Brady had no recollection of seeing me after his surgery in observation, which was not altogether surprising. He was SO out of it during those couple of hours, and that was ok with me. I knew he was alive. That was the most important thing. I left the hospital confidently, knowing he would be more with it the next day.

I woke up fairly early the next morning, and I saw texts from Brady that were sent around 4am. They were filled with worry and confusion. He didn’t know what room he was in and had no memory of getting there. He did know he was at the hospital though. He was cognitively aware, just a bit out of body, not remembering getting acquainted with his space. He didn’t know where his stuff was, or his wheelchair. But his top concern was whether or not I had been able to see him post-op, as he knew I was worried and I hadn’t been allowed to see him post-op after his spinal surgery. That had made for a hard night, and he was worried for my sake 💜 Thankfully, I could reassure him all across the board.

He was in observation. Neuro ward. I told him his nurses names.

I brought his backpack and chair home since things were a bit tight in obs. I promised to bring them back that day.

And yes. We had spoken. Held hands. Said hello and goodbye. No love was lost at all 💜

I went in to see him as soon as I could. He was VERY tired. Not exactly vibrant 😆 But still really cute, so its ok.

That first day post-op went exactly as I expected. I’d visit with him for maybe a half hour, and then go crochet elsewhere while he napped. Shorty visit, then a nap. Shorty visit, then a nap. It was choppy but also nice to see him a few times 💜 I sat with him during lunch. He tried, but food was still hard. His stomach had been very sensitive since surgery.

Just me, Brady, and his brain blood catch-all 😅

Day two post-op was much the same as day one. The naps were maybe a touch shorter but otherwise it was similar. Neither of us had energy, so we would snuggle up and watch some Netflix during Bradys wakeful time.

Those were tired, difficult days, but at least we were together. We could NOT have been together as much as we were without, as they’ve come to be known around here, the grandmas 💜 My mom and Rae made things SEAMLESS in terms of watching the kids for full days without question. I could come and go without any worries, and that was AWESOME.

Day two also meant that Bradys brain drain could come out! Heyooo!

That little bandaid towards the top was what was covering up the hole where the drain had been, and surprisingly, it never needed to be replaced or cleaned up any extra. It sat there, happily stuck to Brady’s hair, and never budged. This particular event was victorious because a) it didn’t hurt, and b) it took away much of the pressure in Brady’s head and ears, as well as relieved some loud crackling sounds that were bothering him. Win!!

On day three post-op, Brady came HOME.

We were pretty quiet about it at first 💜 He was SO tired and his head was very woozy and off balance. His body, specifically his legs, were far weaker than they had been in a very very long time. He just wasn’t all the way stable. But recovering in a room with three other people in different stages of ailment was not an ideal setup either. Home was better than that.

And it was the right choice 💜 We’ll talk about that next. Recovery thus far. More gorey pictures coming in the next series post!

Does everyone feel lighter when the weather starts to turn like it is currently? No? Just me? It can’t be just me. Today, the house got hot. We opened storm doors and windows. Kids played outside in tshirts. Cher and I even went for a drive and got iced drinks! It was just one of those days that felt like it carried the promise of the warmer seasons that lie ahead. So soon, we’ll be into the activities that come with nicer weather. Track at school. Going for walks as a family. We even have a kid going into soccer this spring! And of course, camp is up on that list! In all honesty, with Brady recovering, it feels like setting up camp will be a really big job. Its a little daunting at this point, to be honest. But it is a HUGE relief to know we have lovely people who will come around and help us in any way possible to provide us help and ease 💜 It is not lost on me how fortunate we are.

The help this week and last has been incredibly humbling and deeply appreciated. The meals have kept us afloat, and every one has been completely delicious. I’ve even given into paper dishes most suppers to keep things easy. I’m still behind in plenty of things, but we are still making it work, and I’m really glad we at least have that. Because, these days, when there is a quiet moment, and I could either bake muffins or crochet, I’ve been intentionally choosing crochet, or something light like that that helps me relax a bit more. And I have no regrets. Because I know I need to function in order for everyone around me to function. It can’t be JUST about keeping Brady strong. I know I need to be strong, too. So I am being intentional, and I think its paying off.

So tonight, while we wait for Dekker to come home from youth, I plan to eat a couple of cupcakes in my bed, likely with a baby in my lap, and watch some Netflix with Brady. Ooooo! Maybe also a tall glass of milk, since I finally bought some today.

I hope you all sleep tonight. We’ve been finally gaining some ground with sleeping these days, slowly but surely! Still, I hope you’re all sleeping WAY more than I am!! 😅

Goodnight everyone! 💜

By the grace of God, after another fairly rough night with our sleep-hating lemon drop, Brady and I woke up feeling more rested than usual! Brady was cognitively clearer than he’s been since surgery day, and therefore was more energetic. Not that we pushed it a whole lot at all, but it was so nice to see him more himself and less draggy. We did a little bit of picking up around the house and moved our bedroom around a bit to make it easier for him to use his wheelchair in there. We ate yummy food and generally really enjoyed a super quiet morning! Kids have been enjoying VBS in the mornings this week, as have we. We get to be quiet and relaxed, and they come home as astronauts from the International Space Station.

Post VBS, kids came home, lunched, and then Laela went out on an errand run for me around town, where she picked up some puzzles, fancy soaps, and the mail. She was super happy to be outside, as were the astronauts. The spring weather is so nice for absolutely all of us! I firmly believe its going to help Bradys healing, too! But so far, he’s still sticking very close to home, closing up that incision, healing the trauma, and organizing those neural pathways that need to be rewritten. Turns out recovering from brain surgery is kind of a ton of work!

I hope many of you are enjoying this week off, and considering its only Tuesday, that you’re not scratching at the door to get out just yet.

Let’s talk about what Brady’s surgery actually entailed.

Bradys list of procedures are as follows:

Stealth neuro navigation

Right frontal temporal craniotomy

Intra-axial mass resection

Gleolan

Duraplast

Yup. Fiiiiive categories. And we’re going to go through each one just a little bit, to paint a picture.

To start, I’ll remind you that Brady’s mass showed up in his right temporal lobe, which you will know if you read that list, haha! If you’re picturing where your temple is, it might be hard to understand where that is, but I can tell you its right above his right ear. This shows the left, but you get it.

Now to the categories!

Stealth neuro navigation is the process of really finding your bearings, making a plan, and getting the patient set up. Brady was draped off, and his head was set up in a scary way with clamps and mayfield pins. Look that stuff up and you’ll know why he has that mark on his forehead 😬

They used something of a doppler, combined with all previous scans, located the mass with confidence, marked the incision, and got Brady all set up for the next bit.

The right frontal temporal craniotomy sounds pretty medieval if you ask me. And its exactly what you think it – removing the skull portion. As we picked through the operative report, we googled every tool name, and honestly, it was just all the standard nonthreatening pokers in varying sizes that you picture being in a doctors office. Except for the drill and the saw, lol! Brady muttered from his chair just now “the bone-do zip.” The craniotomy was performed by drilling burr holes and then connecting them with the bone-do zip. There was some talk about pinning back flaps, but we won’t get into all that. The space was opened. Thats enough.

Intra-axial mass resection. Tumour removal, basically. The report talks in depth about constant planning, and confirming the masses location using the neuronavigation. Lots and lots of microscopes. When the time came to actually dig in, they began by cauterizing all around the mass as was visible. They used ultrasonic aspiration to de-bulk the mass, consistently rechecking position, and extending the craniotomy in a couple of different directions, as needed.

Gleolan is a super cool new med that played a role in the removal of Brady’s brain mass. It was a gross contrasty orange juice/aluminum shot that Brady took the night before, and it is specifically used to illuminate malignant cells, most commonly used when investigating brain tumours/cancers. So at this point in the surgery, once the bulk of the mass was resected, they turned on their fluorescent lights to see how the gleolan reacted. It showed faint illumination throughout the surgical cavity. Don’t panic here 💜 Take a second. Not only is this method new and not 1000% reliable, but a faint glow kicks a radiant flash in the ass! We’ll take faint any day! This did show, however, that the tumour had fuzzy edges, not smooth. Fuzzy can suggest spreading, though the tumour was completely unchanged since the day we discovered it. Unfortunately, the fuzzy edges started infiltrating the white matter, meaning it wasn’t safe to scoop them all out of there. So. Not 100% perfect, but definitely still very successful!

Duraplast is last. Its even in the name. Its the closing up of the surgical cavity and putting the head back together. Yikes that sounds grosser than I imagined 😅 Everything was cleaned well, and then the packing began. Mesh was first. Dural lining was closed with nylon sutures. There was a bandaid-type of cover put over the stitches. Brady says “braindaid.” Gelfoam was also used, which is another type of braindaid covered in a solution specifically to prevent against bleeding. That one absorbs and dissolves in the weeks following surgery. After aaaaall the packing materials were in place, the bone flap *shivers* was put back in place and secured with plates and screws. How many – we don’t know, but we’re excited to find out if Brady will beep going through airport security someday.

At this point, the heavy lifting of closing up was done. A drain tube was placed alongside the bare bone and secured with a silk suture, preparing for recovery. The temporalis (layer of muscle along the skull) was laid in place and sutured down, and then secured further with the last layer of skin and *gulp* 41 staples.

Everything was washed, dried, and dressed.

Wait for it.

Doused. Dried. Dressed. Drained. Disconnected. Dilaudid.

I could keep going, but I’ll stop…

Post surgery, Brady immediately went in for an x-ray, as the number of sutures noted was off by one, but nothing was amiss on the inside, and Brady was cleared into recovery.

And now he’s OUT! Goodness this series could go on forever. I will stop soon. But not yet.

Well. We did it. We pushed it today. We’ve been coasting all week, and realistically, we need to coast all this coming week as well. And we will. But today, we tried harder to push, and I think I can safely say we have no regrets. Brady? Do you agree? Brady?…..

So maybe Brady is a little overtired, but thats to be expected after this last week. Brain surgery was only ten days ago. And there is more to that story! But today, I’m going to share our victories, regardless of how small they are, from today.

We went to church! And we got there on time!! It was a very full service, with both churches in attendance. We were baby-free for a chunk of the service, and I’ll admit, I could’ve fallen asleep on Brady’s shoulder. But rather, I rested and listened and soaked up some church. It was really peaceful.

We went on to visit for quite a while but Brady and I were both fading pretty fast and we needed to go. So we did. And we went home. And Brady went right to bed. As did the Morsel. Lemon Drop and I dozed on the recliner until I had to get up and start prepping supper. I was determined to make a yummy supper even though we weren’t hosting anything fancy for anyone but ourselves.

Laela helped 💜

Nothing crazy at all. Just a bit more fuss than I normally make. We have roasted broccoli, ham and pineapple slices in a honey mustardish glaze, and crispy garlic parm potatoes.

And I’ve got to say, guys, it was worth the effort. It was SO yummy.

Anyway. We went to church and had yummy food. Thats about all the stretch we’re going to manage on top of our regular life things, and while I am very happy I was able to make good food, I am definitely anticipating another week of suppers a la other people 😩 That generosity is such an immense help, and we do not take it for granted.

This next week holds more rest and recovery, quiet mornings, and trying to stop Brady from doing work around the house before he’s ready. That alone is its own job. Wish me luck.

So. I left you all in the surgery holding room.

As I said yesterday, it was less traumatizing sending Brady into surgery than it was for his spinal surgery. It went a long way to be able to be with him up until he went to the operating room. It probably went as smoothly as it could’ve gone. So without being tooooo terribly brave, I walked out of the room fairly confidently and headed towards my next plan. Because you’d better believe I had a plan in place, haha!

First, I contacted Carrie, my good friend who works at the hospital, and let her know Brady was in and I was free. I wandered a little bit and when I heard back from Carrie, we made a plan to have a coffee. I am SO grateful for her, and also her department of caring people who were understanding of her taking a longer break than usual to be with me 💜

We coffeed for a while, and my mind was occupied, which helped a lot. But alas, Carrie is a real adult and has a real job, and she had to go back to it. So she did, and I went onto the next thing I had planned for my morning wait. Crocheting!

I went out to my vehicle and sorted through the bag of crocheting I had brought along. I realized immediately my error. I forgot my crochet hook! And my scissors!! ACK! I had yarn and that was it! Shooooot!

So back inside I went. I waited until all the little shops were open, and sadly, no one had crochet hooks. I swear I had seen them once in a previous stay, but no dice. Not that day, anyway. I weighed my options, and decided to head to Michaels. I had time, and I didn’t want to be idle for that long.

I had success at Michaels!

Accidentally too much success…

I also bought a pattern of what I wanted to start making. A new blanket 🙂 As usual.

Back at the hospital, I crocheted for a little while, and watched true crime on my phone. I did this until I got twitchy. Around 11:30 maybe. I had been tipped off that Brady was expected to be in the OR until about noon, and the anesthesiologist had pointed a waiting area out to me. I decided to meander my way over there for a change of scenery.

A few minutes before noon, Dr. Fourney called me. He told me that they were done, Brady handled the procedure without any scares or surprises. He told me it could not have gone better. He advised me to give it an hour, maybe two, for Brady to be moved into an observation room up in the neuro ward, and I was more than welcome to meet him there. Perfect. I thanked him profusely, and we hung up!

Still more waiting idle time to fill! Onto the next thing on my list. A really really yummy lunch!

You’ll have to take my word for it. Its a cafeteria burger, and it doesn’t look like anything special, but this particular burger is SO good. I think its the brioche bun. Its just crazy delicious to a point where I actually anticipated it. YUM!

I waited the appropriate amount of time before I stuck my head up into the ward, but he wasn’t on site yet. I tried to leave but was reassured I could take a seat and someone would make a call for me.

Thus began a three hour wait up in the observation area of neuro. Brady was too drowsy to transfer our of recovery. Oddly tired. Too tired. They didn’t like it, and sent him for reassessment and a CT. So that was stressful. I had the people from the recovery ward call me and say it’ll be another hour at least, but when I tried to leave, the lovely nurses insisted that I was not at all in their way and I was very welcome to stay there. They dragged a comfier chair over to where I was sitting, and I set up camp 💜 It was SO nice. Like I found my space where I could be restful and content, but close by, and with people I could talk to. It was just the perfect balance of all the things I needed.

Brady was supposed to surface around 1pm, but finally, around 5pm, up he came. CT deemed that he was so extra drowsy from the drugs and nothing else

💜 Oof. My sleepy, loaded, recovering, husband had made it.

🚨 Blood alert 🚨

Brady was completely drugged, and barely coherent. Our awesome nurse came over and gave me the heads up that she was gonna wake him. She loudly called to him and rubbed his chest a bit. He barely opened his eyes, but he did just enough to respond to her and make eye contact with me. Never have I felt more reassured 💜 He followed instructions – lifting and wiggling what he could, and even knowing the date! Though he fell asleep every three seconds or so, and needed to keep being woken up, haha! I held his hand, and at one point when I let go, he reached for me again. I loved that.

I lingered until it was definitely time to go. Around 7pm, if I remember right. I leaned over and gave him a little kiss, which he returned. I told him I loved him and would see him the next day. He was already back to sleep. I knew he wouldn’t miss me 💜 which was ideal. Just sleep that all off, honey.

And he did! And the next day carried a very warm reception 💜 But I’ll tell you about that another time 😘

Checking in sounds nicer than being admitted, right? It sounds more like a hotel stay and less a terrifying stint at the hospital.

Anyway, hi guys! I’m back to tell you a bit more of the story of Bradys surgery. Don’t worry, the lead up will be done soon. We’re currently at the day before surgery. The day Brady “checked in.” March 20th.

Brady was asked to come in around noonish, and thats about when a bed would be open for him. Dr. Fourney even called personally and informed Brady of the timeline. He said to get some lunch and then make our way in. So we did! I don’t know what it is, but Brady and I almost always get junior bacon cheeseburgers from Wendy’s when we’re going in just the two of us. Our kids don’t like Wendys as much as McDonalds, but we both LOVE JBCs, so we got a few of those, plus some drinks, and headed to RUH to register Brady for surgery.

We went sent up to the neuro ward right away. The 6300s. The same place Brady was in for his spinal surgery, before he was sent to rehab. Its a pretty bleak place, and its no ones fault. I mean no disrespect when I say it, but that is a brutally hard ward, and I hate so much having Brady there. Consider what neuro is. Nerves. Brains. Strokes. Lots of noise. Restraints. Combative patients. Struggle and sadness. It is VERY hard to be in and around there. Plus, just about every room is a shared room. So Brady was nestled into a four patient room, separated with sheets, from three other people, all with their own issues. Nothing about that is easy. Conveniently, at least we were together for a little bit 💜

We snuggled in for a little bit and watched some Netflix. You may want to say we shouldn’t spend that time watching tv, but let me tell you, both of us needed that rest to just be together. Our hearts, brains, and bodies were freakishly exhausted.

Supper came at one point, and it was quite the menu for Brady! It consisted of three bean soup, chilli, and check it out! Beans on the side!!

We just laughed. It was rough. I offered to go get something else from the cafeteria but we opted to just be close while we could.

I didn’t leave too terribly late, considering I planned to be at the hospital at balls am in order to see Brady into surgery. I think we both tried to sleep really early. I’m not sure either of us succeeded in much sleeping. But thanks to Rae’s willing heart, I was able to leave home around 6am the next day and be with Brady around 7am, which was the plan his neurosurgeon had made with us the day before.

It was very quiet. We sat close for a short while until the nurses came to get Brady transferred down to the surgery ward. I was wholeheartedly welcomed to join them on the walk down and for that last hour or so wait before he went in.

It was bright and lively down in surgery. There were a handful of patients on beds, waiting for things to start up. Tons of surgical teams were making their way through the space, connecting with patients, having conversations and making plans. It wasn’t too ominous at that point. Seemed pretty low key somehow. The vibe was really nice, actually.

Dr Fourney came and talked to us. He left all the room open for questions, and reassured us as best as he could. He took a marker and wrote my pho number on his pants and promised to call me as soon as things were done. I laughed at that, but also felt warm and cared for. We met and chatted with the anesthesiologist, who was a bit of a hoot. There was brief conversation about shaving Bradys beard, which was probably the most serious I saw him the entire time. He did NOT want that. They explained that they need to tape the breathing tube to his face, and it can’t move. And he still said “I am resistant to my beard being shaved.” I think we all agreed, though, however hesitantly, that if it came to life or death, shave the stinking thing. Goodness.

Finally, a nurse came to bring Brady’s bed in. She got him to take all of his rings and glasses off, which he handed to me. She told us we had a minute to get a good hug and kiss in, and then he would be off.

I might’ve cried. Maybe he did, too. We prayed, and then in he went.

Watching him go just never ever feels good :/ Both of his surgeries have felt like battles to me. But I was overwhelmed with gratefulness at how much nicer this send off was than the last one. The last one was awful. We couldn’t be together for any of the lead up, thanks to covid. This one carried some peace. Some comfort. Thank the Lord.

As you already know, he did come through, as did the beard. We’ll talk more about that again soon. This is enough for today 💜

Happy Easter weekend, lovely friends 💜 Thanks for following along!

The next post in the series of the story is surgery day, and today has not at all supplied me with the time I need to actually write that out well. So rather, I interrupt our usual programming to let you know, in case you don’t, that Brady is home with us 💜

*whispers* and he has been since Sunday afternoon.

I kind of started telling the whole story before I realized I hadn’t updated that he had come home, but he did! On his third day post-op, he was cleared of any risk factors via MRI and sent home. It was quick and surprising, and we didn’t question it!

We had the pleasure of getting home to an empty, peaceful house. My mom and Rae had taken the kids off to watch some curling and get a change of scenery, so Brady and I sat cozy in the living room and took some deep breaths.

In some ways, we have some normalcy. And in other ways, the entire thing is still totally surreal.

Brain surgery was one week ago. One. Like. Last week, someone cut his head open…

Speaking of that, I’d like to show some pictures from the day of and into recovery. Some might have IVs, or blood, or stitches. Can everyone hack it? I guess I’m not really asking for permission. Just a warning that the next couple will be a touch more graphic if you don’t prefer any blood or yuck. Everyones ick factor is different, and I don’t think my husband is icky. But if you might think his surgery is, I suggest skipping the next couple of posts 💜 No harm no foul.

Happy Easter break, everyone 💜 Take a deep breath and put your feet up if possible. Rest.

Brady here! Do you want to know the most difficult thing for ME to deal with through all of this brain tumour/seizure stuff? The medical suspension of my driver’s licence.

And I have friend’s who can attest, that is one of the hardest things to work around when dealing with unknown brain issues such as seizures/fainting spells. 

So the on call doctor in the ER the night that I had my one and only seizure was legally required to put a medical suspension on my licence which is standard practice. I totally understood why. It just sucks to lose that independence.

Since January 27th I have needed rides to and from work for every single day that I went to work, went to doctors appointments, MRIs, out for lunch, etc. It’s not ideal. But i’m also surrounded by many, many, handfuls of people who have shuttled me around and enjoyed taking that time to drive me where I need to go. Its not lost on me how much support I have around me and I appreciate each and everyone one of you. Thank you!

I am very much looking forward to having the medical suspension lifted at some point in the near future. It will be at the discrepancy of my Neurosurgeon provided I don’t have anymore seizures or neurological episodes for the next 3 months or so.

I think many of you can understand how losing the independence of being able to drive myself around would be a loss. The more obvious loss is not being able to drive to work or to my appointments, etc. But I want to point out that I also can’t jump in the van and drive to run errands either. We’re out of milk, need to fill up/wash the van, kid needs a ride to a friends house… each and every one of those tasks have been falling on Hailey or someone outside our household for 2 months now, and will continue to do so for another few months. Those little tasks really add up quick without realizing it.

Even just being able to jump in my van at lunch and drive across the parking lot at work to pick up a burger or a coffee is lost for the time being. The loss of independence is the HARDEST part. I’m sure you get that by now.

But I am continuing to take the anti-seizure meds that I was prescribed 2 months ago in efforts to keep all neuro-based issues at bay. The meds I’m on definitely have some side effects that I don’t prefer but I’m doing my best to deal with them in stride so I can be in the best position possible for my neurosurgeon to  go to bat for me.

I thank each and every one of you who have offered and have followed through with giving me rides too and fro. And thank you most of all to my amazing wife who steps in every time she’s asked  (or not asked) and makes things happen regardless of my (albeit short-term) inability to make these things happen.

Welp, I think that’s all she wrote. Thanks for listening to my woes for a moment!

Towards the end of January, the 27th to be exact, I asked Brady if he wouldn’t mind me taking a bit of a break for the evening and just hiding out in our room for a bit. I hadn’t asked for one in a while considering we had JUST moved into our new home on the 13th, but I was feeling pretty impatient and ready for some letdown. He very willingly gave me the freedom to take a break, as he always has 💜 I went to our room, but it was still pretty loud, considering our room is a lot closer to the rest of the house than it used to be. I finally barricaded myself in our en suite to make a phone call. 

After a while, I heard Brady come into our room. He had the morsel with him and I could hear him doing some bedtime stuff. I heard him growling at the morsel, as you do when you’re a parent with a morsel who growls. After a little bit of time, I heard other kids come into our room, which isn’t uncommon. Sometimes tucking babies in becomes a family affair, because they’re cute and fun and a great excuse to stay up longer. 

At one point, a kid knocked on my door. Now, I love my children, but try as I might, they interrupt a LOT. Not great radars for that, try as I might to teach them otherwise. So when they know I’m on the phone and still interrupt, I tend to not respond, so they can hypothetically read the room. But the knocks persisted so I opened the door. There was Rowan, looking a little silly but perhaps a little unsure. 

“Whats wrong with dad?”

“How so? What do you mean?”

“He’s laying on the ground and he won’t answer me. And his arm is red.” 

It took about one second for me to end my call and get out of there, and there lay Brady on our bedroom floor, unresponsive. 

Barf. 

So everything I had learned in first aid went out the window for a second and I lifted his head. You’re not supposed to do that, but, c’est la vie, I did. He jolted awake and looked at me, very confused. It looked in his eyes like he didn’t recognize me. I spoke to him and called his name, and he fell back out of consciousness. I woke him back up and tried to ask him if he was ok. He would sort of nod or acknowledge me, but it was very slight and inconsistent. I asked him if he knew his name, and he nodded. I asked if he could say it and he nodded again. Lol! Twerp. So I instructed him to say it. 

“Brladrly…” 

It was NOT good. 

So needless to say, I called 911, thinking he had a stroke. 

The dispatcher was awesome, and worked quickly. Meanwhile, most of the kids had made their way up to our room, so it was absolutely bursting with activity. When the dispatcher said the first responders were coming, Rowan jumped up and went to unlock the front door and hit the lights. Laela just cried and cried and cried consistently, positively beside herself 💜 Poor girl. 

While I waited for first responders and paramedics to arrive, I was actively trying to keep Brady awake. Which I’m pretty sure is wrong, but also I don’t think it hurt anything. I’d smack his cheek and he would jolt awake and look at me with surprise. I told him he scared me, and he would SO INNOCENTLY apologize! Knowing what I knew about his brain mass, I said to him “I think you’re going to have brain surgery.” His eyes grew huge and he exclaimed “WHY?!” Hahaha! It was a pretty cute moment in the midst of the chaos. 

A beautiful thing about living in a small town where everybody knows everybody is that the first responders were ALL familiar. Oh the relief that came with seeing faces of people I already knew were truly invested in us. Nothing else quite like that. One of them came and eagerly whisked the kids away to the living room to read stories, hold babies, etc. They came armed with craft stuff and stuffies 💜 A solid way to their hearts for sure!

Brady was starting to come to a little bit more, and he answered the questions he could while I filled in the blanks. He couldn’t quite place the first responder he was talking to, but he easily recognized one of the others, and named her so sweetly and calmly. It was an oddly warm interaction even though it was so stinking scary. He passed all the right tests. No droop in his mouth. Strong voice. Decent recognition. Hand strength. All the things. 

The paramedics were not far behind at all, and they were SO kind as well. They took his vitals and Brady was able to sit up a bit more. We went through memories, to see if he could remember the events leading up to falling down, which he could to a point. Likely to the point where he seized. It was pretty clear pretty quickly that it wasn’t a stroke but a seizure. Felt a bit less scary, but I still definitely super hated it. 

With all of this, Brady hitched a ride in the ambulance to Saskatoon for the night. That was another first. 

Our neighbour came over as soon as the ambulance left and sat with me and the kids while we talked through the whole experience, and then helped me get kids down. It was really lovely of her 💜 

Brady ended up staying the night. He was back to himself, plus one new anti-seizure medication, and without his drivers license. Behold 🙌 the WORST part of this whole ordeal for Brady. 

But we’ll talk more about that later…