Rene's Brain Surgery & Recovery Fund

The majority of Rene’s time and life has revolved around his family and friends and he has ALWAYS enjoyed being active. From taking care of his many animals, to fishing, hiking, traveling, cooking and barbecuing, he’s always on the go.

Most of our family and close friends may already know of Rene’s situation but those of you who are not aware…Here is his story.

WHAT HAPPENED?
On Monday, February 24th, 2020 Rene woke up with several symptoms ranging from dizziness, sinus pressure, and fatigue. He then began to notice he was slurring and stuttering his words and found himself having a hard time articulating his sentences. This was rather scary as Rene has always been able to articulate himself well. On Tuesday he went to Urgent Care and the physician prescribed a Z-pack for his “sinuses” and also ordered a CT scan of the brain. This is where Rene’s life takes a turn. 

2 hours after getting the CT scan, doctors call and tell us we should get to the ER immediately. Later that night he was admitted.

DIAGNOSIS:
Rene was diagnosed with a “Ruptured Intracranial Dermoid Cystic Tumor” along the left medial temporal lobe of his brain. The rupture of an this dermoid is a RARE event with considerable associated morbidity and potential mortality. The ruptured cyst contents can result in chemical meningitis. 

Most likely Rene was born with this tumor that slowly grew over time and ruptured on its own. Without having prior CT scans, the tumor would've gone unnoticed, until now.

For those of who are not familiar with the different parts of the brain, the left temporal lobe takes care of hearing and listening, visual input processing, and verbal comprehension. It is the reason we are able to make sense of the words that we read and hear. The temporal lobe is also where our long-term memories are stored.

CT and MRI findings suggested surgery was imperative and Rene was ordered to remain in the hospital until surgery day.

 
-surgery day

SURGERY: 
March 4th, 2020 Rene underwent an extremely delicate left temporal craniotomy for the removal of the tumor (brain surgery). Surgery took about 5 hours, but seemed like forever. His surgery was successful and new MRI scans show no tumor, THANK GOD!



THE RECOVERY PROCESS:
Before surgery Rene spent 6 days in the Neuro unit at St. Barnabas where he was monitored closely. After surgery he spent 2 days in ICU and 1 day in another unit. Apparently with this surgery came some moving of jaw and eye muscles so Rene’s facial muscles have been rather tight and sore. He has been on a soft food diet (We are slowly trying to transition away from this. We all know how much Rene loves his steak)

I have been challenging Rene everyday with new activities and tasks to make sure every part of his brain is functioning properly. 

As many of you know Rene is an accountant and spends almost all of his time in front of a computer screen. This creates an issue as he is currently not able to use his phone or computer and is sensitive to sounds and light. He will require a minimum of 2 months recovery at home, and depending on his recovery additional therapy may be required (we are hopeful this is not the case). Rene will also be required to monitor his brain, getting routine CT and MRI scans.



Rene’s courage, strong faith and smiling face in spite of these challenges and pain are an inspiration. I have set up this campaign to help Rene pay for expenses associated with the surgery and recovery, since insurance will only cover 80%. It's been a rough and UNEXPECTED couple of weeks for Rene and I. I’m asking our family and friends to please consider donating towards Rene's brain surgery & recovery fund. As mentioned, donations will go towards medical expenses and anything will help and if you cannot donate, there is a comment section below to send encouraging words to Rene! Please feel free to share this information with friends and communities that Rene has been involved in.

PS- If you would like to donate but would prefer to not use this source please let me know. I encourage this option as this source takes a percentage of all donations.

venmo: @Rene-Henriquez-1    or  contact me for more info. 

Thank you so much for any support you can offer for Rene. We love you all. God Bless your generosity! We hope to soon see Rene doing all the things he loves to do.