Dr. Olson

For those of you who are interested, I thought I would provide a face and background information for the neurosurgeon with which we have been meeting.  By clicking on his name, Dr. Olson, you will open another browser to view some of his medical background.

A few weeks ago Tim was able to get a second and third opinion through something called Best Doctors (again, if you click on the previous words, a browser with more info will open for you).  Over the course of several weeks, Best Doctors compiled a file with all of Tim's recent medical info (neuro, oral, and plastic surgeon info, as well as records from his ER and overnight stay at the local hospital).  A doctor (Dr. Robert M. Friedlander) from the University of Pittsburgh read over the compiled information and created a report with his observation/recommendation.  Once Tim got the report, a different doctor (Dr. Lewis) called and spoke with Tim to answer questions and provide further explanation.

Dr. Friedlander advised surgery, while Dr. Lewis agreed that observation is the better route at this time.  When Dr. Friedlander read the report from the ER, he interpreted Tim's fainting as a symptom of the tumor (when it was most likely caused by no breakfast or lunch, a concussion, undergoing pretty major face/mouth repair, and lying on his back for several hours).  When Dr. Friedlander sees patients, they are typical very symptomatic, and he performs surgery on them within a small window of time.  Tim has not had any symptoms (that we are aware of)-- he certainly hasn't passed out or fainted since that day back in May.

Currently, we are at peace with the decision to observe the mass, and are wondering what tomorrow will hold.  It may very well be that we continue with the observation route, as Tim is asymptomatic.  Right now we are wanting to make sure that Tim is seeing the very BEST doctor possible.  We are confident in the medical opinions/advice we have received thus far, but when it comes to thinking about brain surgery we want to make sure we have learned all we can on the front end to make the best possible decision.

We find ourselves asking, "How in the world do you know which neurosurgeon is the best?!"  The advice we have been given is to inquire about quantity.  Along with a lot of prayer, we plan to also ask Dr. Olson questions regarding quantity (eg: How many patients with meningiomas has he operated on?  Is there a neurosurgeon in their practice who operates on meningiomas more than anyone else? etc.)

Thank you for your prayers--they are tremendously comforting and encouraging!