N3il’s Blog

With less than 24 hours to go and the operation is firmly on, even had a call today Wednesday 23 to confirm this from the admission ward!

Yesterday Tuesday 22 November I had a call from Dr Hart the doctor doing the ‘carotid balloon occlusion test’ tomorrow and he has given me a few more details about the day and he has talked through what they will be doing. I need to be at Kings hospital by 7am in the morning and I am first on the operating list for the day. The procedure should only take about an hour and hopefully I will be able to come home the same day. Sue has also been given the day off to come up with me.

The procedure will involve putting in 2 different tubes into both carotid veins in my groin, these veins run up the whole length of my body to my neck. One will have the balloon to temporary close off the vein, whilst the other with be to monitor the blood flood when the other one is closed off during the test. This test is being done because the surgeons doing the main operation, need to take out the carotid vein near the tumour and they testing that there is sufficient blood flow around the rest of my skull without this vein. This test is really for my safety and benefit and reduces my risk of having a stroke. So I can’t complain as it for my good.

I am in the hands of a great team and a great God who is with me every step of the way. So I trust that God will guide their hands and that hopefully the rest of the veins in my skull will be able to manage this extra blood flow.

So if you believe like me that God is in control and that he can ultimately heal this tumour, please pray with me that this procedure might go well and with no complications. Mr Obholzer the main surgeon will be reviewing the results of the test hopefully on the day and I am then schedules to meet up with him to review this at his clinic on 6 or 8 November and hopefully by time I see him he will have arranged a date for the main operation.

Thanks again for your love, prayer and support.
Neil

After emailing my consultant on Tuesday to tell him the test was cancelled, he wrote back to say  ‘I agree that this is completely unacceptable’. He has since been sorting out a new date and I am now booked in for the test next thursday 24 October at Kings, with the stipulation from on high that this is not to be cancelled under any circumstances.

He will then if possible review the results on the same day and then make plans for the next steps, which hopefully will be to book a theatre date in November.

So after another frustrating week, the plans are starting to happen again.

Thanks again for all your support and prayers.

Another operation at King’s hospital this Thursday for the ‘carotid balloon occlusion test’ has been cancelled with 2 days to go!

Someone from Kings called me at  3.15pm to say the operation was cancelled again and again giving the reason that they didn’t have a bed for me on Thursday.

A date for the main op still can’t be put into the diary until we have the results from this test, so it’s seems it just a waiting game for the time being and life just carries on as normal!

I received a letter yesterday giving me a new provisional date of next Thursday 17 October, for the ‘carotid balloon occlusion test’. This will be at Kings hospital. I will also need to attend next Monday for a pre-op when I should hopefully find out more information about what to expect on the day.

Thanks again for all your support and prayers.

After expecting to go into Kings tomorrow for the day, for the ‘carotid balloon occlusion test’ they have just cancelled the op at 4pm this afternoon, not happy!

I have chased the hospital all week to get details of when I need to go in and the school has also been great in allowing Sue to have the day off to come with me. After hearing nothing all day, I called the hospital at 3.45pm this afternoon to ask what’s going on, for them to call me back 10 minutes later to tell me the operation tomorrow have been cancelled, giving the reason they didn’t have a bed for me tomorrow and that the doctor woulds call me in the next couple of days to rearrange it.

As you might image I’m just a little bit annoyed! I’ll let you know as soon as I know more.