End of 2nd day 1

I left Rosie at 11:00pm sleeping quite comfortably. She was being turned from side to side during the day because the hospital beds aren't the softest and she was getting a sore bum. Today seemed to me to be less awful for Rosie than last time and I hope that will continue. I thought I might watch a little Federer back in my room but my eyes are saying otherwise. Rosie is still confused about dates and has blurry double vision but the Surgeons say that is normal and will pass.

9pm

Jessye and Sophie walked to Macquarie Centre, just a few minutes walk from the hospital, to have dinner and they brought me back a yummy bento box so I'm taking a break out in the waiting room while I eat it. Rosie was awake when Jessye came back in and asked what they had for dinner. When Jessye said they'd had sushi, Rosie asked if she could have some. I told her she couldn't eat till tomorrow, that she's only just started drinking water after just sucking on ice for the last several hours. Still, it was a good sign that she actually wanted some. Sophie has gone in to see Rosie awake for the first time since surgery so I'll watch tennis and eat for a few minutes until one of them comes out. I just caught the interview with Bernard Tomic.

5+ hours post-op

She's been sleeping peacefully for about an hour and a half, just waking long enough to answer questions, wiggle feet and squeeze hands. Jessye and I are on either side of her bed - not sure what Sophie's up to.


Miika and David just popped in. They were both in on the surgery - Rosie's AVM, very deep in the thalamus, would have been medically exciting for them.

3.5 hours post-op

Sleeping peacefully for half an hour - the heavens be praised!

ICU 3 hours post-op

It's heartwrenching to see Rosie going through these gruelling early hours again. She's getting pain relief topups all the time but it barely scratches the surface. She's just trying to close her eyes and hope for sleep to escape.




Half- hourly assessments will continue till midnight. Rosie knows where she is, why she's here, what year it is and that it was her birthday a week ago but she's confused about what month it is - February, August, September and July. She knew Jessye and Mum when we were the two at her bedside but quietly worked at my name for a few minutes. After we'd moved onto something else, she succeeded and came up with Wilma. This is similar to the confusion she suffered last time. It helps us to know what to expect but it's just as tough on Rosie second time around. Medically, all is going well.

All done

Michael came to talk to me at 12:23. He said he realised he was in this position last week but he is happy with how it went. They removed more AVM and if there is any left he can't imagine where it is. They've left a few microclips in this time to pinpoint where they've been in case they have to go back in but he's not expecting that. She should be awake in 30-40 minutes. I'll ask him about the microclips next time I see him - what are they made of and do they stay there forever if they don't have to go back in? I remember thinking last time that he looked spent afterwards and I thought it again. I guess brain surgery requires very intense effort and concentration.

Round 2, day 1

I left Rosie asleep in theatre at 8:54am. Miika and David were talking outside - Michael was not there yet. Surgery is probably starting about 9:30.
She was showered and in her gown by 7:30 when I got to her room. Jessye was still fast asleep. Rosie and I filled in time working on the puzzle which is tantalisingly close to completion.




Sophie came over, Jessye was up and about working on the puzzle too and at about 8:15, the porter came to wheel Rosie down to the OR. We all accompanied her to the ante-room where the lovely French nurse we had last time was waiting for her again. After the paperwork was checked, I put on the gear to go to theatre with her.




Dr Neesan (I think that's his name), the anaesthetist, had a much harder time finding a good vein this time, since all the good spots had been well-used. He started on the right arm, then had a go at the left forearm and finally had success in the inner left elbow. Rosie is sporting bruises in all the likely spots. Then he gave her the relaxing drug which I think she needed after that lot.




There were unfamiliar brain pictures up on the screen from yesterday's CT and Rosie was worried it was someone else's brain but I reassured her that her name was next to them and they were just perspectives we weren't familiar with. I gave her a kiss, said "see you soon" and she was asleep quite soon after arriving in theatre. Jessye and Sophie, meanwhile, had gone to the Travelodge for breakfast. We're hoping that the ward 2 staff will be too overwhelmed by the amount of stuff we've got in Rosie's room that they will keep her room for her for when she goes back to the ward after a day or so in ICU.