Hi Green! I underwent brain surgery in 1997, and the thing that I would like to say to anyone who has a loved one who is having such surgery is to provide them with lots of love and ENCOURAGEMENT. My sugery was for a chiari malformation…The back of my brain was sticking outside the hole at the base of my skull (it is a congenital anomaly that can cause sudden death). My cerebellar tonsils (the part of the brain which is involved with locomotion) were completely outside my skull, and after I had the surgery, I had trouble coordinating my movement/walking/feeding myself, etc. This made me VERY depressed. Also, my intellectual capacity was not affected, yet many of my family and friends did not talk to me like I was the same old Melanie…I guess they were afraid that I would have problems with my mentation, so they just kind of ignored me initially, They would look at me, give me awkward smiles, and say they were glad I had pulled through, but they didn’t try to talk to me or ‘engage’ me in conversation. This depressed me even more. I have often told people that, in retrospect, while prayers given for the success of my surgery were certainly appreciated, I needed prayers for my recovery the most. Most of the problems I had post-op were temporary, and anyone who is going through the same type of difficulties need to be encouraged that, as they continue to heal, that deficits they experience will improve and are generally short-lived. Also, treat them like the same old person you have always known and loved. People are often emotional after brain surgery (this is also generally a short-term problem) so be willing to listen, and provide emotional support when needed. As for practical/safety matters go, If she has had surgery atthe back of her brain, she may have trouble turning her head/looking down until tissue swelling is gone, so make sure nothing (i.e. pets, slippery rugs, etc.) are in her path. As another poster said, every person’s situation may vary, but these were things that happened in my case which were really important. Just riding in a car, or walking out in public was very frightening for awhile, because I couldn’t move my head for a short while…I couldn’t walk very well for a SHORT while, also. So, having someone for physical safety/ support was also required. I hope she has a speedy and complete recovery—you all will be in my prayers!

Diana, I wish that I were the type who was able to write a book, I have crammed so much into this life, it seems that most topics that come up hit some personal experience of mine. Not too many people can or would want to claim this one. I still have one aneurysm in my brain that has not been clipped that they said is not as dangerous, would probably only cause blindness if it bled ( I suppose that didn’t seem too bad to them). I just do my best to keep myself healthy, extra low blood pressure, weight and when I found out that my heart rate was going up too much when I exercised I cut back to walking. The location of that one made in impossible to be clipped at the time of the other surgeries. And I don’t want anymore, have just had enough. The one by the brain stem lasted 14 hours and they could not put the bone back that they removed to do the operation so I am still very touchy in that area, notice it when I go to get my hair cut and they put my head back over a bowl. I’m so sorry about your husband, they had me wait for 14 days before the surgery after the bleed. I write about this like I remember it, actually what I have been told. They seem to set that time period for some reason. Was he kept in Intesive Care during that time? They tell me I had to be tied down to the bed there to keep me still. I had my children at a very young age which upset my family at the time but looking back it was the greatest thing because they were pretty much grown when this happened so I didn’t have small ones to be worried about at the same time. It’s strange how life works out.