Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Continuation of my Story ....

Are you ready for the next installment of the continuing saga of my life as I know it right now? Ok let's begin ... this is a story of another major change in my life and quite unexpected I might add. Seems to me 2012 is proving to be a year of the unexpected events. Life can be a surprising journey and difficult one all at the same time time. But I am learning things are working together for my good. But I am getting ahead of myself. As I previously mentioned I had joined the Brain Aneurysm Foundation where I met many wonderful people from around the world. It's like having one giant support group right from the comfort of your home. There is always someone online, lots of medical  information about aneurysms and recovery process  and best of all people's stories about their journeys. There are many stories:  of successful surgeries, loved ones losing their family members to an aneurysm that has ruptured and/or a series of complications during or following surgery. 

I thought it very interesting how many people ask for prayer support and many respond by stating they would be praying for them. Other survivors encouraging people like myself who are waiting for surgery etc.  No matter where you are in your journey there is someone there for you to listen to your fears, concerns and /or celebrate a successful procedure. Family members of survivors also have a place on this site to talk about how they feel on their journey as they walk along side their loved ones. 




Monday, September 17, 2012

The Continuing Story ...


Hello Again,

The CT scan revealed I have on the right side of my head a  Middle  Cerebral Artery (MCA) 8mm Aneurysm. I hardly knew what an aneurysm was or how to spell it let alone how dangerous it could be if it ruptured. Needless to say, I was in shock as I was sure the ER doc wasn't really talking to me but someone else. Nope, he was talking to me. I was released from the hospital and sent home. The next few months I was in such pain with my knee I hardly gave the aneurysm a second thought except when I had to go into the city for more tests. I saw a couple of neurosurgeons who provided me with information about my aneurysm. I had to take someone with me as I didn't hear half of what they were telling me nor did I understand it; I am well educated. But when you are facing a life threatening situation it's hard to compute all the information. 

I found a wonderful site called the Brain Aneurysm Foundation where I met many wonderful people from around the world who were aneurysm survivors. This is their link: http://www.bafound.org/ 

I have chatted with many people on this site and I asked many questions as this certainly is a new journey for me. Right now I am waiting for a date as I am scheduled for a Fall surgery. A good friend of mine will stay with me during my hospital stay. I have to travel to another city about 150 miles from where I live. I am very grateful to her for taking time off work to go with me. Both of my parents are deceased and my younger brother seemingly cannot deal with this event in my life and  has chosen not to be there for me. I came to terms with his decision and moved on with my life. I have since found out from other friends many siblings don't know how to respond in crisis like these and chose to do nothing. I am so grateful to the many friends here and from around the world that have rallied around me and been so very supportive to me during this time. The road to recovery is a long and arduous one. 

I got all my affairs in order for this event should things go south for me or I not be able to look after myself. I am not being morbid as I do believe that God can see me through this surgery and I can come out alright. But I do have to be realistic as I have three fur kids (dogs) and an estate. A couple, friends of mine agreed to be godparents to my fur kids and I asked them to be the beneficiaries of my entire estate. I have a living will also (very important document) and a power of attorney just in case. 

I am currently "spring" cleaning my house as either dead or alive I want my place to be in order! I am cooking ahead and freezing meals as I won't be able to cook for awhile, don't want to burn the house down because I forgot I had something on the stove. LOL 

I have a dear friend here who has agreed to be listed as my "next of kin"  I am so thankful she has chosen to come alongside  me as she will be able to discuss with my neurosurgeons my medical condition and surgery outcomes. As far as I understand now I won't be aware of too much after my craniotomy (major surgery) to clip the aneurysm. Ouch! I don't apologize for being straightforward and candid. This is how life is for me right now. I am I afraid? You bet I am. But I also know that I am in God's hands. 

Grover

A lady from a friend's church has agreed to take my three dogs while I am in the hospital. I am so relieved as I worried about Grover who is 13 and a half years old and has a wee bit of a heart murmur now. He gets so anxious when he is away from me. I have made all kinds of plans and hopefully some of them won't have to be implemented. 


Friday, September 14, 2012

Major Update

Well, Well, it's been awhile hasn't it? I hope to change that and start blogging again. there are so many happenings in my life as of late it's hard to know where to begin.

First off, I have had at least two major life altering experiences which I will come back to in a moment. 

As you know my blog has been primarily about the "lighter side of my life", I didn't want to blog about "dark or valley" times in my life but you know as well as I do we all have them.  However, what I am about to share is not meant to be a pity party for me, believe me I have been through those too and they aren't fun. I share my story only to let you know I am moving on through; I am not completely there yet but I do have hope for the future. I feel pretty good this morning as I sit and write this I will try to be brief and only touch on highlights of the goings on of the last six months. (I know some of my friends find it hard for me to be brief as I seemingly love to use a plethora of words even to describe a trip to the corner store. LOL)

My first life altering experience started on March 22, 2012 when I took my dogs to the vet for their shots two towns over from where I live. I was taking my German Shepherd, Bear back to my Ford Ranger when suddenly he lunged forward and took me with him as I was holding on to his lead with my left hand. I fell hitting my head on the bumper of my truck and severely injured my right knee when I hit the pavement. People came rushing out of the vet's office to assist me. By now Bear was loose and we were parked on Main Street. He's a big boy and people are usually afraid of shepherds Bear was no exception as he was barking by now. I called to him and he came to my side. I told someone just open my truck door to let him in. Meanwhile, I am seeing stars (remember it was afternoon) and wanted to toss my cookies. Someone asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital. of course I said, "No", (as I usually do in these situations), I will be alright. I honestly felt like crap but said I would be fine. I got up and went back into the vet's office to pay the bill. Now, I didn't know which feeling was worse my huge vet bill or my leg which was now throbbing in pain. I decided both were equally painful. LOL I climbed into my truck and made my way home. Thinking back I honestly didn't know how I managed to get home, I must have been in shock. 

When I got into the house I sat down on the kitchen chair and I was feeling poorly as the whole kitchen was spinning and I thought to myself, "Now what"?  I waited for the feeling to pass, got up  went to the freezer and got a bag of peas to put on my knee. I could hardly walk by know. I did manage to haul out my cane, and use it to help me walk. I decided I would be fine.  I was not fine believe me as the pain I was experiencing was unbearable for a very long time. This journey of pain lasted for months, but I am getting ahead of myself as there is more; what I just described to you pales in comparison to what's ahead in this story.

I injured my leg on a Thursday and on a Monday I called a friend of mine who is a First Responder to come over. She took one look at my leg and told me I needed to go to the hospital A.S.A.P.  This was not what I wanted to hear. My brother came from the city with his daughter-in-law to look after my dogs and the ambulance took me to the hospital. First ride ever for me! They ran many tests for my leg including a CT scan for my head. When the ER doctor came to give me the test results  First off he said all your tests came back fine and the CT scan revealed no injury from hitting your head on the bumper of the truck "BUT" we found something else. When he said but,  I never in a million years was prepared for what he told me. I am going to stop here and resume later. I know, what a cliff hanger: What did the doctor tell you? I can tell you this it was the beginning of my first major life changing experience for me. 

Till next time,
Jaime