So yesterday, I had some pre-op labs drawn and another MRI to make sure there isn’t a syrinx in my cervical vertebrae. The awesomeness that is my husband was with me for both appointments. :) I’m hoping the MRI didn’t show anything, because if it did, I’d have to have a more intrusive operation, which is definitely something I don’t want to do if I can avoid it. Apparently, my heart rate was a little high, but I was kinda nervous, and the nurse explained that that alone could cause a slight increase in heart rate. Tomorrow makes two weeks until my surgery date. Yikes.
as you can imagine, shit is just fkd up right now. but i wanna say thank you to all our
friends and family (which are kinda one in the same) for all the love and support.
i’m glad to know that all the love that Yauch has put out into the world is coming right back at him.
thank you.
Full spine MRI tomorrow. So not excited. Hope I can be still long enough!
beautifulfitme asked: i just found your tumblr. i have chiari and syringomyelia too. (idk if you have the syringomyelia with your chiari) but im about to get my surgery too. where are you from?
We have not found any syrinx or syringomelia with my Chiari, but I have a pre-op full spine MRI on Tuesday to make sure there isn’t anything down further than my first MRI showed.
I am being treated here in Portland, OR at OHSU, my hometown. :)
While I enjoy the sound of the rain, beating against the windows and ceiling, at this hour, I have to admit I would rather hear the gentle breath of my sleeping husband beside me. But alas, sleep is evading me this evening. And so, in my dimly lit living room, I sit in a quiet corner with a book, escaping to a more exciting place, hoping the adventures of these characters can calm my mind and bring sleep to me.
I am scheduled for surgery on May 24th. The surgery I am having involves the removal of a small part of the back of the bottom part of my skull and part of the C-1 vertebrae. So basically, my skull is too small for my brain. Before I have surgery though, the doctor has ordered a full spine MRI to make sure there isn’t a blockage anywhere of the flow of cerebrospinal fluid to and from my brain. He doesn’t really think the MRI will show that, and neither do I, but we have to be 100% sure before proceeding with surgery. This really seems like pretty standard surgery to me, and I’m actually not scared at all. The thing that is messing with me is tat this will be the first time I haven’t slept next to my husband in years, and of it weren’t for the meds I know they’ll pump me full of, I’d be a little scared that I wouldn’t be able to sleep without him next to me. Not the doctor cutting off part of my skull, but not cuddling with my hubby. That, and how much I’ll miss waking up the kids in the morning and tucking them in at night. The hubs and the kidlets. That’s what I’m worried about. Hmm
I wonder what that says about my priorities.
I’m so lucky. I have the most amazing husband and family ever. Through all this bullshit, they’ve been so amazing and supportive of me. Especially with all the stuff I read about people who get a chronic problem like this and their family abandons them or doesn’t believe them about it. My family kicks ass.
Met w/ the neurologist today. He says there isn’t a reason he can see for my brain ventricles to be enlarged, and there is no apparent obstruction of CSF flow that the MRI shows. Which is good. He gave me some more pain meds, which I’m both grateful for and bugged by. I don’t wanna have to have pain meds, but I’m glad they’re there for when I need them.
Next Friday I meet with the neurosurgeon. And then we get to see if he thinks I’m a surgical candidate. Honestly, I kinda hope so. I want this bullshit gone, even if it means I have to have a nasty scar on my head to get there.
