2015-10-08 -Don's gammaknife experience

#1 ◱ Being fitted for a titanium crown.

#2 ◱ They put some germicide on the back of my head where the bolts will go in.

#3 ◱ They put some germicide on my forehead where the bolts will go in.

#4 ◱ Doctor Morita explains the contraption.

#5 ◱ They position the frame on my head.

#6 ◱ The nurse holds the frame so it will not rest on my nose. The doctor injects novocain (I think) to numb my scalp where the bolts will go in.

#7 ◱ More novocaine on the back where the bolts will go in. Lois thinks the tool set in the front looks impressive. :-)

#8 ◱ The bolts are in place. They go right through the skin and physically press against my skull. Nothing should wiggle while the gamma ray treatment is underway. We want all the gamma rays going exactly where they are needed and nowhere else. So, hold still!

#9 ◱ Everybody is smiling. I am even faking a smile, pretty convincingly I think.

#10 ◱ They have taken off the plastic guide and all that is left is the titanium frame and bolts that go clear through the skin.

#11 ◱ Closeup of the titanium bolts piercing my scalp.

#12 ◱ A better shot of the titanium bolt. Also check out the eyebrow ridges. They are bigger than I imagined.

#13 ◱ Closeup of the left bolt.

#14 ◱ Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion Elektra

#15 ◱ Seated on the bed.

#16 ◱ They had to lower my head slowly and carefully because the frame had to exactly match the machine.

#17 ◱ You are now part of the machine. You have been assimilated. Resistance is futile.

#18 ◱ My head is totally supported by the cradle that holds my titanium frame with its four titanium bolts that are pressing up through the skin against the bones of my skill.