Tumor Update
Turns out the fever could be caused by either of two things:
Meningitis (most likely aseptic) -- that is, the inflammation of the meninges. This is a common complication with epidermoid tumors. If aseptic (meaning, not because of any bacteria or virus) the treatment is steroids and rest. Doc said that's 99% of these cases. If septic, the treatment is 10 days of antibiotics through a central line, which is what Dad's getting just in case. Don't see how aseptic meningitis could cause a fever.
Atelectasis -- that is, the collapsing of parts of the lungs because of too-shallow breaths following a surgery. It's unclear whether this actually causes fever or not, but it's as common after surgery as is fever, so they may be causal. The treatment is to take really deep breaths. Easy as pie.
In addition he has
Hyponatremia -- low sodium. Supposedly common after brain surgery. Treatment: eat a lot of salt, hypertonic IV solution.
High blood pressure -- treatment: blood pressure meds. And eat less salt.
In the meanwhile Dad's back to speaking mostly gibberish when tired, and just has difficulty talking when awake. The speech pathologist told him he needs to listen to himself talk and correct himself if he says a made-up word, or the wrong word.
It's not clear if Dad will be in the hospital the full 10 days of antibiotic treatment. In any case, my uncle, Pexa, is there with him until my other uncle, Gadi, gets here. We've agreed that I should go back to Boston and just be prepared to answer my phone at any point to answer questions or interface with medical personnel. To consent to treatment I'll need to speak with a doctor, who will explain the procedure in question to me, then speak with a nurse, to whom I will explain the procedure and verbally consent to both. So I go back to Boston today.
In addition he has
In the meanwhile Dad's back to speaking mostly gibberish when tired, and just has difficulty talking when awake. The speech pathologist told him he needs to listen to himself talk and correct himself if he says a made-up word, or the wrong word.
It's not clear if Dad will be in the hospital the full 10 days of antibiotic treatment. In any case, my uncle, Pexa, is there with him until my other uncle, Gadi, gets here. We've agreed that I should go back to Boston and just be prepared to answer my phone at any point to answer questions or interface with medical personnel. To consent to treatment I'll need to speak with a doctor, who will explain the procedure in question to me, then speak with a nurse, to whom I will explain the procedure and verbally consent to both. So I go back to Boston today.