Some good vibes for the FOFC Senator!

[MIJB#19]

On April 9th 2011 I received a personal message from our FOFC buddy Senator, a day after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. We've exchanged PMs in between, as he kept me up to date about his condition and a week or two ago he told me surgery was upcoming.

Yesterday, he sent me the following PM:
I just spent 5 days in intensive care unit, 8 hour hard surgery, 60 staples in my head. Acoustic Neuroma,right side. 3 month recovery. Now that I am fighting back with success, you can tell the board, some may care, some might not. But I have friends here you have cared. You the most. Thank you my friend. My writing and clarity is off because it was a sticky attached to my facial nerve, brainstem, and brain. But luckily, I am not very smart, so long term effects. I wanted the Van Deiesel look, but they opted for Bruce Willis.Oh, well.I promised him to forward this. He's still visiting very regularly and I bet he could use some good vibes from the community!

Senator, good luck with the recovery, and 'well wishes' from across the Atlantic!

[DaddyTorgo]

Holy Shitballs!!

Jeezus Senator - had no idea. Sending prayers for a speedy and complete recovery your way man...feel better soon!!

[Chief Rum]

Wow, I had no idea. So I guess the surgery was a success then? That is wonderful news. Congratulations, Senator, and God speed you to a fast recovery.

[digamma]

Oh, wow. Hadn't heard.

Get well soon, Senator. Filibuster the sh_t out of that thing.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Wow. I had no idea at all.

All the best of luck to you, Senator. Get well and back to full speed. My sister had a brain tumor the size of an orange. It was removed back in 2004 and she's perfectly healthy. A cousin of mine also had a brain tumor removed many years before that and has been fine for over 20 years.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Glad to hear you're making positive steps, Senator. Best of luck moving forward.

[Draft Dodger]

best of luck, man. damn.

[stevew]

I missed him around here. Hope it was successful.

[Lathum]

Wow, good lucj and god bless. Kick that tumors ass!

[Tim Tellean]

Prayers and good wishes....

[dawgfan]

Wow, this is completely out of the blue for me too. Senator has always been one of my favorite posters here. Glad to hear he's doing well in the wake of such serious surgery. Thanks for posting MIJB#19!

[Abe Sargent]

Well wishes and prayers

[Radii]

Wow. Good luck, man.

[Kodos]

Here's wishing all the best to you and a full recovery, Senator.

[PilotMan]

Wow, that sounds rough. We are all thinking of you and wish you the best of luck! We'll be here for support if you need us.

[Young Drachma]

Senator is the best. My thoughts and prayers with you for sure, sir.

[JediKooter]

All the best and a speedy recovery, Senator. Hope to see posts on here from you soon.

[CleBrownsfan]

Best wishes, Senator... Here's hoping for a very speedy recovery!!!

[Sun Tzu]

Groovy vibes being sent his way, pronto.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Whoa, had no idea. Gonna be tons of prayers, good vibes and very best wishes coming from a whole lot of FOFC'ers on this one, guarandamnteed.

edit to add: Hopefully it went without saying but ... me included in that "whole lot" for sure.

[JPhillips]

Good luck and God bless.

My father had a calcium tumor on or near the brain and had surgery and a similar recovery. Hope things go as well for you as they did for him.

[TroyF]

Well wishes, prayers, thoughts. . . you have it all from me. I hope the recovery goes well.

[Glengoyne]

Good Luck Senator!
Sorry to hear about this, but you and yours will be held up in prayer.
Looking forward to seeing you around here again.

[Solecismic]

That's a shock. I'm so sorry to hear about this, but glad you made it through surgery. I hope you make a full recovery.

[spleen1015]

Sorry to hear the news. Hoping for a speedy recovery.

[path12]

Very best to you. Hoping to hear from you around here again soon.

[Comey]

I wish for a full recovery, Senator. Thank you for passing this along.

[Buccaneer]

God bless you, Senator. I can truly share your pain as I had acoustic neuroma surgery in 2004. My surgery last 10 hours, 3 days in ICU and 6 weeks (?) recovery. If you recall, that was the reason I had to give up the Mohawks in IHOF and then came back with another team. I pray for a good recovery.

[terpkristin]

Holy moly. Glad he's doing well so far. There are far worse looks for a guy than the Bruce Willis look. :D

Hope he has a continued good recovery!

/tk

[Sweed]

Best wishes to you Senator for a full recovery. You'll be in my prayers.

[Senator]

Thank you everyone for good thoughts. Back to sleep for me.

[Dutch]

Pretty! Nice work, Senator. :)

[Buccaneer]

Yep, that's familiar except that they didn't shave my head. For those that don't know, you cut a semi-circle around the ear and fold that whole part back to expose the side of the head to drill a hole. Then it's a long, slow process going into the brain stem, taking stuff out as you go along. Once the tumor is removed (carefully so as to not mess up the facial nerve next to it), then it's a long, slow process to back out stiching up. Then you pack in the empty cavity with fat from your body.

Hang in there, Senator, I hope your neck muscle doesn't hurt as much as mine did.

[INDalltheway]

I hope recovery is going well! Will be thinking about you, Senator.

[VPI97]

Get well soon, Sen.

[JAG]

Best of luck with your recovery Senator.

[Thomkal]

holy moly that's a lot of staples! You are certainly in my thoughts Senator, here's hoping for a quick recovery!

[DanGarion]

Wow. So happy to hear things went well with the surgery. My thoughts are with you on your recovery!

[MacroGuru]

Prayers and Happy Thoughts to you Senator!

[Fidatelo]

Wow, best of luck to a speedy recovery!

[FrogMan]

holy crap! Best of luck with the recovery!

FM

[Warhammer]

Wow! Get well soon Senator!

Just think, you need less make up to go out for any Frankenstein auditions right now. But please, don't have any neck surgery so you can justify the neck bolt.

[JeeberD]

I wish you a quick and painless recovery!

[Izulde]

Staples. It's that easy. :D

Seriously though, glad to hear you pulled through, and hope recovery is fast.

[EagleFan]

Damn, get well Senator.

[TLK]

Oh jeez... Best wishes, Senator

[Swaggs]

Sad news, but glad to hear that the outlook seems good.

Hang in there and get well soon.

[AnalBumCover]

Get well soon, Senator.

[lighthousekeeper]

holy crap - i saw that picture on reddit yesterday and was thinking about this thread. never thought it actually was you.

[Subby]

You are a fucking badass.

[markprior22]

Get better soon!

[Julio Riddols]

It appears you have become a baseball. Knock the cover off this recovery, glad to hear the surgery went well.

[Karlifornia]

Senator, you rule. Fighting this while keeping good humor all the while. Quite inspirational. Best of luck.

[Senator]

Acrostic Neuroma - Bucc Style

I had a retro surgery at 10am on Wednesday, January 23rd. Dr. Thomas Ellis was the surgeon. It was done at Harris Hospital in downtown Fort Worth.
Arrived at 5am for check in and then prepped until 10. Last thing I remember was a nurse telling me to think a happy thought. My mind conjured throwing a football back and forth with my son.
I had a contingent of 30 people in the waiting room. Harris has a big screen that tells status of where each patient is during surgery. My brother said I was first on the screen, and last to come down.
It took 9 hours. The tumor was wrapped around my facial nerve and was touching the brain and brain stem. Dr. Ellis said at one point he stopped to stretch, get a cup of coffee, and sat down and had a eureka moment in how to approach it.
When I woke up in ICU, I had over 60 staples, my entire face was fine, no paralysis at all, 10-15% hearing left in my damaged ear, and no CSF.
A flat out miracle for me.
Three fingers on my left hand tingle and will not wake up currently, but hopefully with time we can fix them.
They sent me home 5 days, including surgery, and I putter around the house with a walker for 15 minutes then sleep for 4 hours straight. Very odd for someone used to being active.
I am still very dizzy, is this normal? 1 week out and I think I should be able to walk around better. Maybe not. I have no taste. Drinks taste horrible to me. Water, yech!

My mind seems fuzzy and inarticulate, and that makes me frustrated.Basically, I am an impatient old toot.
The one thing I wished happened that didn't was he had to leave 5% on the facial nerve and, of course fears of that thing growing back will always haunt me. But, I would give this an A on the grade scale.

Sorry for the poor grammar, I feel like I am typing in a ball full of helium.

[Senator]

PS. I have never had a shaved head before, but part of me wants to keep it shaved so that in board meetings, when someone gives me shit, it gives me corporate fake street cred.

[MIJB#19]

That sounds pretty rough! Take it is easy for now, bud.

[Dutch]

Wow. You are one tough SOB, Senator. You've earned the shaved head in the board room look if you ask me. Consider a Tyson tattoo to compliment your new look if you go that route.

[Eaglesfan27]

Wow. I wish you the best in your recovery.

[Buccaneer]

Thanks for the update, Brandon. You are very fortunate and it was a miracle. 40% of those having gone through the surgery do have facial paralysis on that side. I didn't for the tumor was on the audio nerve (which knocked out my hearing years earlier - and that was my good ear). The facial nerve as well as the balance(?) nerve are all next to each other and it's a matter of separating them apart and hope the tumor comes of cleanly. I am happy that you didn't have paralysis and only minor hearing loss!

[stevew]

Walter White badass.

[cartman]

Damn, dude. When you are up for it, the first few rounds are definitely on me! If you decide to keep the shaved head look, I have five words for you:

Whole Head Longhorn Helmet tattoo.

:D

[Edward64]

Take care. Get well.

[judicial clerk]

Congratulations on a successful surgery and best wishes for a speedy recovery;

Modern medicine is a wonder to behold; and

I think the stapler might have jammed on number 15.

[BYU 14]

Damn, stunned reading this. Glad to hear surgery was successful and definite thoughts and prayers for a full and speedy recovery!!

[miami_fan]

Best wishes and prayers for a speedy recovery!

[saldana]

best of luck and a speedy recovery Senator.

my girlfriends brother in law has had 3 surgeries on a frontal lobe tumor in the past year that cannot be fully removed, and has had a tremendous recovery in terms of getting back functionality he had lost from the tumor...hope all goes well for you

[Dodgerchick]

Senator... wow. Sending some healing thoughts your way and keep the bald look, it's sexy.

[Poli]

Hope the recovery goes well. If you need me to pinch hit for the flag football coaching, just let me know.

[Senator]

We will know Tuesday if we have a malignant nuisance on our hands but will keep the good vibes till then.
Doesn't really make a difference in how the prognosis goes as far as my thoughts here are concerned. I have interacted with most of you since 1998 and with very few exceptions, I have come away with new knowledge, and even an entirely new perspective on an issue.

I consider my time here at FOFC useful and added value to my internet experiences and interactions. While I have high hopes I will be fine, I still have other unexpected health concerns that threaten my mortality to overcome.

I just wanted to stop for a second, say thank you to those who befriended me, and even those who challenged me on my stringent way of thinking.
This is not a morbid, so long post, but the challenges ahead will keep me focused for the foreseeable future.

People have asked if I have learned any secrets with skirting the void of life, and I can only think of one that never let me down. When it comes to women, you stay cocky and funny.

[dawgfan]

People have asked if I have learned any secrets with skirting the void of life, and I can only think of one that never let me down. When it comes to women, you stay cocky and funny.
Gold - HornsManiac is the gift that keeps on giving.

Thanks for keeping us in the loop Senator, and best wishes for your recovery.

[Senator]

Hang in there, Senator, I hope your neck muscle doesn't hurt as much as mine did.


The neck is miserable, but I am hoping it improves as I am only 4 months post op.

[MIJB#19]

The neck is miserable, but I am hoping it improves as I am only 4 months post op.Tricky question, but... Are there any good signs to report (aside from the obvious, the removal of the tumor back then)?

[Senator]

Let's see. A positive spin. Thinking... Thinking.... Don't rush me.... Brain surgery ya know.
As Bucc can attest, it is one of those surgeries you are better off overall than after. I am back at work now for the past month, and they showed no mercy on me, piling it on me high and deep. I go home, and despite my willpower, am usually running on empty. My hearing is gone in the right ear, which has provided a myriad of challenges. My vestibular nerve was cut, so I currently walk like an end of night pub crawl, despite constant rehab. My left hands ring finger and pinky are always asleep as the A Line from the surgery damaged some nerves, my neck developed 2 pinched nerves at the base and the scar tissue constantly tightens the neck. Those are probably positives for many people who have gone through this. No facial paralysis, and we see my first MRI next week to gauge the small part left behinds death or regrowth.
I am a bit more clear headed than last month, and that is a big relief.
I have been told they measure progress in months, not days or weeks.
So until then, I will lurk here and see if anything interesting happens.

[MIJB#19]

Dang, that still sounds rough, bud. It's often overlooked that surgery ends things, clearly it's only the beginning of a long process. I hope you can focus on the good stuff often enough to pull you through the rehab!

[Senator]

Thanks as usual, my friend. While it will keep me from coaching football with my brother this season, I may wobble my way up and down the sidelines for my sons team.

[Kodos]

Keep on fighting, Senator. We're all pulling for you.

[Logan]

Embarrassed that I missed this the first time around. Continued improvement and good luck to you Senator.

[Lathum]

It sounds like a lot of challanges but the positive is you are still with us. Enjoy every moment of walking those sidelines, it means the world to your boy.

[CU Tiger]

Senator, man wow.
I am not sure how but I totally missed this entire thing until now.

Stay strong and keep fighting.

[Dodgerchick]

Keep strong, we're pulling for you, you magnificent bastard.

[Buccaneer]

Hang in there, I know how tough it can be.

[DaddyTorgo]

Keep fighting Sen - way to go. Sounds like you've got a positive mental state yourself, which is I'm sure as huge a part of recovery from this sort of thing as from other medical issues. Will keep you in my thoughts.