It is the holiday, you know. Memorial Day. The unofficial start to summertime. But it's raining here today -- 100% chance of it. I've pulled the BBQ grill in underneath the roofline to dry out before we grill corn on the cob and veggie burgers later on. But the rain is the least of my worries today. Unexpectedly so.
Why is it that I make a far better nurse than I do a patient? When I'm the one playing nurse, I can get the job done -- promptly, efficiently, with clarity and speed. When I'm the patient facing invasive tests, I'm the one worrying. Lying awake at nights. Thinking about it 90% of the day. Processing, planning, organizing. And I don't like it. It's making me anxious and irritated.
In spite of the fact that we had hoped my Carotid Artery Dissection would heal over the seven months that I've been on Warfarin/Coumadin blood thinners, it has not. The left side shows some positive change. The right side shows no change at all. In addition, there are slight pseudoaneurysms on both sides. And those must be dealt with. They are little slight bulbous areas on the carotid artery that have the potential to turn into an aneurysm if left unchecked. The only good news from my visit with the Neurosurgeon last Friday was that he recommended I end my time with the blood thinners. Which is excellent news considering that they are nothing but low doses of rat poison. That is true, you know. Rat poison. So now I'm free to go back to eating spinach, kale and all of the other vitamin K products that I choose to.
This all started last October with my neurologist diagnosing me with Horner's Syndrome. Continued on with three more CT scans, a weekend in the hospital, and continued over the next seven months with routine INR blood level checks to be sure that my blood was thin enough to prevent clotting. Everything has been fine, my original Horner's Syndrome symptoms have all but completely disappeared. And that is why my latest fantastic news from the Neurosurgeon was more than I wanted to hear. And why I've been able to do nothing but think about it nonstop all weekend long.
I'll be having a Dynamic Cerebral Angiogram within a few weeks. That will apparently provide amazing 3D images of the insides of my carotids and the dissections and pseudoaneurysms. The pseudos must be filled in to reduce the risk of filling up, or clotting, with unwanted blood clots. Which is why I'm sort of anticipating the follow-up surgery after the angiogram. They actually fill up the pseudos with teeny-tiny little platinum coils. It's called Endovascular Coiling. And they do it the same way as the angiogram -- a small incision in the femoral artery in the groin and threading a catheter, scope, and camera all of the way up into the neck. Amazing stuff. I'm thankful that I live in the day and age that I do. If they don't opt for the coiling procedure, they also have an option to clip it -- like a potato chip bag clip. Or a stent in the artery to reduce the amount of blood from entering the bulbous area. Honestly, it's all very routine. Procedure is a day stay. The follow-up surgery is a one-night stay, apparently.
But when it's being done on ME ....... on MY carotid arteries ...... it makes one anxious. The men in my family don't live as long as the women do. I've already outlived many of them. And that's unsettling. Like I said, I'm a far better nurse than patient. Oh, one more bit of good news -- the Cardiovascular Surgeon said that there shouldn't be any problem with me going back to the gym -- with reasonable accommodation, of course. And that is good news. Perhaps I should go there now. They say that exercise helps reduce stress.
2 comments:
Oh dear. Good news and bad news. I hope all goes well, and that you manage to survive emotionally.
Happy Memorial Day!
YOU, will get through this. Through all of the research and investigation and questioning you have done, you know far more about this than most. I assume that is what makes you nervous.
But you are YOU and because of that and the decisions you make to take better care of yourself and your body, you will prevail. You will be here to be stuck with me for many years to come. You will be able to help others who are looking at having a similar procedure done in the future. That is who YOU are.
Nerve racking? Yes. Unnerving? Yes. Irritated? Yes. Will we both feel better when we have gone through this together? Yes. And that we will. We will go through this-together! I love you!
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