My wife, Dee, is scheduled for the STA/MCA Bypass
Surgery for her MM on 07-05-05. It will be done at
the HealthEast Neurovascular Institute facility at
St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul, MN. The surgery
will be performed by Dr. Eric Nussbaum.

This facility is affiliated with Barrow Neurological
Institute in Phoenix, AZ.

My wife is Thai, 53 years old and was symptomatic
with stroke, severe vascular headaches and deficit
on her left-side in her arm and leg. She has improved
since the addition of all of the meds after diagnosis
of MM. The vascular-dilator, blood-thinner and others
has lessened her symptoms and makes life bearable.

The doctor seems quite pro-active, in that he wishes
to complete the surgery before any major strokes do
their number on her and create permanent problems.

I am writing this to let all know that we did get a date
for the MM surgery.

With your prayers and mine, she is doing better already. Thank you......

Tom Hritz

Hi Tom,

I just wanted you to know that you and your wife will be in my prayers. Tell her she has a crew of people from around the world praying for her.

Please keep us posted.

God bless,
Mar

Dear Tom,

Thanks for sharing the news of Dee's surgery being scheduled.  As Mar said, "the crew" (aka your new MM family) will be thinking and praying for you both as Dee goes through the surgery process.

Please don't hesitate to ask questions or to lean on us for support when you need to . . . we'll be here!  Take care, and please keep us posted.

Hugs from California,
Jill  

Tom,
             Good Luck to Dee and we will be praying for her. You have alot of people on your side and along with that comes alot of prayers they help alot. Welcome to the family :(. We'll always be here to answer your questions. We'll be waiting for a update.
                          Nancy

Dee and I wish to thank all of you for your concern and
support. It is wonderful knowing that there are others
out there that we can share our questions and fears
with. Thank you all. I will try to contact each of you in
the near future and will post here to update you as soon
as Dee has her MM surgery. Peace to you all.... :D

Hi Tom.

 We will keep you r wife in our prayers and will be anxious for her updates.  

Janice

Again, thanks to one and all for the support and prayers
that have been offered on our behalf. It is overwhelming.

Tom Hritz :D

Hi Tom -

Welcome to our MM Family.  Your wife, and you, will be in our thoughts and prayers!  Please keep us updated on her progress.

-Shari

Tom...thought about your wife today...as she had her surgery....lots of prayers heading your direction and that all went well today.  Warm Hugs,  CarasMOM :)

Hi, all!!

Dee had her surgery yesterday and it went very well.
Dr. Nussbaum did the STA/MCA bypass. He is happy with
what transpired and she is in ICU now, recuperating.

The staff in ICU is adamant in their praise of Dr. N.
He is one that is close to walking-on-water. Even
the chaplin said it in those words.

Dee was even able to eat some solid food last night.
I fed her chicken, squash and rice. It stayed down.
Progress.

Would you believe that Dr. N is married to another
Dr. Nussbaum? His wife is head of the cyber-knife
unit here. And, they have five, yes five, children
under the age of four.....twins and then triplets.

Imagine the stress in that household....

Again, thank you all for your prayers and concern.
THEY WORKED!!! God bless you all....

Tom

[smiley=sayyes.gif] [smiley=sayyes.gif] [smiley=sayyes.gif]

Hi Tom - Thanks for sharing the great news!  Please tell your wife to keep up the good work with her recovery!  

-Shari

Tom,

This is absolutely great news!  I'm glad to hear the surgery went well.  Sounds like things are progressing well!  Please continue to keep us updated!  

Michelle

Tom,

Wonderful news!  I'm so glad to hear that Dee's surgery went well.  It is comforting to feel like you have your loved one in such capable hands.  

I will say prayers for Dee's recovery to go smoothly.  You may have to remind her to take things slowly and to be patient with herself . . . I say this only because most people seem to think they'll pick up where they left off prior to surgery!  The good thing is that you've taken care of the problem, and she's on the road to recovery!

Looking forward to your next update and sending many good thoughts and prayers your way!

Warmly,
Jill

Hi, All!!!

Dee is out of ICU and in telemetry unit. She is a step
away from being admitted to the neurology unit instead
of ICU or Critical Care. More progress.

She is able to converse with no difficulty and able to do
all of the tasks they request of her in their assessments.
She eats solid foods and they stay down and she wants
to get out walking soon. Her incision-site is hardly swollen and the sutures look good. She has a sheared
spot of about 2 and a half inches by six and a half inches
from in front of her right ear and up and over it. Not too
bad. She said she will do a bald-man's comb-over until
it grows back in. Still has her sense of humor.

Just thought that I would let you all know how she was
progressing. We are taking it a day at a time. If she
keeps up with her progress, she will be home before
we know it.

And, thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers.

God Bless,
Tom Hritz

Tom - This is great news!  Thanks for the update!

-Shari

Graduation Day!!! Dee was moved out of ICU on Thursday night into Telemetry. On Saturday she was
moved into a regular room on the Post-Op neurology
wing. She has graduated to the last step before release.
She is a happy camper. So am I. We thank you all for your prayers and support. Now, the rehab and follow-up
begins.

;;D;;D;;D;;D;;D;;D;;D;;D;;D;;D  

Big smiles all around!  Great news!

-Shari

Greetings! Sounds like Dee will be leaving the hospital
on Thursday, the 14th, for HOME. Physical therapy later
today and if their assessment is a go, then she goes home on the 14th. We are both ready.....thanks to all
for your prayers and support. She is on the road to
recovery.

Tom

Glad to gear that Dee will be going home soon. I hope that all goes well as she continues to recover! Keep us updated. You will both be in my thoughts!

Christy

WE ARE HOME!!! Boy, does that feel good to write. We
had an uneventful journey home, with its 200+ miles of
drive.  Dee travels well, even after surgery and a week
in the hospital. We will rest and keep her settled for the
next few days until we return to Dr. Nussbaum for the
removal of half of her sutures on July 20th. We will come
home for a week and return again on July 27th for the
removal of the remainder and an assessment. We are
gonna take LIFE a day at a time from here on out.......
again, thanks to you all and we will never forget your
thoughts and prayers......Tom
:D

Tom,
      Excellent news and congrats!!!!!!!!

Tom & Dee -

Welcome home!  Continuing to send prayers for a speedy recovery....hugs! [smiley=hug.gif]

-Shari

Marvelous news Tom!  Welcome home...as Dorothy once said "There's no place like home."

Glad to hear Dee is on the road to recovery...I have a question though...why have they decided to remove the staples on 2 seperate occasions?  I'm just curious...

Please send Dee our best..she's in our hearts, thoughts and prayers..

Take care,
SFH ;)

Yes, you are certainly correct. The first thing that Dee
said upon walking through the door to home was just
what you said, "There's no place like home..."

I do not know exactly why Dr. Nussbaum is removing half of the sutures/staples on two different occasions.
I suspect it has to do with Dee's history of not being a
real good healer when it comes to surgeries. In the past, she did not heal as rapidly as they had expected,
so I suspect that history dictated leaving half of them in
longer than the rest. You see, she is also diabetic.

It will be another big day tomorrow when she does get
half of them removed. I am just happy to be able to get
her to and from the appointments. I look at her in wonder each and every time we go anywhere. She keeps emphasizing how she has had 32 years of easy
living as compared to her family in Thailand. She is just
so happy to be able to have the chance at surgery it is
unexplainable. She keeps saying that she feels like she
has won the lottery and hit the jackpot all at the same
time. To get a second-chance at Life is nearly over-
whelming her. Me, too.......