Day 916 - Dec 1, 2010

Today we had to go to BAMC to see the neurosurgeon for a 3 month post-op appointment. He had nothing but good things to say about Kevin's healing process. He commented on how well Kevin is talking now and he said his scar is looking great. There are no signs of any infection at this point either, but the 'danger zone' is a good six months.

While there, we started the process of fixing the indentation of Kevin's left temple area. The doc called a facial plastic surgeon for a consult, with the knowledge that we can't have the surgery done until the 6 month period is past. We know it will take that long to get everything in gear so I am glad we are setting the ball in motion now.

Obviously my fear is having all of this happen again (new surgery, bringing on another infection, causing the plate to be removed again). The surgeon feels there is very little risk (but there IS still risk) to do it this new way - where you basically take fat from your own body and inject it into the dented area. It's done as out-patient too, which is great.

Kevin is demanding that this be done though and I have to go along with his wants. I do understand his feelings, but I will always be fearful. I just can't imagine looking one way one day and waking up months later looking so completely different. Sometimes I catch Kevin looking in the mirror with this horribly sad look on his face. It's so heart-wrenching.

The surgeon also keeps bringing up that he wants to remove Kevin's shunt. My heart flutters every time he mentions it. He somewhat allayed my fears by telling me that he will go into Kevin's stomach first and clamp the tube to see if there is any effect, but still... (if you remember, the shunt tube goes from the top of Kevin's skull, under his skin down his neck, chest and then into his stomach.) I feel better knowing he doesn't plan to just remove it and see what happens, but again - it makes me so nervous. Remember how many shunt revision surgeries we had a while back? Gosh...I don't to even think about doing all of that again.

But...all of this is down the road. As are the few other surgeries he will still need.