Hi all, sorry for the long pause between updates however it's been a busy day at the hospital. The surgery went very well and the surgeon said the tumor practically popped out of his head into his hand. Eric has been moved from ICU this afternoon, he has been up walking around, playing cards and even on the phone a little. The surgeon is so pleased with his progress he even cancelled the CT scan he had ordered. We are hoping we can go home Thursday. I will try and keep you all updated as to his progress and maybe a few pics this week too. Thank you all again for all of your thoughts and prayers, I know they made a difference, Eric and I apprecitae it.
Terrin (Mrs. Stetto)
Terrin, that's GREAT news! Keep the updates coming.....
That's outstanding, and I am so glad to hear.
Fantastic..... hope he bounces back to normal really quick!!
Great news, Terrin, thanks for that. Up and walking is the key to post-op recovery.
Will be good to have him back.
Guess what guys...It's ME! Yep, hard on the slab having my skull pried open Monday afternoon, and HOME on Wednesday! They are a bit full of themselves at the hospital, and though I agree that I had a great surgical team and everything went my way, I have no doubt whatsoever about the power of prayer/mojo/whathaveyou.
I think my attitude and that of my friends got me through that situation in record time equally as much as any highly-trained surgical team (though the anesthesiologists were an absolute crack-up!).
I'm supposed to get off my feet now (for six weeks? Yeah right), and do some further recovery in order to make the docs look like miracle workers, but I have a feeling that I'll be breakin' the rules long before then...
Thanks for all the help and good thoughts!
Stetto
Outstanding Stetto, more than we hoped for even, just don't over do and then have to heal even more.
WTG Stetto! :eusa_clap: Glad to see you back with all neurons operating in the green.
Ya got plenty of time for work, pal. For now take it easy and let the noggin mortar dry.
Gee, gone from the forums for three full days.. where'd ya go? Oh, I just had some brain surgery, no biggie. :icon_mrgreen: :disturbed:
Welcome back man...
:eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: WoooHooo, That is awesome Eric. Listen to the Dr's. so that you heal quickly.
Carl
So do you have a steel plate now? Hump in the back...nick name of Igor.... or anything like memento of this adventure?
Quote[So do you have a steel plate now? Hump in the back...nick name of Igor/quote]
I was wondering the same thing, but I was thinking more along the lines of electrodes sticking out of his neck or antennas on top of his head...... :eek5: :icon_mrgreen:
Stetto, have you been assimilated? Resistance is futile.... :icon_lol:
Glad you're home, amigo.
Heh heh heh, you guys shoulda seened me. Yes, I had green Jello colored things stuck in various places on my skull. They used them to get a 3-D image of what they were doing...
I guess it's time for the "Riehle's Brain" joke contest to begin!
"Hey li'l darlin', can I buy yuh a drink?"
(http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/76/l_87ce16c51c7b48d48e0b9c0852c570ae.jpg)
The Sharpie circle is the target area, after they pulled down my scalp. This pic was taken maybe 24 hours after the surgery. A "little" bit of swelling has developed, last night my left ear was perpendicular to my head...This morning my left eye is swollen shut. But these were all things I was promised in the brochure, though my face hasn't turned black and blue quite yet...
Hey, I haven't mentioned my catheter experiences with y'all yet either, have I? :disturbed:
A recent photo of Frankenstetto recently surfaced...... :icon_razz:
Ok, so if I call you on your cellphone, will the radiation from that device affect the implants in your head and turn you into a zombie drone 'zoid?
Dang, if they went another 180° and put in a zipper you could do one of those things like in the movie "Face Off." One day you're Stetto, the next John Travolta, and every once in while, special occasions, you could be Nicholas Cage. :eek5:
The real question, though, is do you now have any new mysterious, post-op mental powers that you didn't have before? Can you, for example, microwave a bag of frozen peas from across the kitchen with just a thought, anything like that? I notice in the picture, behind your head, the light switch has disappeared - was this the result of thinking the room should be darker, or? This could be front page National Enquirer stuff. :eusa_eh:
The Center for Anthropomorphic Aging was asked to make a projection based on your picture to what you will look like in a fully-healed state. Results below:
(http://www.aracnet.com/~sparling/2009_April/raywalston.jpg)
HA! A friend of mine just gave me a copy of Face Off in celebration of the occasion...
Yes, though imperceptible at the moment, I am actively searching and developing my new powers. I was told at another site that my surgeon was discreetly removed from his position at a high-end hospital on the east coast and sent to "the midwest" because he had a habit when doing cranialtonomies (sp?) he would redirect the olfactory receptors to the fingertips...
Lord, you have no idea the pros and the cons of that one! I'll never look at bowell movements the same again...
Quote[The Center for Anthropomorphic Aging was asked to make a projection based on your picture to what you will look like in a fully-healed state.
Or maybe like this. The laser thingie looks really cool. You gotta wonder how long the extension cord will be....
(http://peterdarling.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/01/23/borg.jpg)
Here I was going to demand to see a photo of Stetto without any hair.......but THAT was more than I bargained for....... That is the kind of image you would expect to see in a biker bar...... evil mean and wicked!
An aside from the new mental powers that may have been secretly implanted..I wanna know if you can now play the piano!!
QuoteI was told at another site that my surgeon was discreetly removed from his position at a high-end hospital on the east coast and sent to "the midwest" because he had a habit when doing cranialtonomies (sp?) he would redirect the olfactory receptors to the fingertips...
Something that I was NOT going to mention before the operation: Do you what they call the guy that has the lowest grades, and comes in absolutely dead last in medical school?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
they call him "Doctor"......scary thought, eh?
Holy cow, :hrm: I'm kind of liking the look, no one is going to tell you to "see a barber longhair."
Catheter? I vaguely remember the midevil torture device being used on me while helpless. Those sadists in comfy shoes...don't let the smile fool you!
Stetto, haven't heard from you in a few days. How are you doing?
Quote from: jetmex on August 16, 2009, 02:37:38 PM
Stetto, haven't heard from you in a few days. How are you doing?
Hey Jaime...
Well we don't exactly hear from you daily either, do we... :P
Everything is still on track for a miraculous recovery, though my 3 days without food or appetite has generated a small but mighty gift at the other end of the system, if you will...
I've been "laid up". 'Bout all I really get to do around here is skulk around the internet and answer phone calls...Mama, she be the damm gestapo when it comes time to follow doctor's orders, you know...At least she let me go out back and pick a few 5-quart-ers of chokecherries. I have another ten or so buckets still on the trees, but they'll wait another day or two.
I have a lot of letters to write, people to thank, for good thoughts, prayers, mojo, Brain Jokes, etc. No money yet, but I'm hopeful. You guys too.
I've been trying to look ambulatory in order to get some priveledges from the Warden, but she always seems to catch me as I grunt getting off a couch...I used to always grunt getting off the couch, but we all know how selective memory can make life all better.
I had a carpenter friend come to the house the other day and install a couple new entry doors, and Tuesday a concrete friend is coming by to pour and finish the basement floor where my studio will be. The workshop is also mapped out, should work out pretty nice. I need to find an electrician friend tho. I know a slough of electricians, but they ain't as friendly as I like 'em.
...So stuff is going on, I'm attempting a "life back to normal" posture, as hard as Terrin is working against it. The stitches come out on Thursday and in Sept. I'm gonna get a year or two's worth of EEG and MRI scheduling. In the meantime I'm all doped up, all the time. Not pain pills, they don't have much work here (yet at least), but the siezure stuff and steroids and whateverelsetheywannastuffdownmythroat make for a sinister cocktail.
hey, your writing style has changed again!! :devil:
QuoteThe stitches come out on Thursday
I can hear Uncle Sancho saying "Steeches?........we don' need no stinkin' steeches!"
Quote from: balsum fractus on August 17, 2009, 07:47:29 PM
hey, your writing style has changed again!! :devil:
Well, what do you expect me to do when they've made room for a boarder?
I I certainly believe that he rights good two... :P
Stetto,
Been gone for a week and were wonderin" the whole time how you were doing. It's great to hear and (gulp) see you are getting better.
If it helps you heal again, tell Terrin to keep up the Gestapo act. :icon_evil:
Frank
Thanks Frank...
And yeah, the Luftstalag is escape proof. Fortunately I have loads of stuff to do around here. This morning I spent going over my new studio floor with a floor scraper, a stiff industrial brush and a shop vac. The guys who did the pour and finish weren't as finicky as I'd have liked. I got up about 10 gallons of dust and debris. Now I have a mile or so of tuckpoint work to do, two coats of Drylok and map out the electronical circuitry. There's still a lot of demo left before the paint (ceiling, duct cover and assorted weirdness), and I'm also installing a bunch of shelving in the utility room...
Terrin doesn't seem to want to understand that all this is going to cost a lot or a little more, and my jobs are way backing up on me--And look! Here comes winter!!
The stitches are gone...I don't look near as charismatic. It looks like my scar is going to all but disappear. So much fo my Halloween idea... :sadness:
(http://)
Oh....that would have been some fun to be had there!!!!
Mama did let me out to play at an animal shelter fundraiser last Saturday...
(http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/88/l_5e19c25e3a964f04a35ff37d8a2d9a26.jpg)
...And I'm happy to announce that I was told that I did NOT suck! :eusa_clap:
I also have been so well behaved that I'm being taken to a farm-league baseball game tomorrow (or Thursday). I will coerce her to stop at the tool stores...Heh heh heh heh... :devil: :eusa_angel:
You know, I just can't help but be amazed by the speed of recovery from brain surgery, just wow.
Quote from: Onepoint on August 25, 2009, 12:29:52 PM
You know, I just can't help but be amazed by the speed of recovery from brain surgery, just wow.
Huh huh huh...Yeah well, like I've been told countless times now--It's just ME...Hell, they were talking about living wills as they wheeled me into O-R... :disturbed:
No, I Know you are abnormal...er special.. :devil:, but still just blows me away. Believe me not looking the gift horse in the mouth, just thankful.
Quote...And I'm happy to announce that I was told that I did NOT suck!
yeah, but you know how fickle those animals can be.....no telling what they were saying about you once your back was turned........ :icon_biggrin: :devil:
The pirate look fits well....you should consider keeping it.....
Seriously, though, that is amazing...go in for brain surgery on the 10th, and entertaining folks (musically) 12 days later is pretty darned amazing.... You must have a special angel somewhere looking after you.
Quote from: balsum fractus on August 26, 2009, 08:02:32 PM
Seriously, though, that is amazing...go in for brain surgery on the 10th, and entertaining folks (musically) 12 days later is pretty darned amazing.... You must have a special angel somewhere looking after you.
Ah Nony, it's funny you should bring that up. Terrin made the same observation the day of my seizure, and repeated it throughout the steps to where I am now. It has generated a song that for now I'm calling
'The Angel on Your Shoulder'. I'll be giving Terrin the writing credits once it's done... :notworthy:
Wasn't there a song with a similar title...angel in my pocket, or something like that....
Likely. There are probably lots of "angel" songs, it's a popular topic.
Cool thing about music, you can't copyright a title or theme... :icon_cool:
Doing great Eric,
Glad to see the quick recovery, I am sure alot of the credit for that goes to the gestapo :notworthy: :notworthy:
Keep it up bud,
Carl
Speaking of gestapo...where's Fraz? Have not seen him online for a Lonnnnnng time......
Dunno, I've wondered about a number of our dwindling number...
Hey, I've been given a green light by Herr Commandant to go back to work--Half-days for now, but my workmate has decided to take the week off!
...I got no ride...
But I got to the ballpark...
(http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/29/l_0f34a806f8f54c2798d6b667efb9188e.jpg)
(http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/47/l_8216eda505f34c889b606828f7f57cc9.jpg)
(http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/27/l_f3b1b007b5844d888bb7a2fb47f667a9.jpg)
That is awesome Eric, If I hadn't seen the pics, I wouldn't know that you had surgery. Puddin' Face is sure growing up into a lovely young lady.
Carl
That's the first time I've seen a pic of your young'n, Stetto. She's a beauty! Considering your adventures this month, you ain't lookin' any worse for wear yourself.
That first picture is really something. What a great shot!
Well, in that last one he's wearing a bird on his head, but style aside, looks like a great day. :)
Well some guys let the doctor cut into their noggin with a saw, but the brave ones just hire a giant woodpecker to bore the hole. :P :devil:
Quote from: HiTemp on September 02, 2009, 01:36:21 AM
Well some guys let the doctor cut into their noggin with a saw, but the brave ones just hire a giant woodpecker to bore the hole. :P :devil:
Heh, yeah that was the follow up proceedure...
Puddin' and I had a fantastic time, our team blew a 6 run lead in the 8th, and me and the bird got along famously. Didn't get on TV or nuthin' but were "center of attention" material for about five minutes...Damn bird wouldn't leave! :eusa_doh:
Mama & Dylan were there too, but poor Terrin sat next to one of the whiniest kids throughout the game...And then we had to take him home with us...The guy refuses to have a good time...
QuoteAnd then we had to take him home with us...
...there wasn't an option there somewhere? ...feed him to the bird or something????
Heyyyy Stetto!
Thank God you're O-kay!
I'll be on bended knee tonight and Thanking the Boss for your speedy recovery and that we are all blessed with your presence.
I'll continue to have nightly talks WTB and ask that he watches over you and yours and all of the extended family here.
My Best to you and yours.
Mot
Mot!!!! Egad man, it's good to hear from you...Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. Ms. Stalin let me out the other day to put in a half-day of work...Made me tired...
Little do she know that when she's away I'm working on the house--Just about got the workshop done...
Then there's jes' playin' around...
(http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/62/l_7a9f289040b44a92a4111641863811a3.jpg)
Yeah, people cringe a little at it, but trust me, it's only a little tender and itchy...
Actually it looks like its healing up pretty good considering. One question though, when do they install the bolts in the neck? :devil:
I think that was some of the worst, after being laid up doing nothing, and then going back to work. What little bit I could do wore me out, seemed like even after months I was a weenie. Of course my wife tells me I am that way all the time, even before. :disgust:
And Mot, good to see you, how things up your way?
Is that why they call it a bass-ment ???? :icon_lol: :icon_lol: :icon_lol: :icon_lol: :icon_lol: :eusa_clap: (I kill myself sometimes.....)
MoT...if you are tgs.....then who the heck is HiTemp?????
....in any case, it is great to see you back. How iz zee silvere Hornette coming along??
What you can't see is the wiring running from the amp and the sound board to the terminal on the side of his head....... :icon_lol:
Heheh this is straight from the Dept of redundancy Dept, Hitemp is Tom B otherwise known as Cablemender at times from Florida, Mot is Tom S. from MI. Eric R is the one with the new brain from the state of MN and Eric K is in the state of confusion. :disturbed:
QuoteEric R is the one with the new brain from the state of MN and Eric K is in the state of confusion
And all the rest of us are from Texas!!! :notworthy: :icon_mrgreen:
QuoteHeheh this is straight from the Dept of redundancy Dept, Hitemp is Tom B otherwise known as Cablemender at times from Florida, Mot is Tom S. from MI. Eric R is the one with the new brain from the state of MN and Eric K is in the state of confusion.
thanks for the Kler-ification! I was in the state of confusion too!! now I am only bewildered........ :icon_lol:
Me too. So am I the warm-weather Tom or the anti-moT? :icon_evil: :P 8)
I was from Texas once, then 3 days later I finally go to the other side of it. :disturbed: :disturbed: :icon_mrgreen:
Quotenow I am only bewildered
Oh yeah, the bewilderness, I go there for vacations sometimes. :icon_biggrin:
Quote from: Onepoint on September 06, 2009, 04:38:52 PM
Quotenow I am only bewildered
Oh yeah, the bewilderness, I go there for vacations sometimes. :icon_biggrin:
Oh yeah, that reminds me--Huntin' season is coming up.
I wonder if she'll let me go... :eusa_think:
...Worse yet, I wonder if she'll drive me over to my huntin' spot at 4 in the morning... :disturbed:
Hey Gang!
Sorry I've been gone so long, but believe me, ALL of you have been in my constant thoughts and prayers.
I see most of the motley crew have shown their support and toxic humor.
Stetto, keep growing stronger and Frau Bluhauer (Young Frankenstein,,, I mean STEEN) will free you from the Castle.
I don't want to high-jack this thread so I'll catch back up with you guys and fill you in on the latest, and not so latest events that have transpired.
Mot
" He's.........................................ALIVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVE.......................!"
Been saying a few thoughts and prayers for ya too buddy... and your whole family. I'm really glad to see that you all are pulling through this rather well.
Hey--It's officilly been two months since the last update on Stetto's Brain. Mostly 'cause there was not much to report...Not, at least, that wouldn't make me sound like an incessant whiner...
I go in for an EEG on Monday. I get to stay up for 24 hours prior, no coffee, no chocolate, no stumulants. I haven't pulled an all-nighter since I can remember, that alone should be interesting.
The EEG will determine if Stetto's brain is showing signs of "bad behavior"; Seizures. Apparently I can have them without me or anyone else knowing I had them. I can also have them in my sleep. Apparently the brain keeps logs...
The result of the EEG is what I'm more interested in. It will show if they can take me off the meds and let me get behind the wheel again. You guys (well maybe Honcho) have no idea the nightmare it is being dependant on others to Get You There. We live 12 miles out of town (north). My jobs are about that far out of town (south).
So I'm all a 'twitter. The dope they have me on is not my friend. It may keep me perpendicular to the ground but the trade off is a bee-atch. Lots of fatigue, twitchy eyeballs, memory stuff...I hate when I can't find my keys...Oh--Right, nevermind...
So I'm all a 'twitter. The dope they have me on is not my friend. It may keep me perpendicular to the ground but the trade off is a bee-atch. Lots of fatigue, twitchy eyeballs, memory stuff...I hate when I...uh...Oh, been there, nevermind... :disturbed:
So this EEG is a big deal.
More as I remember...
I had to re read it twice to see what was wrong with that last part. Your in good company. ;)
An allnighter with nothing? What do they think you are, a teenager? Well lets hope they say the transplant was successful and they can yell "its alive!".
Hey Eric (stetto), hoping that things go good for ya, and with the hope a few words with the almighty will be said.
Well, if you gotta do an all nighter, might as well get a guitar in your hands and make it a productive day/night...... :icon_biggrin: You remember that Kiss song "Beth" ? - Destroyer album back in late 70's...?
On the down side...does this mean you will lose all your tramsmorgification powers????
I dunnut wanna ever do that again.
I haven't pulled an all nighter since the night PuddinFace was born 9 & a half years ago. SHE was worth it.
I wound up doing a bunch of different things, including a Band of Brothers marathon (no, didn't get through them all), some tuck-point in the cellar (no, not needlepoint), and a bit of songwriting. I no longer consist of the quality components that make staying up all night any fun at all...
We got to the clinic a few minutes late and I was rewarded by being ushered immediately into "the Cell". I was told that the proceedure would take around an hour and a half, but the EEG would only be a half hour of that...Guess what that means... :icon_evil:
I'd guess that around 32 electrodes were glued to my head, face and neck. I'm a painter, thought I'd dealt with every nasty solvent and adhesive known to man, but this stuff was BAD. Besides, the probe he used to check for "contact" felt like a dentist's drill bit.
At least I got to lie down...
So he asks me to open my eyes, close my eyes, open my eyes, close my eyes, again and again, then turned on the flashylightthingy, trying to get me to have a seizure--Didn't happen--Apparently he wasn't told of my condition, NOT epilepsy, but the test is the same for everyone I guess. Then he told me to take a nap. Yeah right. That also didn't happen, though he told me I got close a couple times... :icon_neutral:
Then the real fun began as he started to remove the electrodes and SUPERGLUE from my poor widdle head. Not gently, and not without more caustic, banned-in-California chemicals. Anyone wanna guess what color my hair is now? :eusa_sick: :eusa_eh:
Then I was done. Came home, slept for 13 hours. I get the results tomorrow. Stay tuned................
Ohhhhhhh that doesnt sound like fun at all. Good news is no seizures tho, right? Looks like things lookin up a bit.
I do not envy you. I have never liked staying up all night, even when young, because I can't fuinction well without at least some sleep, makes me very ogreish.
Hope the results are good. Spent 36 hours back in '94 upgrading and then fixing a file server. The only consolation was that Murphy had to stay up too.
There's still superglue in my hair...Or what passes for hair after 50...
Went in for the Come-ta-Jesus-Meetin' today. Appointment was at 10:30 am, wanted me there 15 minutes early so they could harrass me for my undisciplined youth and give me a number...Got there at 10, didn't want to upset the delicate balance of the suprior medical environment.
...Commenced to waiting...
...and waiting...
...and waiting...
At noon I told Terrin to put her coat on, we were going to lunch. Just as she realized that I was dead serious the doc walked in. I wasn't the most pleasant patient, and she must have sensed it :eusa_think: because after only a couple of curt comments from me she started in with the apologies and the excuses. I told her that I wasn't aware that the universal healthcare system has kicked in yet...
OK, OK, I'll get to the point;
STETTO STARTS TO WEAN HIMSELF OF THE DOPE TOMORROW!!!!!
The doc says "Your EEG results are perfectly normal...They usually aren't after a major brain proceedure."
It took me 20 minutes to get her to say the words YOU. CAN. GET. OFF. THE. MEDS. NOW.
It'll take 5 weeks total, then the state has to send me a letter acknowledging my extraordinary recuperative abilities and that my driving priviledges are restored.
I'm pumped.
Thanks again for the good thoughts guys!
:eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap:
That is great to hear. The best Christmas present you could get.
Quote from: Buzzardbeak on December 09, 2009, 06:24:40 PM
:eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap:
That is great to hear. The best Christmas present you could get.
Ditto that one.
Outstanding! I bet you wish it was already over, but that was pretty quick considering the whole transplant and all. :icon_biggrin:
Quote from: Onepoint on December 09, 2009, 08:43:42 PM
...that was pretty quick considering the whole transplant and all. :icon_biggrin:
:icon_lol:
Yeah, the doc tells me that as far as she was concerned I could drive home from her office...So I says back to her, I says; "Have you tried this sh!t?" Gotta love a doc that has no clue how their own snake oil works...
I made the mistake of asking about concussions. This woman is the Cindy Sheehan of professional sports. She wants football banned, she wants baseball banned, she wants rodeo banned--But get this--HOCKEY is OK...Yep, she kept us there that long...
I kept a copy of my last CT scan, so I got proof it's gone...'Course I gotta get another one every year like a pap smear until they get bored with me or five years, whichever comes first...
I'm trying, through the Freedom of Information Act, to get a copy of my first scan, so's I can show to folks when I'm homeless on a streetcorner with a sign that says "Will Jitter & Jiggle For Food".
:devil:
That is awesome Stetto :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap:, just one more example that prayer does indeed work :notworthy: :notworthy:
Carl
Cool!! :icon_mrgreen:
I guess that means you won't get assimilated, huh?
Of course it was normal. They replaced your reptillian brain with a human brain. :icon_lol:
Can't tell you how happy I am that all's well.
Quote from: zrct02 on December 10, 2009, 10:50:37 AM
Of course it was normal. They replaced your reptillian brain with a human brain. :icon_lol:
Can't tell you how happy I am that all's well.
Thanks Roger...Means a lot to me.
How's Joyce? Ask after her for me.
She's doing a LOT better. Used a walker and walked 100 feet today. Very shaky but it's a huge improvement.
Thats great to hear there is improvement in your neck o the woods Z....... :eusa_clap: