Clinton News-Record, 1987-06-03, Page 6Page 6—CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, WEDNESDAY JUNE 3, 1987
Blyth Standard
Brain surgery, "I think I can, I think I can.
By Kathy Bromley
WRITERS NOTE: The following is a
diary that I kept, 14 days prior to my
return to hospital for the final and very im-
portant surgery. Since January, I was
very relaxed, I knew that after 19 years of
having seizures, something was finally go-
ing to be done in controlling them! Better
still, there was even the possibility that
they could be cured! There was now only
one more week's stay left for my surgery,
and yet, my mind was now beginning to
play tricks on me. How was I going to give
myself the confidence that 1 needed so bad-
ly inside.
I now felt like a whole new person for the
first month and a half (March 25 -May 10)
when I had returned home after all of the
previous tests I encountered. Something
was finally going to be attempted to reduce
and/or possibly cure my seizures! Even
though I had grown to accept the fact that I
was an epileptic and I had made my life-
style suit accordingly, surgery seemed to
be the ideal solution to change all of this.
As one roornrnate once stated a quote I had
read from The Diary of Anne Frank, "It's
the beginning to an end." How true indeed!
With all of this in mind, my attitude on
Life took on a whole new perspective. I felt
the most confident and relaxed that I can
ever remember, knowing something was
finally going to be done about my seizures.
Up to this point(.. edication couldn't con-
trol them. As I felt so good mentally, it ob-
viously must have been showing physical-
ly also. People were continuously com-
plimenting me on how well I was looking,
especially considering the fact that I had
been in University Hospital for five weeks,
undergoing an endless number of tests,
enabling the doctors and specialists to pin-
point the area of the brain where the
seizures derived from. Unfortunately, it
was too good to last.
As the date for me to be re -admitted
drew closer and • closer, my attitude soon
changed. I soon realized that the disadvan-
tage of having had subdurals implanted
previously, was that I had to give my skull
time to heal from this surgery, before the
brain surgeons could continue with the
next and final surgery.
As the first week in May quickly ap-
proached, I began getting more and more
restless and it was showing. I was obvious-
ly becoming very aware that the days
were drawing quickly to my return to the
hospital on May 12. At one point, 1 even
began wondering if brain surgery was
even necessary now. Afterall, I had gone
35 days without a seizure and on only half
the medication I was normally on! A
record for me indeed! Deep down inside
though, Bev (Kathy's husband) and I both
knew the answer. Obviously, all of this was
too good to last.
I soon noticed that I had taken a change
for the worst. The anxiety of thinking of
•the delicate operation that I was about to
undergo, not to speak of continuously
pushing myself to complete my work
before I returned, played a large role in it
all.
I must stress, though, that the seizures I
was experiencing were not nearly as
severe as usual, lasting only five to 10
seconds and I didn't„loose my awareness. I
would only become slightly "stari-eyed”
shall I say, and unless someone was look-
ing right at me and knew exactly what was
occurring, it was hard for anyone to notice
the seizures. Afterwards, I would carry on
right where I had left off with whatever I
was previously doing. It was at this point,
after experiencing seizures again, that
Bev would ask me if I still had cold feet!
I took in a deep breath, then slowly
repeated to myself — "I THINK I CAN, I
THINK I CAN...".
As the date for my re -admittance drew
closer and closer, I was hard, if not im-
possible to live with. I would scold the boys
for even the smallest thing, normally con-
sidered too .minor to even mention.
I found myself constantly snapping at
Bev in the same manner, as soon as he
woke up in the morning. Yet, at the same
time, it was nothing to be deeply depressed
immediately following his departure to
work each day. As the day slowly pased, I
promised myself that I would make
amends with him. Unfortunately for him
though, it would all begin again, im-
mediately following his arrival home.
Looking back on it now, what better way to
describe my moods and feelings than, "I
couldn't live with them, and yet, at the
same time, I couldn't live without them
either."
Family Co-operation
At this time, I must give credit, where
credit is due. This goes to Bev being able to
endure all of the problems we encountered
up to this point, and those about to occur.
As the saying goes, "It never rains, it
pours." How true! I was home in no time,
when our youngest son, Scott, was to be ad-
mitted to Stratford Hospital for the
removal of his adnoids. Tubes had to be
placed in his ears also, allowing the proper
drainage of his ears, as he was beginning
to lose the hearing in one of his ears. As
our luck had it though, he unfortunately
caught a cold only a few days prior to this
surgery. Due to this, his surgery had to be
postponed, but no later than it had to be,
before his hearing was past the state of be-
ing restored. •
Finally, during the last week in April, it
was performed. Scott was up and around
in no time and was allowed home two days
later.
As our luck would have it again, though,
it didn't end there. Within a week, our
oldest son, Chris, caught a virus in his
eyes, leaving them red and inflamed. As
all else would have it, it was none other
than - you guessed it, a weekend.
We treated him ourselves at home with
warm cloth and teabags. Unfortunately,
that wasn't enough, so on Monday
something else definitely had to be done.
I called the doctor's office in hopes of
making an appointment. One of the theme
songs used on Hee Haw hit the nail on the
head - "If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have
no luck at all! Yes, folks, our doctor was on
holidays. So, Chris was taken to the
hospital, where he was later released with
medication for a bad case of eye infection.
Two down, one to go. Only six more days
until I return to London. Bev's tolerance
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must have been as high as one could ever
imagine, but somehow, through all of this,
he was there and ready for whatever was
about to be faced.
As our daily problems continued to crop
up, it was becoming more and more ob-
vious that I was becoming hesitant to
return to the hospital. I had to keep remin-
ding myself of all of the advice I had
printed on Epilepsy over the last two
years. "Practice what you preach girl,
hang in there! Again, those comforting
words of encouragement echoed inside of
me, "I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN...”
To avoid becoming a coward and
possibly backing out of my surgery, I
began working frantically, trying to keep
my mind occupied. By pushing myself to
achieve all of the last minute jobs I had to
do, both at work and at home, I became
thinner. I had lost much of the weight I had
previously gained when I had returned
home.
Obviously, keeping myself busy at all
times didn't seem to be the answer either.
As spare moments continuously crept up
on me, the thoughts of the "Left Temperal
Labectomy", more commonly referred to
as the left side of my brain, was only a
matter of days away.
Now, as mild as the seizures were,
lasting anywheres from five to 10 seconds,
they continuously occurred. Even though
they weren't the severity of those that I
normally experienced, they were more
than enought to remind me of what this
whole deal was all about. For a few days,
as quickly as one passed, another wasn't
long following.
Again, Bev would ask if I had second
thoughts now. Thanks to the love and en-
couragement from Bev and the boys, not to
speak of our families and loved ones, I was
able to keep my chin up. Again, those com-
forting words would put me at ease. "I
THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN..."
The weekend prior to my return was
very special to us. It was indeed very
ironic for us, as both Mother's Day and our
12th anniversary fell on the same day this
year - May 10. To celebrate this occasion,
..
and to get away from all of the frustrations
that faced us at home, the boys came with
Bev and I to spend the wekend with
relatives that we hadn't seen for awhile.
The weekend was wonderful, and our
minds were side-tracked for a change. As I
remember being told, "Live each day, one
day at a time and don't worry about what
lies ahead." How true, being as everything
that I had been worrying about up to now "
hadn't been solved, I just lost a lot of sleep
over it.
By Monday, my date for re -admission, I
was ready, it didn't seen( to be as big a
step as I had previously imagined. I finally
admitted to myself that I was ready for
surgery.
EPILOGUE: What more can I say now, but
the surgery has been completed and I am
now home again, feeling better than I
could even imagine in such little time after
brain surgery. (Seven days following the
surgery, I was allowed home 1. The doctors
feel very confident that everything went
great and it will continue to do so. I find
myself to be still on cloud nine over the ex-
cellent news.
As I look back on this experience over
the last five months, I sometimes wonder
how I was able to make it this far. At dif-
ferent intervals, i was ready to give in, but
I have my family and friends to be in-
debted to. Their love, support and en-
couragement frequently assured me of be-
ing able to undergo the surgery. It is for
this reason that I adopted my theory. "I
THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN...", for
when times were tough and I was down in
spirit, these words would sooth me and
give me the determination that I needed.
tp Now, as I bring this feature to a close, I
release a sudden sigh. At the same time, I
also feel a sense of pride in our ac-
complishment. To top it all off, a sudden
smile crosses my face, one that I can sup-
press no longer. That same little voice,
deep from within, is now proudly stating "I
KNEW I COULD, I KNEW I COULD..."
Quote Of The Week: If at first, you don't
succeed, try reading the directions.
Three of 17 youths taking part in the Londesboro United .Junior Youth Group's Rock -a -
thou on May 29 were (left to right), Shelley Merrier, Cathy Nesbitt and Shannon I)uizer.
The youths rocked in their chairs for 50 minutes and then had 10 minutes off. The rock-a-
thon started at 7 p.m. on May 29 and concluded at 10 a.m. on May 30. IAnne Narejko
photo)
Tammi Medd is in top four
ThQ
Bar
Truth
By David Hessels
BLYTH - Three people from the Blyth
Public School went to the Huron County
Science Fair. Tammi Medd was in the top
four so she went on to the Canada -Wide
Science Fair. Darryl Elliott and Rick
Howson won a trip to the Toronto Science
Centre and the all Canada Science Fair
because they received top marks at the
school level.
Pizza
by Kelly Cook
On May 28, Mrs. Little and Mrs. Vincent
treated their choir members to a lunch of
pizza. Through the year, the choir practises
on Thursday afternoons and performs at
several concerts. We thank the choir leaders
for the pizza.
Field Day
By Kevin Souch
Last week, Blyth Public School held their
Field Day. Due to bad weather it was ex-
panded over three days.
1986 (.MC 'h TON r2r1•\
1986 DODGE 600 I ,1re,i .ter
1985 CHEVETTE. n 41• •84 in,
1985 PONTIAC PARISIENNE, 1 71„7,7 air
cnnritt,oning, low mtlFage
1985 RUIICK LeSABRE : •14 •
1985 PLYMOUTH VOYAGER WAGON
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1985 DODGE ARIES WAGON
1984 PONTIAC PARISIF.NNF 4 DR.
STATIONWAGON low mileage
1984 OLDS DEI EA 148 RON.AI.F.
RROIIGIIAM I
1981 CHEF CITATION
1981 CUTLASS SIIPRE.MF. BROUGHAM, I
14„1 .iii
1979 CHRYSLER CORDOBA
1979 OLDS REGENCY 98, 1 Il n,r (nation
1
Winners of the day were I Senior Boys 1
Philip Hubbard; 1 Intermediate Boys) Jason
Elliott: ( ,Junior Boys ) Michael McNichol;
Midget Boys) Paul Hessels; t Senior Girls
Tamara Bearss: (Intermediate Girls) Tam -
mi Medd; (Junior Girls) Karin Lee:
( Midget Girls) .Jennifer Stadelmann.
The three days of sports was a funfilled
way to spend the week. The top two winners
from each event go on to a regional field day
in Seaforth.
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