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Brain Go BOOM! Author/Survivor: John Cooper Chapter 32: Johnny’s Getting his Skull Back I had the date: October 25, 2010 at Hospital J. This time was a little different, though; I had time to sit and think about it—another brain surgery for the second time that year. I don’t care how anyone worded it, I was going to have two brain surgeries within ten months of each other. Think about that for a minute and let it set in… They were going to shave my head and make another large incision and, as my brain was open to air, they would be manipulating my precious grey matter and then reinserting my skull bone, all while carefully working around the seven newly-inserted aneurysm clips. (It’s important to note that Hospital J was keeping my skull plate “refrigerated.” It was regularly inspected and checked by Hospital J staff. As I understood it, it was housed with other skull plates that were to be replaced on other patients.) Not only did I have time to think about this second surgery, there were aesthetic concerns, too. Because my aneurysm was what they called a “giant” aneurysm, it was clamped with very large clips. Two of the seven clips slightly protrude out of my temple area about a quarter of an inch, so the concern was if the skull plate would fully cover the protruding clips. This wasn’t any old Lego play set we’re talking about here boys and girls. And with my recent stroke, I was starting to think that Lady Luck wasn’t on my side. On Friday, October 22 th at 4:00 pm, 3 days before my scheduled surgery, we received a call from Hospital J. We excitedly took the call, assuming we were going to be told what time to show up at for Monday’s surgery. Wait for it....wait for it... BOOM! The call went something like this: “Mr. Cooper, we’re calling to inform you that unfortunately we have to cancel Page 84 of 167
Brain Go BOOM! Author/Survivor: John Cooper surgery. We won’t be able to use your skull bone, as it’s become infected with strep.” I don’t remember much of what was said after that and handed the phone to Laura. No shit! What the hell was I going to do? I need my skull bone put back in and I need it now! I was frustrated, mad and befuddled. I was angry that mine had become infected, but I just wanted them to find another one and put it in! As all of this was happening, we were in the process of changing our health insurance provider and only had about three weeks before my policy changed. I didn’t know what kind of hoops we were going to have to jump through to make surgery happen. My brain couldn’t compute what was going on, so Laura hopped right on things and made several calls. There was so much to be done in order to get a synthetic piece made for my surgery. She lined up the insurance company, Hospital J neurosurgeons and nurses, the CAT scan scheduler, and probably many others. The CAT scan was vitally important so they could obtain the exact dimensional measurements for the piece of my missing skull bone. From there, a specialized medical fabrication company would have to make my new synthetic replacement skull plate. They informed me that the new synthetic skull plate would be much more durable and stronger than my original skull bone. We technically needed a referral before we could schedule the CAT scan. However, when the hospital asked Laura about this, she said, “No, we don’t need a referral,” and she was able to get the staff at Hospital J to move fast. The CAT scan was scheduled for the following Monday (the date my surgery was supposed to occur). I thought, This is a good thing. It’s brand new and more durable, just like my new deck table. Things happen for a reason so stay positive, John. Both the nurse who disclosed the bad news and Laura handled things expeditiously and got everything needed for a quick resolve. She was nothing less than exceptional. She rocks; nurses rock! We were told that synthetics plates can take a week to ten days to create. However, between Laura and the Hospital J nurse, they were able to get it casted within three days! My new replacement skull plate was created and my cranioplasty surgery date was scheduled for Page 85 of 167
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