Dec 04 16:46:43 <Stef> be glad you’re not in Ottawa.
Dec 04 16:46:49 <Myke> why’s that?
Dec 04 16:55:05 <Stef> Apparently Opa fell out of bed yesterday and can’t put any weight on his leg right now. So he’s supposed to get an x-ray.
From: Bernie Geiger
Subject: Klaus at the Montfort
The Doctor examined him, requisitioned X-Rays and found no evidence of a bone break or muscle break. Not sure exactly what the damage or pain is due to. He still cannot put any weight on that leg and is pretty well unable to move even from the bed to his chair without 2 people assisting him.
From: Bernie Geiger
Subject: Klaus Geiger at the Montfort for surgery
We saw the Orthpod at the Montfort around 8 this evening…the upper femur has a fracture near the pelvis, the recommended approach is to screw in a steel plate to stabilize. The alternative is to do nothing, but he would be immobilized for at least 6 weeks with higher risk of blood clots, bed sores etc. With the operation, they get him back on his feet in a couple of days to strengthen the muscles and speed the bone healing.
I warned them about the anesthesia problems he had (exactly) three years ago. He is in emergency ward right now and they will admit him to a ward as soon as bed opens up. They do these operations at the end of the surgical day, hopefully Friday afternoon.
From: Bernie Geiger
Subject: Klaus Geiger surgery update
Visited dad after surgery this evening. He was surprisingly alert, hungry and apparently the anesthesia has not affected him greatly.
Hopefully he will make a speedy recovery in the coming days without any complications.
2007-12-10 – I’m working out in Perth, and I get a call that sounds like Opa is basically in multiple organ failure; this is same way Dziadzia (other grandfather) died. I have a miserable drive back to Ottawa. And there was other bad news on that call (not public info.) Later on, it only turns out he’s been given some very heavy duty drugs, and when you’re 86, frail and post-op, it doesn’t always go well. I counted a few stars.
2007-12-11 – Alia calls mom, apparently Martin is on business in London England, and acting very strangely, saying some very scary things…
Dec 14 03:27:56 <Myke> what happened?
Dec 14 03:28:00 <Alia> he is 1/2 paralized
Dec 14 03:28:03 <Myke> !
Dec 14 03:28:09 <Alia> including his face
Dec 14 03:28:14 <Alia> I had to dress him this morning
Dec 14 03:28:15 <Myke> did he have a stroke?
Dec 14 03:28:24 <Alia> don’t know
Dec 14 03:30:05 <Alia> bad week 🙁
Dec 14 03:30:38 <Alia> left side
By 11AM (Eastern time), we know it’s a brain tumour. Merry Effin’ Christmas. Dad flys out via Washington in a matter of hours.
From: Bernie Geiger
Subject: Update on Martin in Amsterdam
As you probably know, yesterday (Friday) morning Martin was in the hospital for treatment of some problems that have arisen over the last few months, when the physiotherapist noticed something and thought some new tests were in order. Following a CT and MRI scan it was discovered he most likely has a meningioma tumor (this is the tissue that covers the brain and the growth of the tumor (a few cm’s) has caused pressure on the brain and the various symptoms over the last months. The likely treatment is an operation to remove the tumor and some radiation to kill any remaining. This should cure the symptoms and hopefully there will be a full recovery. The Doctors will meet Monday to confirm the surgery and likely carry it out early in the week. The first week will be difficult, but the recovery should proceed well after that.
In retrospect, the tumor explains the increasing problems Martin has been having starting some 6 months ago: loss of balance, falls, shoulder problems, loss of strength on one side, forgetfulness and finally Thursday of this week: facial paralysis on one side. So it was not stress induced.
Naturally these events have canceled all of Martin, Alia and Samara’s plans to visit Toronto and then Ottawa, they were to be leaving Monday.
So Friday morning I was taking the usual bus to work and thanks to some excellent planning, encouragement and support from Chris, the boys and
some travel experts in her office; 18 hours later I walked into Alia’s new home here in Amsterdam and within a few more hours we were visiting him at bedside. He looks pretty good, naturally shocked by the events of the last 24 hours and Alia says he is much better today than he was yesterday before they gave him medication to relieve the pressure caused by the tumor.
The following days were a roller-coaster of emotions that I can’t even begin to express… things I wish nobody has to go through again.
We find out the tumour is actually 8 centimeters! (poor mom thought that was circumference, not diameter. I felt horrible correcting her on that. Things you wish you could lie about.)
Every day the doctors tell Alia a different story… It’s likely a metastasis, probably spread from somewhere else – it’s not a meningeoma, it’s an adenoma – and the tumour in his brain is likely a metastisis from somehwere else in his body… Okay, it looks like it’s not anywhere else… Now it’s an Astrocytoma?
Late on the 18th, I get the MRI data, and produce this image from it using OsirisX (which I’d make a ‘blog post about how cool DICOM is if things weren’t so hard right now.)
Click for fullsize
By Wednesday (19th) evening, an oncologist Friend-of-Family and her entire department pour over the radiology data and figure it’s benign.
Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:02:03 -0500
Hi, I have finally got the DICOM files open. It took us till 4 pm to load program to open the DICOM files. Phillip has had a look and thinks its an extra-axial, meaning coming from dura or falx, not a primary brain origin tumour. Meningioma is in the differential but less likely. Possibility is hemangiopericytoma, or other falx tumour, such as ependymoma. It will be rare and will be unusual pathology. None of us, including Mary has seen something like this. The neurology fellow is also looking at it tonight. Hoping to hear back soon.
Mike asked me how long it has been there. Guessing that M has had headaches for > 1 year, it has been slowly growing for years, and he has accommodated without brain swelling/edema, or seizures. Only when it got so big as to compress the motor area has he decompensated neurologically (paralysis). The full frontal lobe is not involved, but there is enough compression from inside to account for the frontal lobe symptoms.
The surgery will open skull and either drain cyst and take out mass, which is only about 3 cm, or take out cyst and attachment to falx in total. The biggest part is the cyst, which is causing the pressure. Brain surgery generally is under 2-3 hrs.
Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:11:52 -0500
Neuroradiology fellow and staff think its a meningioma ! yeah !
Suddenly there’s some light at this end of this tunnel? (How can there be? Maybe he’ll get out of it okay? Holy S**t… 8cm Brain tumour. God.)
Of course, now that much of the uncertainty has become known, now the reality of brain-surgery becomes the ever-present thought. Christmas? Who cares.
Surgery is Monday the 24th. Christmas Eve.