Nothing
could have prepared Roger Sencer for the bizarre
journey that began on his short drive home from
a typical day at work last spring. The roads he
traveled regularly were suddenly unfamiliar, their
names lost to him. He couldn't remember important
details about his own life. Somehow, he managed
to find his Huntington home. The sight of his
wife, Jane, triggered memories of her, but the
memory of their wedding day two years earlier
and even his own birthday had been erased from
his mind.
Jane telephoned her
sister, Susan, a Clinical Neuroscience Nurse Clinician/
Educator at a New York City hospital, who recommended
that Roger be brought immediately to Huntington
Hospital's emergency room. Within an hour of the
couple's arrival, the emergency room physician
had diagnosed a meningioma - a large tumor resting
on Roger's brain. He was admitted to the hospital
and his distraught family began formulating plans
to transfer him to the city hospital where his
sister-in-law works alongside well regarded brain
surgeons.
Roger is a spiritual
man, a student of the world's major faiths, a
tai chi teacher, a man who believes that a higher
power is at work in our lives. So it didn't surprise
him that instead of leaving Huntington the following
day, he found himself forging a remarkable connection
with Ramin Rak, MD, the Huntington neurosurgeon
who would save his life.
While Dr. Rak examined
Roger early the following morning, the two men
realized they shared an interest in and knowledge
of spiritual matters.
"We bonded instantly
- from the heart and soul," Roger recalled.
By the time Jane returned
to the hospital that morning, Roger had been scheduled
for surgery the next day to remove the tumor,
which Dr. Rak diagnosed more precisely as an olfactory
groove meningioma. Dr. Rak explained that although
these tumors are usually benign, Roger's was large
- nearly the size of a tennis ball - and dangerously
exerting pressure on his brain as well as the
nerves and blood vessels in his skull.
 Jane's
sister, Susan, continued to advocate for Roger
to be transferred to the facility where she worked.
She questioned her colleagues in New York City
and learned that Dr. Rak had an impressive reputation.
Then she met him, and any lingering doubts vanished.
Roger remembers little
about this period of time. Although he was awake
and breathing on his own shortly after surgery,
his next clear memory is of late Sunday night
when he awoke in Huntington's Intensive Care Unit,
48 hours after his surgery.
Jane, on the other
hand, remembers every detail - the nearly 12 hours
in the surgical waiting room surrounded by friends
and loved ones, being impressed by the technology
in place throughout the hospital, the compassion
of the entire hospital staff, and most importantly,
the serene look on Dr. Rak's face when he finally
emerged from the operating room and said, "This
is one of those times when I can confidently say
the patient is cured." Their entire contingency
of family and friends erupted in applause.
Dr. Rak described the
procedure as technically challenging.
"It was difficult
because the tumor was surrounded by vital neurovascular
structures at the base of the skull," he explained.
To reach it, he made an incision over the top
of Roger's head, from ear to ear, and peeled his
face away from his skull. Yet Dr. Rak considers
Roger fortunate.
"He had the best combination
of factors - a benign tumor that was completely
removed during surgery, from which he emerged
completely intact. And cosmetically, you cannot
see the scars."
The day before the
surgery, Roger underwent pre-operative navigation
planning. Using technology that is similar to
that found in global positioning devices, surgeons
are able to operate deep in the brain with a remarkable
degree of accuracy. Huntington's neuronavigation
technology marries an MRI generated image of the
brain with a computer to create a three-dimensional
map of the surgical field. Dr. Rak used this along
with microsurgical techniques to preserve the
olfactory nerve, which had been partially damaged
by the tumor, and to avoid injury to blood vessels
in the area.
"We had to be creative
and customize the craniotomy in order to avoid
damage to the major venous structures of the brain,"
said Dr. Rak.
Huntington is one of
very few centers in our region to offer advanced
neuro navigation and microsurgical equipment,
intraoperative monitoring capabilities, and the
skills of a well-trained and experienced neurosurgeon,
yet these are essential in enabling patients with
complex neurosurgical problems to achieve the
best possible outcomes. Equally important and
just as rare are the excellent post-surgical care
provided by the registered nurses in the hospital's
Intensive Care Unit, and the presence of intensivists,
physicians who are on-site 24-hours a day, seven
days a week, overseeing the care of critically
ill patients.
"Nowhere else in the
country would he have had a better outcome," noted
Dr. Rak. The convenience of having Roger receive
this cutting-edge care in a hospital five minutes
from their home was invaluable to Jane.
"I can't tell you what
it meant to be so close to home," Jane said. "To
be able to go to the hospital three or four times
a day, or leave late at night...to be able to
go home at night knowing that the nurses were
taking such good care of him. Everyone on the
staff was wonderful, from transporters and technicians,
to dietary and nursing aides, to the doctors on
duty and the amazing nurses, especially in ICU.
They created a sense of confidence and safety."
Just over three months
later, Roger is back to work, teaching tai chi,
driving, sailing in Huntington Bay, and sharing
his positive energy with his legion of friends.
Roger's sense of smell is improving and sense
of taste is fully intact. His trademark sense
of humor is also still intact.
"I asked Dr. Rak if
he enjoyed messing with my head," he related with
a chuckle.
Turning serious, Roger
and Jane agree they feel blessed that their story
has a happy ending. "Knowing that I'm going to
enjoy life with my husband by my side is a priceless
gift," Jane said. "Thanks to Dr. Rak and the Huntington
Hospital staff, it is a gift given with professional
excellence, painstaking care, and most importantly
- with love."
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