney, covered herself up with a blanket, turned toward Ben and said a very loving and hopeful goodbye, then, away she went. It was about 6:30 in the morning and Emily was on her way into the most frightening situation of her entire life. Yet, she was not going to let fear or uncertainty get in the way of her fighting spirit and determination. She’s a Warrior on a mission! She’s a fierce mother and devoted wife… she has big plans and goals, and nothing is going to get in the way of her growing old with Ben while watching their children develop and thrive.
Emily’s entire army wanted to be at the hospital to show support during her surgery, but UCSF has a very strict visitation policy. Only one visitor is allowed per patient and only from 10am to 8pm. However, Emily’s medical team has been extremely attentive and accommodating. They have made special exceptions for Emily to have a support person at her bedside 24/7. So, Ben is always right there with her calming her fears, reorienting her, and helping her through the basics of daily living. When Ben needs sleep, a shower, or time with the kids, Stephanie (Ben’s sister) has been able to stay over and care for her in his absence. They even allowed for Emily’s dad, Craig, to spend some time with her on a few occasions which was extremely special for both of them.
Emily’s surgical procedure started around 7:40 and was expected to take 5 to 6 hours. The neurosurgery team skillfully and meticulously began resecting as much of the glioma as they could safely remove. They were working in an area of Emily’s brain between the frontal and temporal lobes where one small mistake could cause permanent damage or even death. It was important for them not to risk any bleeding or cause permanent damage to Emily’s memory, personality, decision making skills, mobility, or her language comprehension. By the time they were done, it had taken 7 hours and they had cumulatively collected a pile of cancerous tissue almost the size of a baseball.
Once Emily was stable and starting to wake up from the anesthesia, she was transported to the Neuro ICU. She had wires and tubes everywhere! We will spare you the scary and gory details about the surgery itself, but it's important to understand how crucial her post operative care and monitoring is. For the first 48 hours she is at an increased risk of stroke, hemorrhage, seizures, neurological changes, and uncontrollable swelling of brain tissue, all of which could potentially be fatal. Infection is also a risk especially for her since she had already started chemo two weeks ago. Every hour, an ICU nurse assesses her for neurological changes and signs of stroke.
It was taking Emily longer than usual to wake up from the anesthesia and her heart rate was too low, the ICU intensivist came to assess her and ordered extra bloodwork and a test to assess her heart. Thankfully, all the test results looked good, but Emily was still slow to wake up and when she did wake, she was in severe pain. There were a few hours where she was experiencing left sided weakness and drifting during her stroke and neuro exams. It was a bit distressing but also not too unexpected based on the amount of pressure and inflammation they found when they opened her skull. As soon as they got in there, they were 100% confident that they had chosen the very best approach for intervention and treatment of Emily's brain tumor.
For now, we continue to monitor Emily very closely. Her brain is still swollen and needs time to heal. She’s sore and tried. Simple things like brushing her teeth and using the restroom are challenging. She requires a low stimulus environment with low lighting, minimal sound pollution, and no external stressors. She will be working with physical therapy, occupational therapy, and countless Dr’s and nurses as she fights to regain her physical and mental strength.
This surgery was a momentous event for Emily as it is a huge step forward onto the battlefield where she plans to fight against the glioma and the lymphoma that has been taking over her body. Samples of the brain cancer have now been sent off to pathology and we are also still waiting for the team at UCSF to confirm or rediagnose the type of lymphoma she has. Once we know the exact cellular type of both forms of cancer, we will know more about her course of treatment. We know she will require some radiation as soon as her skull has time to fuse back into place and once her incisions are healed, about 4 - 6 weeks. However, she will also be restarting chemo treatments as soon as they know which medications will work best to wipe out her specific cancer types.
Again, from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you ALL for your continued support. This is just the beginning of a long and arduous war. Emily needs us to continue lifting her spirits, sharing her story, channeling our positive healing energy, and praying for her mind and body to stay strong. If you haven’t already, please consider sharing this link with your friends, family, and neighbors through email, text messaging, and by posting to your social media. The larger and stronger Emily’s army is the better the chance of long term success!
Thank you… we love you all and are eternally grateful for all your love and support!