Endeavor Health neurosurgeons treat unexpected brain tumor in father of 5

He went to an emergency room near his home in Austin, Texas, to get checked out. Seth said he thought he might have to take some medication then get on with life as usual.

“After the scans came through, I found out I had a tumor in my brain,” he said.

It wasn’t an easy condition to treat. Seth and his wife, Amanda, were unable to find a surgeon near their home who was willing to operate. It would require difficult surgery because the tumor’s location posed a high risk that Seth could be paralyzed on one whole side of his body, Amanda said.

“My long-term goal at that point was extension of life,” Seth said. “I have 5 young kids. How can I extend so I can watch them grow up, watch them play sports, have fun.”

The couple flew to Chicago for an appointment with the neurosurgery team at Endeavor Health Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.

“And then we got here, it was this smaller, community hospital and we were kind of unsure, what are we doing here? What are we walking into?” Amanda said.

But as soon as they sat down with the team — including Amin Kassam, MD, Melanie Fukui, MD, and George Bobustuc, MD — the Hutchinsons said they knew something different was going on.

“They sat there and took time with us, and all three of them were collaborating with each other,” Seth said.

After surgery, during which Seth was awake and able to respond to the surgeons’ requests to move different body parts to ensure mobility, Seth said recovery was quick. He left the hospital within 24 hours.

“It’s kind of funny to say that brain surgery has been a really good experience, but it’s been a really good experience,” Amanda said.