Chapter 21 Back to the tea party - AGAIN!

Dave had his follow up appointment on Wednesday with the neurosurgeon.  His CT scan showed another subdural hematoma on the left side.  Another surgery.  Today he had a third burr hole drilled to remove this one.  Brief consultation with the doctor afterwards - all went well - the surgery actually only took 22 minutes.  That to me is amazing.  The doctor did indicate that it is likely he'll need this again.....said we would discuss later.  He has another CT scan tomorrow.  Then we'll know more.

While the initial fall and seizures were separate from his FTDbv, this continued problem appears to be directly related to the brain atrophy.  The neurosurgeon confirmed his atrophy is pretty severe.  With all the room in there, the original bleed from Nov. 22 continues to drip.  I wonder what this means - this can't be good for a compromised brain to be subjected to this pressure, to be pushed around in the skull to one side or the other, to be under anesthesia two times now in less then three weeks, and the possibility of more.  He now has three holes in his head - and it would seem that these surgeries must be somewhat traumatic to the brain in and of themselves. 

I've read recent articles on studies done regarding prognosis for those presenting with significant atrophy at the time of diagnosis.  I don't know how the studies' ratings of "significant" compare with Dave's significant atrophy.  Prognosis in the studies showed five years survival.  In my mind, I wonder how long this can go on if this chronic subdural hematoma situation continues and how it might skew Dave's prognosis.

On the other hand, the only definitive diagnosis of FTD happens with biopsy at death.  So all this worrying and wondering could be for nothing, right?  He could have something else.  And it's taken fourteen years to get to this point.  I have contacted Dave's neurologist that diagnosed the FTD to make sure she knows about the last two months because we have an appointment with her Feb. 2, and I have a loooooooong list of questions!

It is what it is. 

More later.