Many students at PHS possess their own struggles in their personal lives. Whether these struggles regard academics, family or internal issues is irrelevant; they all share a common factor of fighting a battle.
One student, senior Kayle Kibler, is currently fighting a battle of his own, as he is recovering from brain surgery. Kayle was experiencing intense migraines and constant headaches before he was issued an MRI on his brain. The MRI showed that Kayle had a mass of cells on his brain, and the mass was unknown to be cancerous or not. Kibler underwent surgery on November 13 at Indiana University Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis to remove the mass of cells inside his cranium.
“Surgery went well. They removed all of the mass. It appears to be an abnormal mass of cells, not a tumor. My family and I would like to thank everyone for the prayers, well wishes and concern. It has helped Kayle and us in this tough time,” said Kayle’s father, Kyle Kibler.
Following his surgery, Kayle was placed in ICU with drain tubes still attached to surgical sites. He came out very stable, showing slight movement in his fingers and toes; however, his blood pressure seemed to rise periodically, but this was assessed by the hospital staff.
As the days went on, Kayle began showing more movement as well as improved speech and memory. At the beginning stages of his recovery, Kayle was concerning the nurses with how much he was sleeping. A CT scan was ordered to see if there was a reason for his near constant state of rest. The results of the CT scan showed no correlation to Kayle’s excessive resting time. However, Kayle seemed to completely turn around his current state, as he started drastically improving almost immediately following the CT scan.
“Kayle is eating solid food and even feeding himself at lunch. He is still fighting some to stay awake, and his sodium is slowly going down. He is having some memory issues, which was expected. His motor skills have improved greatly, though. He is doing very well,” said Kyle.
Just after he was beginning to improve tremendously, Kayle had a setback and began experiencing a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid. Doctors had previously implemented drainage tubes for Kayle; however, the overflow of fluid has continued to reappear. After some discussion, doctors have agreed to install a permanent drain tube running from his cranium to his abdominal region. Fortunately, almost a day following his permanent drainage surgery, Kayle was moved out of ICU into a regular hospital room. Soon after he was making some progress, Kayle experienced another buildup of fluid.
“There are two cavities that hold fluid in the brain. They are connected, but for some reason, one is getting bigger than the other,” said Kyle.
Kayle received a CT scan and then moved back into ICU due to the buildup of fluid.
Kayle had just began his senior year when he began experiencing these setbacks. He has avidly participated in baseball and football since he was in elementary school. His recovery time determines his playing time in the upcoming spring baseball season. However, he is in very high hopes.
Kayle’s recovery will not be a short one, but with the help and support of his friends and family, he plans to be back at PHS in March.
To follow his journey, go to caringbridge.org and enter “Kayle Kibler” in the search engine. Family members post daily updates on Kayle and the progress he has made and will continue to make in the future.
Story by Jace Ingle
