Evening

Mark's Diagnosis: scroll 1/3 of the way down the page to section 4, Cavernous Angioma
http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic3469.htm

Another day of highs and lows. I had a consultation with the Head Head-Resident, Dr. Birkness, and he gave me a lot of information and answered my questions. Mark did in fact have a drain placed in both rear ventricles this morning. They were both draining much more than the two in the front had so I hope we're making progress. Dr. Birkness also said they he has never seen anyone who needed four drains and that Mark has had almost every complication there is. So, this must be a good sign, because he's gotten past all the hurdles so far.

Dr. Birkness also told me that each time Mark is anesthetized, it takes longer for him to wake up and not to expect too much until tomorrow morning. But only two hours post surgery, his eyes were open a little and he did squeeze my hand. Soon after, he was fast asleep again. Mark's receiving steroids to reduce the swelling in his brain, which has induced temporary diabetes. Now he has to have his blood sugar tested and he receives insulin. They expect this to reverse itself after he's weaned off of the steroids.

Mark's Hospital http://www.jeffersonhospital.org/neuroscience/

I've left the best till last. My dear friend, Sandy Kauffman, put me in touch with Janice Belitsky, Ph.D., who works at Bryn Mawr Rehab, one of the best brain rehab centers in the US. We talked on the telephone for an hour and she reassured me that Mark will do extremely well with rehab. She said the more intelligent a person is, the more he's likely to get a good result.

Rehab Center http://www.mainlinehealth.org/br/

Mark still has a long way to go. They hope that with the reduced pressure and swelling he will wake up tomorrow. Hopefully there will be steady progress from here.

Chris