A Thought For Seve

October 14th, 2008 - Chris Marshall

Would be somewhat remiss I feel not to send out our best wishes to Seve as he starts his battle against the brain tumour that he has just being diagnosed with.

Naturally we are not alone as the whole of Spain seem to be uniting behind the flamboyant, excellent but somewhat controversial figure:

That feeling is felt more than anywhere else in his home town, Santander, on the north coast of Spain. The region’s president, Miguel Angel Revilla, said: “With illnesses of this type the patient is the difference and Seve has always been a battler, a born fighter, who is bound to face up to this with all his force and bravery. We are all with him.”

That feeling is felt more than anywhere else in his home town, Santander, on the north coast of Spain. The region’s president, Miguel Angel Revilla, said: “With illnesses of this type the patient is the difference and Seve has always been a battler, a born fighter, who is bound to face up to this with all his force and bravery. We are all with him.”

Sergio Garcia said: “I want to transmit all my positive energy towards him and hope that he gets well soon.” Miguel Angel Jimenez added: “We love you Seve. We hope that you will be back at the golf courses as soon as possible.”

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10 Responses to “A Thought For Seve”

Chris Marshall Says:
October 15th, 2008 at 2:56 pm Quote
The 51-year-old completed the surgery yesterday, according to the Spanish sports daily Marca.

Doctors at La Paz hospital said the operation had been “satisfactory”.

The medics had not planned to operate on Mr Ballesteros, but changed their decision owing to the seriousness of his health.
Chris Marshall Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:36 pm Quote
Ballesteros is in serious condition and will undergo the procedure on Friday, the Madrid hospital where he is being treated said.

“The patient Mr Severiano Ballesteros remains stable within the seriousness (of his condition)”, Hospital La Paz in Madrid said in a statement.

“Ballesteros remains in serious condition and will undergo a new operation tomorrow. The operation will seek to “remove the remains of the tumour”.

The 51-year-old Ballesteros was first taken to hospital on Oct 13 after suffering from a fit as he waited to board a plane from Madrid to Munich for a golf show.

He had one operation for the removal of a brain tumour and a follow-on procedure, a decompressive craniectomy, two days later when his brain started to swell. A piece of skull was removed to allowing the brain to swell against the scalp, which allows for more in the way of give.

Since then, Ballesteros has mostly been kept under sedation. When he attempted to wake up a day after the second operation, the doctors satisfied themselves that his reactions were in order before returning him to a sedative state.

On Monday, they woke him up for a brief period and, once again, they were happy with the way he responded. That was when a hospital spokesman issued a tentative but encouraging statement which read, “As hours go by, it means a bit of recovery.”

There was nothing good about this news, though those close to Ballesteros were not inclined to believe what they were hearing until they had seen an official statement.

On Thursday there were rumours circulating which could not have been more wrong. Namely, that Ballesteros had been secretly removed from the La Paz Hospital and flown to the States for treatment.
Chris Marshall Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 7:11 pm Quote
Better news after operation today:

“In that operation the targets originally planned have been achieved and has eliminated the oedema and the remnants of the tumour,” a statement from Madrid’s La Paz hospital read.
“The patient is stable … and is currently controlled in the intensive care unit”.
The operation on the 51-year-old, led by La Paz’s chief brain surgeon Javier Heredero, lasted 6-1/2 hours.
Ballesteros is suffering from an oligoastrocytoma, a tumour that affects two types of brain cell, and spreads diffusely inside the brain cavity.
He was admitted to hospital on Oct 13 after collapsing at the airport in Madrid when bound for a golf show in Munich.
His first operation called for a follow-on procedure two days later in which a section of skull was removed – a decompressive craniectomy – to allow for the initial brain swelling.
There was some mildly encouraging news around the weekend when the hospital said that Ballesteros had woken up on the day after the second surgery – and that they had noted that his reactions were satisfactory before putting him back under sedation.
However, further bleeding and a loss of consciousness necessitated today’s operation.
Chris Marshall Says:
October 29th, 2008 at 4:10 pm Quote
Ballesteros, who had his first operation on Oct 6 and the second two days later, underwent his most recent procedure on Thursday, Oct 23. It lasted all day but, by the end of it, doctors were confident they had succeeded in their mission to alleviate pressure on the brain caused by bleeding, and to remove remaining tumour tissue.
In the first statement released since Ballesteros’ third operation, a spokesman at the La Paz hospital said: “The patient, Mr Seve Ballesteros, has a favourable trend in his neurological status but needs to be further controlled in the Intensive Care Unit.”
Ballesteros’s tumour has been diagnosed as an oligoastrocytoma, one which affects two types of brain cells and is apt to spread “diffusely” in the brain cavity.
The golfer has been kept under sedation over the last few days and has undergone a trachectomy to help with his breathing.
However, hospital authorities have been at pains to stress that the procedure in question is nothing out of the ordinary.
“It is customary and it is part of protocol established for similar cases,” they said.
Chris Marshall Says:
November 3rd, 2008 at 7:52 pm Quote
Just read that Seve is awake and talking to his family.
Chris Marshall Says:
November 21st, 2008 at 10:50 am Quote
Am sure you will have seen that he is out of intensive care and talking and receiving friends and family.

They have thanked everyone for their support and said they just want to be left alone now.

The Royal Trophy will go ahead in January despite European captain Seve Ballesteros undergoing three operations last month to treat a brain tumour.

The tournament pitting Europe against Asia in a Ryder Cup-style format will be joint-sanctioned by the Asian, Japan and European Tours and held at Thailand’s Amata Spring Country Club, just outside Bangkok, from January 9-11.

Ballesteros, who left the intensive care unit of the hospital where he is being treated in Spain earlier in November, founded the event and skippered the European team in 2006 and 2007.
Chris Marshall Says:
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:38 pm Quote
Golf legend Seve Ballesteros is back in intensive care after undergoing a fourth brain operation.

A valve was implanted in the 51-year-old Spaniard’s brain to drain fluid, while the surgery also repaired a bone defect caused by an earlier operation.

His condition is reported as stable and he will remain in Madrid’s La Paz unit for monitoring.
Chris Marshall Says:
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:47 pm Quote
Seve is out of intensive care again and doing well.
Shaun Price Says:
December 9th, 2008 at 7:00 pm Quote
Good news on Sky today.

Seve Ballesteros has been released from hospital following a series of operations to remove a brain tumour.

The Spanish golfing legend was first admitted to hospital in October, when the cancerous tumour was diagnosed, and the initial prognosis was not favourable.

However, doctors at Madrid’s La Paz hospital performed three successful surgeries before a fourth only last week to insert a valve to drain fluid from the brain.

And his recovery has gone so well that the hospital has decided to allow the 51-year-old to continue his rehabilitation at home.

“The patient Severiano Ballesteros has been discharged this morning by the Department of Neurosurgery and has already left the hospital,” read a statement.

“He will continue to have outpatient treatment in the Departments of Radiotherapy and Medical Oncology.”
Chris Marshall Says:
December 19th, 2008 at 11:49 pm Quote
Seve Ballesteros has begun chemotherapy as he continues his recovery from a brain tumour