Brain surgery – more common than you think
Special prayers and thoughts go out to support Team Jon
Brain surgery sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, but to some of us it has been a part of our reality. I had brain surgery to have a meningioma removed many years ago – hence I am deaf in my left ear and have a real cool magnet in my head that I can stick metal things to for the enjoyment of my students. Nick Price, senior, had a pontine glioma removed in 2015. It didn’t slow him down as he is still a star of our soccer team. More recently my great – nephew (son of my niece) has joined the very special brain surgery clan. His name is Jon McCombs, is 16, and lives in Melbourne, Florida. His surgeries are taking place at Florida Hospital in Orlando by a team of doctors whose specialty is epilepsy. Jon has suffered from epilepsy since he was young and it has been treated with medication. However, the medicine no longer works. The procedure involves connecting electrodes to his brain which monitor his seizures and then another surgery to hopefully fix his problem. Although this may seem strange to us, it’s not that uncommon and is very successful. If you want more info check here: https://www.healthline.com/health/types-epilepsy-brain-surgery.
Jon enjoys fishing and hunting and can’t wait to get back to those activities. To give moral support his parents had special TeamJon t-shirts made. Special thanks to my students who cheerfully wore the shirt to show their support for Jon.
