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Kyle Graham began experiencing headaches last August, but he just thought he was exhausted.
Then, the dad of two suffered a seizure.
A trip to the Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center emergency room found a brain tumor was causing his headaches and seizures.
The news floored him.
"It turned my world upside down," Graham said. "I couldn't believe it. It was a shock at first. Then, I think once we really took it in, that's when the emotions started to really come."
Nitesh V. Patel, M.D., Co-Director of Neurosurgical Oncology at the Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, told Graham he could remove the majority of the tumor, while preserving his speech, with awake brain surgery.
Patel needed Graham awake and talking, as the tumor was near Kyle’s speech brain network.
And so, Patel had Graham sing so he could continuously monitor his speech, cadence, and rhythm throughout the procedure.
Graham, the ultimate family man, made a playlist of songs inspired by his family, including the “Frozen” soundtrack in honor of his daughter, Eminem for his son, and for his wife, their wedding song, Shaina Twain’s “From This Moment On.”
The staff is the operating room sang along.
A nurse prompted him by saying, "You gotta hit the high note."
“When my brother came to visit after the surgery, he asked how it went. I told him it was a great time. I was singing, making jokes."
"He said, ‘How can you explain brain surgery like that?'
"And all I could say was, 'It was a great time.'"
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