January 2005 Archives

Bo’s surgery went very well today. The doctors removed all of the tumor, and it looks like it’s benign. They won’t know for sure until Friday.

At any rate, Bo was a trooper. Once he got out of the recovery room, he’s been pretty close to his normal self — joking around with the doctors and nurses.

He’s awfully sore right now — his face is somewhat swollen and he has a black eye. The doctors say that he shouldn’t be surprised if he swells more, even to the point where both eyes could swell completely shut. He also says that he’ll probably be more sore (in pain) tomorrow as well. My mom mentioned that when she kissed him on the forehead, that he remarked that it hurt.

He’s also very tired. The unfortunate part of this, is that the nurses have to wake him up and check on him about every 2 hours all night long tonight.

But, in good news, he’s had an IV removed, as he’s eaten a meal (albeit a liquid meal). They’re going to wake him up tomorrow morning at 6 am and see if they can get him moving around and to try to use the bathroom. If all of that goes well, he’ll probably have his decatheter removed and be moved out of the ICU into a regular room. But the best news of all, is that if all goes well, that he might be able to go home on Thursday!

That is simply AMAZING to me!!! Having Brain Surgery on Tuesday, and going home on Thursday!!! Simply amazing!!!

At any rate, it’s definitely good news on all fronts! The surgery went well, and the recovery is well on its way. No one could ask for anything more! And I know that everyone’s prayers, Bo’s good spirits, and lots of love, made all of this happen!

Needless to say, I’m really ready to see him while I’m in town on Thursday. Depending on how my day goes tomorrow, I might make it to the ‘burg in time to see him then, too. But, if all continues as it’s been going, I might just be able to see him in his own home on Thursday! That’s got to be great!

For the past couple of weeks, my brother, Bo, has had some double-vision problems. He’s also coincidentally been taking an asthma medication for the same time span. So, it was natural for him to assume that the double vision was a side effect of the meds.

So, on Thursday, Bo went to the doctor to request a different medication. But the doctor said that double vision wasn’t a side effect of his medication. So, he sent Bo to an eye doctor. The eye doctor found that there was an enlarged nerve between his eye and his Brain (side note: I originally typed the word “Brian” instead of “Brain” — damn habits, huh?).

So, they took an MRI and a CT Scan, and found that Bo has Brain Tumor. They’re very surprised, as brain tumors don’t appear very often in 30-year olds. They guessed that it may have had something to do with Bo’s former smoking (he’s quit for a little more than 3 years now), but a lung X-ray didn’t turn up anything. For now, they’re pretty puzzled why he has a brain tumor.

So, on this coming Tuesday morning, Bo’s going to have surgery to have the tumor removed. Bo tells me that the doctors guess that he’ll have to spend 5-6 days in the hospital for recovery.

When speaking to Bo, you can tell that he’s a little concerned, but he’s also very confident and very laid-back. He’s still joking around like usual — he told me that he even saw the inauguration ceremony twice (double vision joke). He just wants to get the surgery done, so things can get back to normal. I don’t blame him there.

But, it seems like his more daunting challenge is keeping other people from worrying or even over-worrying on his behalf. He’s mentioned that his wife is really upset (and understandably so!), but he’s said that her worrying is upsetting him! And that’s making things harder.

I’ve also spoken with our mom, who’s also doing the worry thing (again, understandably so!), and I’ve tried to alleviate some of those worries the best I can. Bo doesn’t need us to worry about him right now, he needs our strength.

At any rate, this IS a major surgical procedure! Brain surgery is not easy (it’s not rocket science, but it is Brain Surgery — ok, my joke wasn’t that good, there). And I’m guessing (I haven’t done my research) that there are some bad possible outcomes.

And for that reason, and for the mere fact that he has a wife and son who love and need him very much (as well as tons of family members and tons of friends), just try to keep Bo in your prayers. And also, keep Missy and Jeremy in your prayers too — they’ve got to be just as strong as Bo is for a little while.

I have to be in Lynchburg for a meeting on Thursday, so I’m hoping that I can stop by the hospital to see Bo on Wednesday night (depends on how soon I can get on the road), and if not, then definitely on Thursday afternoon.

I’ll definitely post some progress reports as we know more.

I think that one of the jobs that I envy most is the weatherman. He definitely doesn’t have to know what he’s doing. He can botch a prediction and even joke about it. There’s no other job that I can think of that has such leniency.

So, we were supposed to get 24 hours of snow, starting at 7:00 this morning, and having a total accumulation of 6-12 inches. Bold prediction!

In reality, it started snowing around 11:15 this morning, and we got maybe 2-3 inches, and the snow stopped around 3:30 or 4:00. So much for that call, Mr. & Mrs. Weatherman!!! Great job! At least there was SOME snow, huh?

I’m just glad that it wasn’t enough to necessitate me going into work!

BTW, the picture (above and to the left) was one I took off of my balcony this morning while it was still snowing.

WHFS is no more… well, they’re not rock and roll or alternative anymore.

Today at noon, WHFS changed its format from “The True Rock Alternative” to Hispanic music. WHFS is now known as El Zol (“Siempre de Fiesta”), 99.1, and will feature Salsa & Meringue dance music.

It was announced sometime last year, that the Hispanic Community had outnumbered the Black/African-American/”Whatever the cliche group name is now” Community. Now, the Hispanic Community is taking over radio.

… definitely a different world these days.

Well, there’s always good to go with the bad.

Yes, college football is done (and the NFL has only about a month left), but that opens the door for good dramatic television!!

Tonight, Alias began its’ fourth season. And on Sunday, 24 begins its’ fourth season too.

And just 2 hours into the new season of Alias (probably 2 episodes blended into 1), I’m so into it already. See, in season 3, the show sort of took a side-turn and got away from it’s roots. And in 20 minutes, it seems like they’re going back in that direction again. SD-6 is no more, but APO is going strong as a black-ops splinter group of the CIA. APO does include Arvin Sloan (former head of the terrorist SD-6 group), but the concept of the group is that it polices itself… thus Sloan is under constant scrutiny. Definitely some potential there.

They’ve also worked Nadia, Sydney’s half-sister, into the story, and into the group. With the revelation that Jack killed Irina (his former wife, and both Nadia’s and Sydney’s mother) because Irina had a contract out to have Sydney killed, there’s a unique underlying story going on… Nadia (who doesn’t know about Jack killing Irina, or why, for that matter), has sworn to kill her mother’s killer. Very interesting!!

They’ve also started showing some of the off-the-job scenes, which was sorely missing in season 3… again, going back to the strong roots of Alias. I’m soooooo looking forward to the rest of the season! I love Alias!!

And on Sunday, 24 starts back up, too. There’ll be 2 hours of 24 on Sunday, and another 2 hours on Monday. Yep, 1/6th of the season in 2 nights. I’m really ready for 24, as it’s a great action show, where what happens in one hour might not be affected until hours later. Definitely a smart, intense, full-of-action show. I’m sure I’ll start the 24 discussion soon!