DBS Surgery Day – 8th November 2011-11-09

After what seemed like a very long night, where every hour on the clock was seen the run up to the surgery proved to be a very worrying affair, every time I closed my eyes, I saw the surgeons knife, heard the drilling in my head... of course the thought of what lay ahead interrupted any sleep I was ever going to get with the natural worries and concerns any parent would have.

After watching the clock for many hours, I woke my Daughter Chloe at 6am, in readiness for our drive to the hospital at 6.30am, Robbie wasn’t due to go to surgery till 8.30am, however with the London traffic and all, there was no way we were going to run the risk of being late, or caught in traffic, I wanted to be there well in advance to spend a bit of time with Robbie... basically I just wanted to be with him and get a cuddle before he disappeared anywhere.

The surgeon had been round and spoke to Mum the evening before going over the risks involved as you would expect in any type of surgery, and she had decided not to stress me further and go into the fine detail of the conversation she had with the surgeon the evening before, until such time as Robbie was en route to theatre. True to their word the nurses came to the room around 8am and advised he would go down to the pre-op room at 8.30am, it had been pre-decided Mum would be going into the anaesthetic room, whilst Robbie was put to sleep, (thank goodness, I really am chicken hearted and don’t handle these things well). Surprisingly we all got to go down to the post op area so this helped to relax Robbie and also helped the family also being all together at a time like this was important for us.

The surgeon (Richard Selway) came to see us and talked us through the procedure yet again, and asked if there were any questions or concerns we had, the answer was a simple no, we had researched this procedure so much post op, I think we had all the answers we needed. The surgeon advised Dr Jean Pierre Lin would be present during the entire procedure and he would speak to us after the op was completed.

The team took Robbie away at 8.30am to be put to sleep and allow the op to start... seeing him being wheeled through the swing doors left an enormous lump in my throat, and to be honest I was struggling to hold it together... Gold star to Mum who seemed to be being much stronger than Dad in this situation (there again she maybe could just hide it a bit better than me!)

Mum returned and that was it, he had drifted off no problem, Mum even advised he had held his mask on himself to help him drop off, and there were no issues... this was the worst time, I had conflicting thoughts going on, on one side there was the relief this was it, the DBS was actually happening, and on the other hand there was the natural dread of your child having any op.

The procedure we were advised could take several hours, and the reasons were many fold, most of all though as the team need access to a MRI and PET scan equipment throughout the procedure to help plot the placement of the stimulators, these machines which are available to the neurology team at all times, but obviously in the event of an emergency coming in to hospital it may be necessary for the patient to wait till any emergencies are dealt with prior to the patient.

Around 2pm after several hours where the atmosphere is tense we were advised the Op had been completed and Robbie would be moving to the recovery area very shortly.. we hurriedly rushed down to wait on Robbie coming round.

He was in recovery albeit he was full of morphine so very vaguely aware of what was going on, however he did recognise us and gave that infamous grin, which felt really good... the Dr’s from the Evelina were with him programming the implant and taking initial readings, ensuring all was working and live... It was !!!

Sarah from the Evelina was also there, and she gave us the DBS bag we need to keep with us at all times, not really sure what this is all about as yet, but the one thing I did recognise was the charger for the battery pack which is in Robbie chest... we are to be educated on this once Robbie is transferred to the Evelina.

So in all there was a huge sense of relief at the back of operation, and regardless of how much help it gives Robbie, you cannot help but feel relieved the stimulators are now in place and I honestly believe we are through the worse of any procedures that may follow... the King’s college staff are amazing, the team from the Evelina are amazing, and as parents we have seen the support from many family and friends we thank each and every one of you for this...