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Aqqu Kreutzmann, an AFS student who is attending Sutherlin High School, had brain surgery Oct. 28 to remove a walnut-sized tumor. He returned to school Monday.
SUTHERLIN — Over and over, Aqqa Kreutzmann used the word “scary” to describe his recent health emergency.
He endured a sudden seizure, two ambulance rides, two hospitals, CT scans and four hours of brain surgery, all in five days. It all happened a long way from his home in the fishing community of Maniitsoq in southwest Greenland.
The Sutherlin-based foreign exchange student was released from the hospital just four days after his surgery and returned to his host home. A week later, on Monday, he was back at school. He said he felt “normal.” Then he added “lucky.”
Aqqa (AH-kah) is a 16-year-old boy who is attending Sutherlin High School this school year through the AFS Intercultural Program. He is staying with the family of John and Penny Spain of Sutherlin. Their daughter, Becca, is a junior at the school.
Through translators, Lauritz and Kathrine Kreutzmann told the Spain family they were thankful their son was here when this life-threatening health problem struck, because the boy was then seen and treated by the best doctors, neurosurgeons and equipment at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland. The Kreutzmanns indicated to the Spains that their son may not have lived through such a problem in Greenland.
They said their small hometown of Maniitsoq has only a clinic. Its equipment is not state-of-the-art, it would have taken time to arrange a flight to a larger medical facility, probably in Denmark, and in the meantime, continued swelling in his brain could have been fatal.
Instead, Aqqa was back in his Sutherlin classes 17 days after a major seizure.
“The last thing his mother said to us through Aqqa before leaving was that it was terrible he had this, but they were so thankful he was here when it happened,” said Penny Spain.
The student said he signed up to be an exchange student because he “wanted to try something new.” Being from an arctic country where hunting and fishing are common activities, he was matched up with the Spain family, whose members also enjoy such outdoor activities. At home, his family hunted reindeer and seal for sustenance.
“He fits in with our family very well,” said Penny Spain.
Early in October during the blacktailed deer season, Aqqa helped fill his host family's freezer by shooting a forked-horn buck.
But on the afternoon of Oct. 23, while Aqqa and his host family were in the kitchen at their home preparing to carve Halloween pumpkins, the boy suddenly had a seizure and crumpled to the floor. The seizure lasted about 3 minutes.
Becca called 911 immediately and paramedics were quickly at the house. The boy was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg. After a CT scan revealed a walnut-sized tumor, he was back in an ambulance for a ride to the Doernbecher hospital in Portland, arriving early in the morning of Oct. 24.
That afternoon another CT scan was done, and it confirmed the tumor's location and that it was operable. Doctors told the Spains the tumor was caused by an infection and was of a rare type.
With medicine controlling the swelling, surgery was put off until Aqqa's parents arrived. Because of the riskiness of the surgery, they needed to be there. It was their first visit to the United States.
During the wait, Aqqa slept a lot, but also watched movies and played video games with Becca and Penny Spain, who stayed with him. They also walked to the hospital cafeteria a few times.
“It was a little bit scary,” said Aqqa.
The Kreutzmanns flew in the night of Oct. 27 and their son had surgery the next afternoon. A narrow strip of his black hair on the upper left side of his head was shaved off and the surgery was done through a 3-inch incision in his head.
There were no surprises during the surgery and Aqqa came through it fine.
“It was the scariest moment of my life,” said Becca of the ordeal.
“We can't even convey how wonderful Doernbecher was during this,” Penny Spain said. “Everybody has been very helpful and nice through the whole experience.”
Aqqa's parents returned home last Wednesday and their son continued to recover at the Spains with the goal of going back to school Monday.
Sutherlin High counselor Sydney Richardson said in her 20-plus years at the school, there has been foreign exchange students from many countries, but never an incident like this. She said homesickness is the most common problem.
“I think he's brave and courageous,” she said of Aqqa dealing with the situation and then wanting to return to school to complete the school year.
SHS teacher Ransom Bodeen has Aqqa in a class on English as a second language.
“That's amazing,” Bodeen said of the student's recovery. “I don't think people realize how much personal strength he has. He looked adversity straight in the eye and dealt with it. His attitude was always, ‘I'll just kind of accept that that's the way it is.'”
Aqqa is still on antibiotics to ward off any infection and can do no heavy lifting.
Before heading off to his next class Monday, he said, “I'm still happy to be here.”
• You can reach Features editor Craig Reed at 957-4210 or by e-mail at creed@nrtoday.com.
He endured a sudden seizure, two ambulance rides, two hospitals, CT scans and four hours of brain surgery, all in five days. It all happened a long way from his home in the fishing community of Maniitsoq in southwest Greenland.
The Sutherlin-based foreign exchange student was released from the hospital just four days after his surgery and returned to his host home. A week later, on Monday, he was back at school. He said he felt “normal.” Then he added “lucky.”
Aqqa (AH-kah) is a 16-year-old boy who is attending Sutherlin High School this school year through the AFS Intercultural Program. He is staying with the family of John and Penny Spain of Sutherlin. Their daughter, Becca, is a junior at the school.
Through translators, Lauritz and Kathrine Kreutzmann told the Spain family they were thankful their son was here when this life-threatening health problem struck, because the boy was then seen and treated by the best doctors, neurosurgeons and equipment at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland. The Kreutzmanns indicated to the Spains that their son may not have lived through such a problem in Greenland.
They said their small hometown of Maniitsoq has only a clinic. Its equipment is not state-of-the-art, it would have taken time to arrange a flight to a larger medical facility, probably in Denmark, and in the meantime, continued swelling in his brain could have been fatal.
Instead, Aqqa was back in his Sutherlin classes 17 days after a major seizure.
“The last thing his mother said to us through Aqqa before leaving was that it was terrible he had this, but they were so thankful he was here when it happened,” said Penny Spain.
The student said he signed up to be an exchange student because he “wanted to try something new.” Being from an arctic country where hunting and fishing are common activities, he was matched up with the Spain family, whose members also enjoy such outdoor activities. At home, his family hunted reindeer and seal for sustenance.
“He fits in with our family very well,” said Penny Spain.
Early in October during the blacktailed deer season, Aqqa helped fill his host family's freezer by shooting a forked-horn buck.
But on the afternoon of Oct. 23, while Aqqa and his host family were in the kitchen at their home preparing to carve Halloween pumpkins, the boy suddenly had a seizure and crumpled to the floor. The seizure lasted about 3 minutes.
Becca called 911 immediately and paramedics were quickly at the house. The boy was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg. After a CT scan revealed a walnut-sized tumor, he was back in an ambulance for a ride to the Doernbecher hospital in Portland, arriving early in the morning of Oct. 24.
That afternoon another CT scan was done, and it confirmed the tumor's location and that it was operable. Doctors told the Spains the tumor was caused by an infection and was of a rare type.
With medicine controlling the swelling, surgery was put off until Aqqa's parents arrived. Because of the riskiness of the surgery, they needed to be there. It was their first visit to the United States.
During the wait, Aqqa slept a lot, but also watched movies and played video games with Becca and Penny Spain, who stayed with him. They also walked to the hospital cafeteria a few times.
“It was a little bit scary,” said Aqqa.
The Kreutzmanns flew in the night of Oct. 27 and their son had surgery the next afternoon. A narrow strip of his black hair on the upper left side of his head was shaved off and the surgery was done through a 3-inch incision in his head.
There were no surprises during the surgery and Aqqa came through it fine.
“It was the scariest moment of my life,” said Becca of the ordeal.
“We can't even convey how wonderful Doernbecher was during this,” Penny Spain said. “Everybody has been very helpful and nice through the whole experience.”
Aqqa's parents returned home last Wednesday and their son continued to recover at the Spains with the goal of going back to school Monday.
Sutherlin High counselor Sydney Richardson said in her 20-plus years at the school, there has been foreign exchange students from many countries, but never an incident like this. She said homesickness is the most common problem.
“I think he's brave and courageous,” she said of Aqqa dealing with the situation and then wanting to return to school to complete the school year.
SHS teacher Ransom Bodeen has Aqqa in a class on English as a second language.
“That's amazing,” Bodeen said of the student's recovery. “I don't think people realize how much personal strength he has. He looked adversity straight in the eye and dealt with it. His attitude was always, ‘I'll just kind of accept that that's the way it is.'”
Aqqa is still on antibiotics to ward off any infection and can do no heavy lifting.
Before heading off to his next class Monday, he said, “I'm still happy to be here.”
• You can reach Features editor Craig Reed at 957-4210 or by e-mail at creed@nrtoday.com.
