He followed his brother's wishes to return nearer to family and moved to Derry, New Hampshire while taking a position in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. Like I said, "The Mr. Wonderful Contracts" would follow. He is now supervisor over an entire division. He would again marry many, many years later a woman he had worked with and still does. We'll get to all that. As I said, Patricia tends to like a martyr status. Again, the house was perfect but this time it was 'just newly built' on an acre and a half next to a strawberry field.
To illustrate the devotion Mr. Wonderful paid to his spouse he would bring home a dog they named "Marathon." Yes, he was a runner. Yes, he was/is a long distance runner. Yes, he ran in marathons. He completed them as well. The purpose for the dog was to bring dimension to Patricia's life. He wanted something to motivate her to live every day and puppies need lots of attention. She had no choice to be on a couch and become a vegetable for lack of will or desire to live. Never one day did I ever hear my sister state, "I'd rather be dead." She stated, "... but, who will take care of Marathon?"
I am a little ahead of myself here and we need to return to Ohio. I wanted to illustrate the extensive love that exists in this circumstance among the family and within this couple.
Ohio
Following all the excitement after the CT Scan an appointment was made with a neuro-surgeon. A biopsy was needed to know exactly what this tumor was since it was rarely found in women. The path for the surgery was minimally damaging across the board with every surgeon Patricia would subsequently come in contact. Following the surgery Patricia was in a coma for three days.
Upon wakening she was transferred to a general medical/surgical floor. You know the deal; if a patient 'qualifies' to be moved to a 'cheaper' room then do so immediately. Back then it was DRGs and today they call it efficiency. I couldn't figure out then and still can't figure out today what type of 'efficiency' this is. It sure isn't one designed by doctors and certainly not designed by patients. The USA has the worst medical model for nursing care in the world. It places patients in the care of a nurse patient ratio that is inappropriate for excellant care. Come on tell me I am wrong
After surgery, she now exhibited not blurred vision but double vision and a gait disorder (she had balance problems.) We knew there would be problems but we were all relieved to have her conscious at this point. An unfortunate accident happened in that Patricia tried to walk to the bathroom in the middle of her first night on a general floor; she feel and hit her head after a fairly fresh craniotomy. Scary word, craniotomy. Rightfully so. It is still debatable today whether 'the fall' lead to greater damage than before, but, that would not daught her recovery. This couple with the support of their families lived upto every word of praise and devotion to purpose anyone can muster. The projects Mr. Wonderful piloted were never disturbed and continued on schedule while he oversaw his wife's recovery. This was not out of greed but the 'idea' of purpose in our 'larger' self. We all just wanted what was best for Patricia. All she wanted was for Marathon to be looked after when she could not do it herself. Very simple equation. We respected the boundaries of need and sympathy all too well. It worked like a charm.
The next scare came when The Radiologist was called in. Dear God. Whatever happened to this MD to give him such lousy bedside manner is beyond me. He stated: "I have seen the results of the surgery and there is a series of treatments we can render, but, (Never speaking to Pat, The Victim, by this point.) your wife only has six months to live." Mr. Wonderful nearly died at that point and I do believe Patricia offered to call a cab. I don't know how they made it home but they did and the first phone call was to me.
After listening for nearly a half hour of trauma by Mr. Wonderful with Mrs. Wonderful on the extension clinging to some form of sanity, my very, very simple statement was: "Did you get a second opinion?" Click and the phone went dead.
Mr. Wonderful sent Patricia's biopsies to three separate (Not part of some kind of stupid health network that only manifests it's own incompetencies for any 'inefficient' venues within it.) and different medical centers. University of California at San Francisco , Mayo Clinic and The Cleveland Clinic. They concluded it was a very rare tumor for women. Researchers in San Fran found maybe 100 other cases of it. It was decided Patricia's care would go to Cleveland. She hated the idea, "...because you are treated like a number there." Lord knows, Patricia was not used to being treated like a number.
It was at The Cleveland Clinic in 1985 that Patricia came to understand how wonderful being treated like a number was when she fell under the care of Dr. Janet Bay. She stayed with her mother for thirty days in a hotel suite designed for such American princesses and received a complete series of radiation treatments. So much for six months of life.
New England. Massachusetts. "Pat is a tumor."
By the time this couple 'returned home' to New England her care was mostly centered around 'the shunt.' With the very first operation she a ventricular shunt was placed. These shunts are troublesome and can cause brain damage when they malfunction. A shunt placement is called a craniotomy as well. She sought treatment at The Lahey Clinic as she also went for scans of the tumor every six months.
There is a lot of precident regarding this case. Dr. Bay following the same surgical path as Patricia's previous surgeon, literally, biopsied this turmor herself and immediately viewed her slides under a microscope. The tumor could not be immediately excised as it would cause too much damage. Dr. Bay was faced with an issue. Before going into surgery, Dr. Bay knew the options for treatment based on the 'category' of tumors of astrocytoma . She knew if she classified this a Class One, the treatment option was repeated surgeries with any growth and a far higher potential of brain damage with each intervention. It was the sixth slide she that revealed a Class I - Class II tumor. Now, she could recommend radiation without compromising any standards of practice. Later she would recommend a new classification system called Low, Medium or High and at all 'classes' radiation would be an option. It is the radiation that nearly killed the tumor and saved Patty's life. Dr. Bay, in our family history, is the greatest neurosurgeon on Earth. She no longer is with the Cleveland Clinic exclusively, but, in private practice.
At The Lahey Clinic, the management style of a former team member of Dr. Bay's Cleveland service would conduct shunt revisions. Pat would have eleven shunt revisions with nearly no damage during her time in Ohio and Massachusetts. She eventually leaves New England and settles in North Carolina. Hospital of choice, Duke and managed by the head of neurosurgery, Dr. Friedman. Don't expect me to say kind things. Here, Patricia was less than a number and there was a good deal of damage done. There are several issues that play into this and it is sincerely tragic when 'power' enters the picture and a support system is destroyed. She no longer is treated at Duke Medical Center.
continued ...
