From headache to head tumor

Brian Bartow, age 59, is an active resident of Lemon Grove who loves riding motorcycles, playing guitar and skiing. Usually healthy, he was surprised when his head started hurting in July.

When the pounding headache persisted, his wife, Patie, convinced him to go to an urgent care clinic. A CT scan was scheduled, but Patie advocated for more immediate treatment. So, the urgent care doctor recommended Brian go to the Emergency Department at Sharp Memorial Hospital because of its ability to provide multiple testing and treatment options.

Upon arriving at Sharp Memorial, the emergency department doctor began asking Brian questions about the pain he was experiencing. Brian shared that he had some symptoms he thought might have been signs of vertigo. He explained it felt like “a feeling of fluid” in his skull. The doctor immediately ordered an MRI.

A difficult diagnosis

For Brian and Patie, it was completely unexpected when the doctor told them the tests had revealed a mass on Brian’s brain.

“What started out as a simple urgent care visit evolved into a state of emotional chaos,” Patie says. “But that quickly funneled into well-organized and structured care that made us feel that our needs were being met. I was really grateful.”

Once admitted to a hospital room, the Bartows received a visit from Dr. Akal Sethi, a neurosurgeon with Sharp Community Medical Group and affiliated with Sharp Memorial. “The heart of the story is really Dr. Sethi,” Patie says. “He simplified what was happening but let us know all the possibilities and complications in an optimistic way.”

“You have to be straight with people, but you have to give them confidence in yourself as a doctor,” Dr. Sethi explains.

He told Brian he had a large growth — about the size of a strawberry — growing on his brain. It was a hemangioblastoma, an uncommon tumor that accounts for only 2% of brain tumors.

Though hemangioblastomas are benign (noncancerous), they begin pressing on the brain as they grow, which can cause headaches, sensory loss, troubles with balance and coordination and, eventually, may become fatal. In Brian’s case, the tumor had likely been growing for about 10 years without him knowing it was there.

Despite receiving the difficult diagnosis, Dr. Sethi’s approach calmed Brian. “His outlook was, ‘It’s going to be okay,’ which helped me feel better about it,” Brian says.

Preparing for surgery

Over the next few days, the staff at Sharp Memorial prepared Brian for his surgery — physically and mentally. “He was naturally worried,” Patie says. “I remember him saying, ‘What if I wake up and don’t recognize you or our children? What if I can’t play guitar or ski again?’”

But the Bartows credit the care team’s attention with keeping them confident. “We had great nurses,” Patie says. “They always checked on us, they were personal, and they made a point to connect. That’s what really stood out.”

In addition to the nurses, patient navigators walked Brian and Patie through the health care process. Social workers helped them with matters such as how to file for family leave from their jobs.

“Even the greeter at the desk was fantastic,” says Patie. “We just didn’t have a bad experience anywhere.”

A long, successful day

The day of the surgery was long. Brian was taken into the operating room around 7:30 am, and Dr. Sethi and his team got to work. “They’re tricky tumors,” Dr. Sethi explains. “But fortunately, at Sharp Memorial, we have all the tools and advanced technology we need for this.”

Advanced microscopic imaging gave Dr. Sethi a good view of the tumor as he worked to remove it. After more than nine hours of surgery, he called Patie to say it had gone well and she could come to see Brian, though he was still asleep.

When Patie arrived back at Sharp Memorial the next day, she found Brian sitting up, happily eating breakfast. Dr. Sethi came in to explain that everything had gone according to plan. Best of all, Brian learned he could return to his normal activities and do so quickly enough to plan to be back on the ski slopes this winter.

“This is a positive success story,” Dr. Sethi says. “This is what we do it for.”

Less than a week after the surgery, Brian was discharged from the hospital. He was prescribed medications and told he would have some restrictions on his activities for three months as he recovered.

For Brian, this was a small price to pay. “Life is really good,” he says.

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