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.