58 replies to this topic

[Cruisin Loser]

I've been out of the office a lot on drilling and completions, so I haven't seen much of my brother, who is our office manager.I was at the YMCA getting a workout today, when the bride called, saying she and my daughter felt there was something wrong, but that he refused to go to the hospital, insisting he was OK. (My daughter is my receptionist and file clerk. Yeah, there might be a little nepotism going on.)

I rushed back to the office, talked to him for about 5 minutes, he seemed detached, couldn't answer simple questions (he's an Ivy League grad, so this is really no surprise), had fucked up motor functions, up so I hustled him downstairs into my car and to the ER, where a good friend is the chief MD.

They're going to do surgery on him first thing in the AM, he has a large blood mass on one side of his brain from an apparent slow bleed, that has sort of squashed his brain over to one side and accounts for the impaired motor function, memory loss, and general fucked-uppedness that alarmed my daughter.

George is the public face of our company, a tireless volunteer for many causes, serves on charitable boards, he's been named our town's "Volunteer of the Year" in the past.

Anyways, I know this is not a religious bunch, but I was hoping you guys would spare a thought tonight for a truly gentle soul.

[Brodie]

Wow - sincerely hope all will be well post surgery. Glad you and your daughter acted on your intuition that something was wrong. Scary stuff.

Will be thinking of you and sending good thoughts George's way - particularly tomorrow morning.

[Boomberries]

Rob, my best thoughts and get well wishes for your brother. You know if there is anything I can do to support you all in any way, please feel free to call or write at any time.

Kudos to you guys for acting quickly when noticing something was off kilter. When bleeds happen quickly, there is often no time to do anything about it.
Keep us posted when you can.

Hugs and best thoughts to your family.
Booms

[WHL]

CL sorry to hear the news. I hope George's operation is successful.

[Elegua]

I'm very sorry to hear that. He is very lucky that you caught things before they became worse. I hope all is well after the surgery.

[kimbottles]

We will hold very positive thoughts for him. Wishing you and him Best of luck tomorrow.

[hobot]

Prayer said and I hope he recovers quickly.

[blackjenner]

You likely saved George's life.

I'll be thinking best wishes on this rainy night to George, his family and his hero.

All the best of luck to you and yours tomorrow.

Let us know if you need anything. I can, at least, listen.

[Jose Carumba]

Thoughts and prayers on their way CL. Hang in there.

[bljones]

Fuck a whole bunch of organized religion. I deal in straight good vibes, thoughts, hope, faith that we are all stronger than we think and sheer desperate belief that force of will overcomes forces that won't.
Hang in there George, and CL, you hang in there too.

[Ishmael]

Good thoughts from me, every vibe helps.

[Bob Perry]

Me too Loser.

[Anomaly2]

You likely saved George's life.

+1 on this. (I lost a family member to a brain aneurysm...) Positive thoughts to all of you.

[Paps]

Glad you got him in time CL, positive karma heading your way.

[pipe dream]

Good luck George. Hope you pull through just fine. Good work CL in getting him the help.

(null)

[Salazar]

I'm sending good vibes from the Cape. Every little bit helps. Hope all goes well for George. Take care CL.

[Tucky]

Best wishes to you all from Maine.

[Joli]

CL, wishing you and your brother the best, hope it works out well and he's back on his feet quickly.

[kdh]

Best wishes from me and my family, Rob.

[oregonarchist]

Thought spared. Best wishes and prayers sent your way.

Hope that all goes well for you and yours.

[Innocent Bystander]

Best wishes for your brother's recovery.

[Ajax]

Positive thoughts your way. I'm sure glad you were insistent, and took him to the hospital.

We're all manly men here (well mostly), but when you feel something wrong, swallow your pride and go to a fucking doctor. If I'd been prideful about some symtoms I was having, I wouldn't be here writing this today.

[Gatekeeper]

You've done all you can do CL, now it's time to just be strong for those around you...my thoughts are with you and yours.

[A_guy_in_the_Chesapeake]

All the mojo I can muster from Winchester is headed your way, CL - I hope the docs are able to fix up your brother quickly and completely.

[kent_island_sailor]

CL - thoughts and prayers.
Remember YOU made a HUGE difference in the outcome.

[SailRacer]

Positive thoughts going your way. You and tyour family really may have just saved his life.

Please keep us updated.

[Beau.Vrolyk]

All the best thoughts and wishes going out for you and your brother.

[jackdaw]

Good thoughts from Minnesota. Sounds like his Karma bank is full. All the best to you and his friends and loved ones.

[sailman]

Prayers and positive thoughts to your brother and your family!

[froggie]

CL -
Thoughts and prayers for George, you, and the rest of your fambily.
I hope that everything works out the way we all want it to.

[Soñadora]

good thoughts for your bro. Good action on your part, CL

[Cruisin Loser]

Hi All,

George is out of surgery and is doing well. The surgery went quite well. They drained close to 500cc of blood from the brain cavity, so it appears he was suffering from a little crowding up there.

They did not replace the skull flap, as he has 2 drains for now. He will spend another night in the ICU, and hopefully get him into a regular room tomorrow, and perhaps home for the weekend. Depending on his condition at the time, it is likely we will have him stay with us for a little while, as we have room, and proximity to kids and animals can only increase his incentive to heal quickly.

Right now his prognosis for recovery is very good. He could still speak a little before surgery but had lost a lot of motor function and his eyes looked clear and alert. Once his brain can function in its normal space he should recover well, his neurologist does not believe that he will need rehabilitation or occupational therapy.

The response to this event by the folks here and his many friends has been, frankly, overwhelming. There has been an outpouring of concern and well wishes. I have no doubts that the Karmic thoughts and prayers directed his way helped him through the surgery, and will be a source of strength to him in the days ahead.

My most sincere thanks to all of you,

Rob McAlpine

[Jose Carumba]

Great to hear Rob! Your quick recognition of a problem and immediate action surely made a big difference. Best wishws for a speedy and complete recovery.

[valcour]

CL,

Glad to hear the positive news. Continued good thoughts and prayer to George and your entire family.

[U20guy2]

Wow - good catch some times family will save your bacon even if you don't think anything is up. I'm sure he will be Ok the docs have some pretty amazing skills with this sort of stuff these days. I've seen some family and neighbors go through some pretty bad bleeds and strokes and come back with little effect but it took a little time to recover...

Best of luck and hang in there.

[kimbottles]

Great news Rob and good show on your part to recognize the need and to get your brother fast care......Good on you!!!

[Bob Perry]

Rob:
That's what we are here for, among other more silly things. CA helped me though some brutal times. It's an amazing weird family we have here.
I'm very happy to hear your brother is recovering. Brain shit can take a while to recover from. There is usuallly swelling and that takes a while to go down. But it does.
Thanks for letting us be a part of this challenge.

[DtM]

Not religious either but positive thoughts are with you and your family.

[WHL]

Good news Rob.

[Innocent Bystander]

Good news. Here's pushing for a quick and uneventful recovery.

[Joli]

Good news and good speed. Hope he's milking the cows soon.

[Steam Flyer]

Hi All,

George is out of surgery and is doing well. The surgery went quite well. ... ... ...

Very glad to hear the good news, hope his recovery continues on the right track

There are a lot of studies about prayer & healing, not surprisingly many many people want to believe it helps and a funny thing is that there are strong indicators that it does. Even Duke jumped on this bandwagon and concluded that having a large number of people praying for a person boosted their recovery and increased their likelihoodof a better outcome...this from a bunch not noted for religious orthodoxy...

Our prayers and best wishes will continue to come your way

FB- Doug

[Gatekeeper]

I love good news...keep it coming.

[austin1972]

We might have to ignore 'Loser' in your name now.
You can have my spare good karma. It's not a lot but what the hell...

[B.J. Porter]

Glad to here he's on the right track! Quick action always helps.

[Cruisin Loser]

I just got home from sitting with him, he's awake, alert, joking, seems to have 95%+ motor function already. He couldn't recognize me last night, had no short term memory, only had memory for long-imprinted things. His answer to "how many fingers am I holding up" was "Providence, RI" (his birthplace). The Doctors can't believe he drove to the office yesterday. He got in about 5:00 PM, he thought it was 9:00 AM, November 3rd. Could not name the president.

It appears he'll get close to 100% back without any PT or OT. It's really incredible, he's so present. It's now obvious that this has been building for a couple of weeks, but he lives alone and I've been in the field so hadn't really seen him. The pressure had apparently reached a tipping point to where he was losing function while we watched. 500cc is a shitload of blood to drain from the brainbucket. I shudder to think what may have happened if Ashley hadn't freaked and called the Mrs. The doctors said it was a damn close thing, and that a few hours was the difference between a great result and a really bad one.

I mentioned in my first post that he is a gentle soul. This is almost an understatement. George is a sweet, sweet person, a Brown graduate (there ya go B.J.) who has given almost immeasurable time, as well as a lot of money, to good works in our town. Unlike a lot of folks who just give money, he also gives of himself, normally at least 20 hours a week of volunteer work. I'm so proud to have him as a partner and brother, and so incredibly relieved that we didn't lose him.

Again, thanks for your thoughts and prayers, this has turned out damned happy.

[austin1972]

Cheers to you and your family.
I'll put an ornament on my tree for ya.

[olaf hart]

CL, if they think he had a leaking aneurysm you and the males in your family may need a scan.
Might be worth chasing up with the treating docs to see if they know the cause of the bleed.

[rattus32]

Positive thoughts winging out from the hills for your brother. So lucky he was around family when this happened - best to you all.

Mike

[Paps]

Great news CL!!

[Paps]

Rob:
That's what we are here for, among other more silly things. CA helped me though some brutal times. It's an amazing weird family we have here.
I'm very happy to hear your brother is recovering. Brain shit can take a while to recover from. There is usuallly swelling and that takes a while to go down. But it does.
Thanks for letting us be a part of this challenge.

Lol, complete with silly family squabbles.

[Beau.Vrolyk]

Great to hear that your swift action resulted in such a terrific outcome. You can probably get him to buy the beers for years on the basis of this! It's great great news!

BV

[floating dutchman]

From 100 to nearly 0 to 95 in two day's?

Nothing in life is guaranteed.

Your brother must be real glad right now that he treated his family well, Or they wouldn't have been looking out for him in the way you did.

karma.

[Salazar]

Rob, I'm glad to hear it is going so well for George. It sounds like he'll be back to normal in jig time.

Great News!

Ken H.

[MoeAlfa]

CL, if they think he had a leaking aneurysm you and the males in your family may need a scan.
Might be worth chasing up with the treating docs to see if they know the cause of the bleed.

Respectfully, this is almost certainly subdural. I have never heard of a painless aneurysmal leak and a 500cc arterial bleed from any source would have been rapidly fatal.

CL, Just saw this. I'll communicate offline.

E

[Albatros]

take care not to expose your brother to this here forum, after that heavy compression of his brain a too quick expansion might be pretty dangerous, not to say explosive ..just sayin'

coat, door ... best wishes

[A_guy_in_the_Chesapeake]

Great news, CL - thanks a bunch for sharing it with us. Mojo's still flowin your way...

[Ravac]

Excellent news CL. Best wishes for a full recovery for your bro.

[froggie]

Wow - George is soooo lucky to have family that loves him enough to 'intervene' that way.
The CA family isn't too bad, either. We will do our best to keep him and you in our prayers and sacrifices rituals.

Hope George recovers quickly - and as suggested above, it would probably be a good idea to talk to the Doc about the cause and whether there might be a family susceptibility. Not what you would want to hear, but better to find out now than later.