Charlie’s brain surgery was a success! 

The very skilled surgeons were able to patch the two holes in his skull using the endoscopic endonasal approach. So far, so good: he has not sprung any leaks or drainage through his nose or ears and has no salty taste down the back of his throat. He still has 6 weeks of restrictions where he is not allowed to lift more than 10 lbs., is only allowed to bend in certain ways, is not permitted to exert pressure in his head, cannot drink through a straw, and must do saline irrigations in his nose. But he is home!

We are so thrilled that the surgery appears to have worked! The patches were made up of tissue the surgeon used from inside his nose, artificial tissue, and biomedical packing glue that will melt away over the next two months. The brain that was “hanging into his nose” was cut away, which sounds scary, but it was “non-viable” at the point of impact during the accident. It was too traumatized for any type of recovery. The changes of smell and taste that he has had since the accident will be what he always has now. They have not gotten significantly worse, which was one of the risks with this surgery. 

The only option if he does leak from this surgery is to do the craniotomy approach through the top of the skull in order to repair the holes from that direction. 

Charlie was in the hospital for a week. They were draining cerebrospinal fluid from around his brain for most of that time. They took about 2000 ml of that fluid with an aggressive approach of 20 ml an hour (which is about 20% of what you have in your brain at any time). This was to alleviate pressure on the patches in hopes it would give the best chance for a seal. He had a very bad headache and was nauseous during this time, as could be expected, but is since feeling quite a bit better with the lumbar tap removed and being home in his own, more comfortable bed. 

He also had one of the metal plates in his right cheek removed that had not been flush with his repaired bone. The plate had been bothering him when he wore glasses/goggles or slept on that side. It was painful. It is amazing that thin strips of metal and 6 Phillips head screws were bolstering up his cheek from collapsing shortly after the accident! There are still other plates on both sides of his face.

The next step for Charlie is at least two upcoming surgeries, the first of which will likely be in June, on his right leg. Right now, he only has 35 degrees of bend in his knee. This is due to scar tissue in the knee and excess bone growth in his hip and quadriceps. The surgeries in June will be much more high risk with transfusions and significant stress to his body as they take out those bones while forcibly moving his knee. He is looking forward to the surgeries as an opportunity to be able to walk better, hopefully be able to run again someday, and maybe even enjoy the extreme sports he has always loved. One of the issues that may not be overcome is a wedge of bone missing from his tibia that may make him less structurally sound for weight distribution on that leg… But there is still a lot we don’t know about how much he will be able to do. We have all seen the sheer magnitude of his will and ferocity. 

Thank you so much for your love and support. Charlie is cherished by so many and it helps him and his family to know how much you all care.

Warmest regards, 

Charlie and Angel