Hello everybody! I felt good for a little bit so I thought I would go ahead and get on and give you guys an "up-to-date" update. I am so apprecative of my other customers Ranz_777 & Tonebody (Forgive me if I've forgotten anyone else) for keeping people posted periodically.
1st and Foremost I want to thank EVRYBODY for their kindness, support, prayers & understanding. You'll never know how much it means to me and how good it makes me feel to read your posts.
As you know I had my surgery on the 19th, and altho it was tough all went well. The Dr came in the ICU later that day and told me he believed they got it all. Great. Then I get a visit Wednesday evening, he told me that according to my post MRI they did not get it all and that the core or part of it was still there, so we decided to go ahead and try to get the rest of it and I had my second surgery Thursday morning. He felt really bad of course, he said you actually couldn't distinguish the cores appareance with the physical eye, b/c it was the same color as the brain, and thats why they missed it. He felt confident tho now knowing what the had cut out along with an additional MRI the morning before the surgery they would be able to get this last little bit, which he said was about the size of a grape. Well I had the surgery, but it was rough, REAL ROUGH. I woke up in SOOOO much pain, at any rate, I lived, but I was in ICU for 7 days. He is very confident they got the core this time, and he said although it looked the same it felt different, helping to distinguish it, and that it was abnormal looking but that it was kinda of hidden b/c it was actually imbedded in brain mass and of course they didn't want to cut any more than they had to.....but he said they looked and looked and eventually found it. Since its the same color as the brain he is very confident it is non cancerous, however I will not have 100% confirmation on that until the biopsy comes back, which I should get on Monday.
I got sent home from the hospital on Tuesday. I get very tired very easily....I can only stay up 2-3 hours at a time and then I'm just physically and mentally drained. So I sleep and rest alot, which is probably the best thing to do, I don't want to try and push myself at all. My neck is VERY sore, they had to cut some of the muscles in the back of my neck when they did the vertical incision on the back of my head......so I can't turn my head but only a few degrees in each direction.....but thats a dramatic improvement over not being able to move it at all just a while back. You know I'm thankful for so many things, time wouldn't allow for me to name them all, but some things are just simple things, like being able to pick my head up off the pillow......for the longest my neck was so sore and weak I had to lay flat on my back with the incision laying on the pillow, unable to turn my head to the left or right, or even lift it off the pillow on my own.......being able to stand on my own, walk on my own, etc......Walking is still something I'm working on but doing much better, I can walk but I walk like a drunk person, which I am pretty doped up on Demerol & Lortab for pain.
I've been getting REALLY bad headaches, migraines, which I've never had....I mean absolutely unbareable throbbing, so bad that the other day I got sick and through up twice, which caused problems with me being able to hold my other medicines down. I called my Dr and told him and he perscribed me some really good stuff for headaches yesterday, which seems to of helped b/c I haven't had a bad one today.
I go to the Dr on Monday to get my 28 staples taken out of the back of my head, and I will find out the results to the biopsy, but he was pretty reassuring when he told me he was confident it was not cancerous, but I still know 100% after Monday. If for some reason it was a little more aggressive than they had thought there is a possibility I may have to do a few treatments of radiation of chemo he said, but even if it was more aggressive than they thought they don't for-see having to do any more surgeries regardless, which makes me feel good.
So right now my #1 concern is recovering, getting to be able to walk, stand up and function normal, then I'll start working my way back into work. If I told you I didn't think about work or guitars I would be lying, but I know I am completely unable to do anything right now work related and to even try would be impossible. If you have written me an e-mail before or after my surgery asking about your guitar or inquiring on a guitar paint job and haven't heard back from me then I say be patient, you will. TO be totally honest with you the computer screen, and other lights, really hurt my eyes and start making my headached come on.
I have lots of plans for this year, the
Sims Custom Shop guitars will be up and going and I will be building a new 2400 sq ft shop in about 2 months (God willing) which will be a real nice way to start back up. Mainly b/c I need more room, I'm busting at the seams, and I have made MANY new improvents, especially air quality and hazordous material storage, etc....The contract company thats doing it will probably break ground sometime in the next 1 to 2 month time period, but right now its just depending on how I do.
I will stop back in from time to time to give you guys updates as I know them. Thanks again for your support!
Patrick Sims
