[nolan5000]

I posted this over on the baseball forum on Sunday and I realized that not all of my friends collect baseball. So here it is for my BGS friends.

So this past Friday (2 Days ago), was the 13th Anniversary of my brainstem surgery. Here's my posts from Facebook. The first one is from Tuesday. 13 years ago on this day is the day I learned that I had a malignant brainstem tumor. The second part is when I actually had the surgery.

13 Years Ago

This 13 year process is completely a GOD thing.

I had been having massive headaches for a little over a year. I have an extremely high pain threshold. But on this day, 13 years ago, the pain was even too much for me to handle. It was the most excruciating headache I had ever had. So we rushed to Presby Kaufman. The doctor wanted to do a spinal tap. This is where GOD stepped in. The doctor said, let's do a CT scan just to be safe. What they found was truly horrifying. My ventricles were swollen to 3 times the normal size. I had hydrocephalus. If they would have done the spinal tap, I would have been killed instantly because of the pressure release. This is the first miracle on My Journey With Jesus. They said this is way out of our league and referred me to Presby Dallas. At Presby Dallas, we just happened to get an on-call Neurosurgeon who just happened to have a new technique to aggressively go after the tumor. Just happened, yeah right. He was GOD'S chosen surgeon. Miracle 2 and 3.

To be continued on Friday!!

13 Years Ago

There are too many Miracles to keep track of on the rest of my Journey With Jesus. I mean they are still happening, even now. 13 years ago today was when I had my first of nine procedures, in a 3 month span, on my poor head. If my head was shaved, you'd think my head was a treasure map. That's how many scars I have. It's really a Miracle that hair grew over all those scars. The first procedure was the original brain surgery, where my Neurosurgeon said that he filleted my brainstem. My Primary Care Physician called it a resection of a brainstem tumor. This was a long, delicate procedure. My Neurosurgeon said that it was actually an inoperable tumor, but if he didn't go ahead and operate on it, that I'd be dead within the week. This is because all of my organs had already begun to shut down. You don't normally find too many Neurosurgeons who will operate on a tumor where mine was located. They actually had to stop the procedure because it got to a point, where my Neurosurgeon and his associate, could no longer distinguish between brain tissue and tumor tissue. When they were done, they said that they could see the operating room floor through my brainstem. Then the next day I had to be rushed in for emergency surgery to remove a brain bleed. This took about six hours and it was the kicker. It left me completely paralyzed. My whole right side stayed paralyzed for 3 months longer then my left side.

At some point, they had to put in a permanent shunt. Then it became infected. In my mind, I hallucinated that the shunt was an aluminum soda can. So they took it out and put antibiotics directly to my brain. When they took it out they said, If it's cloudy, it's a bad sign. But by GOD'S Grace, it was clear!!

Even though I haven't eaten by-mouth during these 13 long years, I still wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. This is because I got Saved in 2006.

My parents stayed with me in the hospital every night and ALL day long. I was never alone. Someone was always there to be my advocate. I take constant care. I am unable to do most things by myself, even the most basic things. I've never had a day nurse or a night nurse. At night, I'm hooked up to Oxygen and an aerosol machine to pump moisture to my lungs. I have a bicycle horn that I honk, when I need something at night. My parents have taken complete care of me 24 hours a day, for the last 13 years. And now that I'm listening to the words coming out of my mouth, I haven't been as grateful as I should be. For that, Mom & Dad I am truly sorry.

Thanks so much for reading this [b]long[b] post!!