Roy's surgery

Earlier in the summer, Roy had several tests: blood work, an MRI and several neurosurgeon consultations. It took 7 weeks to schedule the surgery.

hearing

 and before we knew it, it was August 26th and time for Roy's Gamma Knife radiation surgery.  We arrived downtown at Hermann Memorial Hospital at 5am.

yes, that frame is screwed into his head! 

 Thankfully I wasn't allowed to watch the nurse do that!

how they determine where to aim the radiation

 This surgery is aiming several beams of high power radiation at the tumor in Roy's inner ear. I kind of liken it to the Star Wars movie when the Resistance blasted apart the Death Star.  Only this radiation "big blast" (as I affectionately call it) didn't destroy the tumor, it hopefully killed or destroyed the DNA so it cannot grow any more.  We opted to this non-invasive surgery rather than cutting into Roy's head just behind his left ear.  Our neurosurgeon, Dr. Kim, was one of the best in Houston, and called Roy the "perfect candidate" for this type of surgery.
 They bolted the frame on Roy's head into a metal frame insuring his head could not move. Following another MRI to get the exact aim, he went into the gamma knife.  The procedure - in the machine - lasted 45 minutes.

The Gamma Knife

our great nurse, Donna

All over!  and frame off, though still woozy from the relaxing meds they make you take.  I was not invited to witness that either, which Roy said was a good thing, as one of the holes bled profusely before Donna could get it to stop.

home safe and sound

We were home by 3pm.  Amazing!
Now, several months later we saw how much this procedure cost, or how much the hospital billed our insurance.  Any guesses?
$145,000.  INSANE!!!!!  Our insurance, Aetna paid $69,000.