Brain Surgeon by Keith Black & Arnold Mann

Author:Keith Black & Arnold Mann [BLACK, KEITH]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780446544528
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2011-08-16T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

Fighting the Terrorist

How are you feeling today?” I asked Mr. Tao as Suzane and I entered his hospital room. It was late in the afternoon on the day after his surgery.

“Good,” he answered from his bed. His tone was certain, but subdued.

Once again, his family stood as we entered. Aside from the slightly askew cap bandage concealing his stitches—his salt-and-pepper hair peeking out at the sides—Mr. Tao looked good—a bit groggy perhaps, but clearly recovering.

“How is your headache, on a scale of one to ten?” I asked him. I enunciated slowly and distinctly, and spoke in somewhat louder tones than I usually do. It was exactly the way you talk when you have a bad long-distance connection—which wasn’t far from the truth. There is a persistent fog of anesthesia that hangs over patients the day after surgery, and it takes a concerted effort to penetrate it.

“About three,” he answered.

“Good,” I said. “Your recovery is right on schedule. Your functions are high and your MRI after surgery looks good—we’ve gotten everything out that we can see. As I said to you last night, we know there are still microscopic cells remaining, and we’ll deal with these with the other therapies we’ve been talking about.”

I had also explained his biopsy results to him last night, while he was still in the ICU. He was not surprised; he had been expecting the worst, he confessed. When I told him that his tumor was a glioblastoma, he had taken the news bravely, and reiterated his resolve to fight the cancer.

“So, Mr. Tao, we’ve accomplished what we set out to do, at least this far. We’ll have the nurses get you up and walking around a little later today. Then maybe you can have a little dinner. Today is Wednesday. So maybe Friday you can go home.”

“Very good!” he exclaimed, the lights kindling in his eyes. His family, in attendance around their patriarch as usual, shared his delight at the prospect of his return home.

“I will see you Wednesday for your post-operative exam. And we’re going to schedule you to see the radiation therapy doctor and also Dr. Drazin, an oncologist, who will start you on your chemotherapy medicine. On Wednesday when we see you we’ll take your stitches out, and talk about the final pathology and the recommendations from the Tumor Board.”

Mr. Tao’s face darkened briefly at the mention of his treatment, but I could already discern in his demeanor the determination I see in most patients diagnosed with GBMs. The grit that had made Mr. Tao a successful international entrepreneur would serve him well as he fought his tumor.

As Suzane and I bid the Taos good night and turned to leave, his sister took me aside. “He had a lot of fear before,” she said in softened tones. “He feels much better now, more confident. Thank you.”

“He looks perfect,” I answered. “We’ve got quite some distance to go, but we’re off to an excellent start.” I had chosen my words carefully. In difficult cases like Mr.

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