Category: Family

More Family Stuff

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Over the past week or so, I have been in contact with my cousin who had coiling done on an un-ruptured aneurysm a couple of years ago. I was encouraged to hear her sister had had an MRI and everything looked fine, but unnerved by some info I don’t believe I was ever told, or I had forgotten.

My great grandmother died in her fifties suddenly while doing laundry and my grandfather’s sister died while brushing her teeth. I don’t believe, due to the lack of medical advancements at the time, either were diagnosed as aneurysms, but it certainly gives one pause given the fact I have two first cousins who had annies, and then myself.

It’s been nice connecting with her. She had one annie coiled and does have another one that they are monitoring, but luckily there has been no change and she won’t have to go back for another two years for a check up. She was very lucky to have it discovered before it ruptured.

Working

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Today marked the start of my third week of working three days a week. I put in four hour days the first week of Feb., then worked until 2:00 last week and tried it to 3:00 today. That might have been pushing it. If I didn’t have to drive home 30 miles afterwards, I could probably put in a full day….or maybe not.

With my disability running out in March, I’m starting to feel I’m on a strict time table to work a full 40 hour week, but I might not happen for awhile yet and I’ll just have to take the cut in pay and lose all my personal/vacation time if need be. I’m not sure if the disability can be extended if the Dr’s say I need more time or not. Looking into it.

It has felt good to have to get up in the morning and be somewhere, other than a Dr’s appointment. I’m feeling useful again and that’s really important. I just wish I weren’t so darn tired when I get home. It takes a lot out of me. I am sleeping better the nights I work, so I guess that’s good, but it also makes it hard to get up in the morning.

My annie-related headaches are decreasing in intensity finally. I find my eyes are bothering me more than my head right now. They get very tired and sore after working and driving and stores are still an issue. So I’m still recovering and have to remember that. I’m a long way from 100% still, but it’s getting there.

I’m trying not to complain to people at work when they ask me how I’m doing because in reality, compared to where I was in October, I’m doing great. I shouldn’t be complaining. Poor Dave has to endure my complaining. He’s been a saint through it all. I’m not sure I deserve him.

My 4-Month Anniversary

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On this, the 4-month anniversary (or “annie”-versary) of my ruptured aneurysm and coiling surgery, I am trying to reflect on what I HAVE been able to accomplish during my recovery, instead of what I still can’t do. It goes something like this

Four months from the time of my ruptured aneurysm, I am able to:

    Bend over without getting dizzy.
    Lift things heavier than a breakfast tray.
    Fill and unload the dishwasher without the aid of sitting down.
    Go downstairs to the basement.
    Do laundry.
    Go downstairs to feed the cats.
    Shower and bath unaided by a seat.
    Dry my hair standing up.
    Make meals.
    Sit at the computer for a few hours.
    Lay down without my head pounding.
    Control most head pain I have without Vicodin, but with Tylenol.
    Go into a store, albeit smaller ones still.
    Drive!
    Go to work part-time.
    Sneeze without fear of my coils exploding.
    Go to a movie.
    Fill the bird feeders.
    Walk without the aid of a cane.
    Laugh and not get too exhausted.
    See my psychologist.
    Read a little bit more and it doesn’t bother me.
    Make the bed.
    Make love. (it’s gotta be said for those other survivors who are reading this and are nervous about themselves.)
    Bake a cake.
    Clean the house a little bit more.
    Speak to other annie survivors.
    Plan my future!
    LIVE!

I’m sure there are more things I’m forgetting, but those are the biggies that I’m recalling needing so much assistance with during those first few weeks when I arrived home after 20 days in the hospital. There are still downsides to my recovery, but today I choose to acknowledge the things I CAN do now, that I wasn’t able to before. ‘nuff said.

Doctor’s Visit

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I had a Dr’s appointment with my regular physician today. Not only is she my doctor, but she is my physical therapist doing some OMT therapy on my neck for probably going on two years now. I had not seen her since my rupture in October.

I wasn’t sure we’d get to the therapy part of my visit and I was right. She did some brief, subtle manipulation on my neck towards the end of the visit, but for the most part we spent the time discussing my aneurysm.

I also needed to get a prescription from her: The antibiotics I need to take before dental or any medical procedures for the rest of my life. As mentioned in another entry, I was not well-informed on this issue, but I now have a prescription to take four 50 mg pills an hour before any procedure. I hope to God they’re not horse pills and I have no allergic reaction to them. We’ll see next Thursday when I go BACK for my cleaning.

She was also able to get me a referral for a neurologist in the area, which I’m very glad about. The neurosurgeon she’s recommending is part of the group that comes up to Waterville that’s associated with Dr. D’Angelo, who was my neurosurgeon in Portland. I trusted him and liked him, so I would trust someone he hired to be apart of this group.

The big issue that arose during this visit was that she recommended, rather TOLD me, to stop taking birth control pills. She first asked if anyone had told me to stop taking them….um…no! She said there are many risks, not only with women my age, but due to the aneurysm and the surgery, there are other risks and that I should stop and think about having my tubes tied, or other options, I would need to discuss with Dave for obvious reason.

I was totally unprepared for this and became quite emotional during my visit. There was a lot of information thrown at me in a short amount of time, and I was totally unprepared for it and don’t even remember all she said. I didn’t really know why I became so emotional and apologized for it, but she reminded me: the aneurysm has caused so much disruption in my life, I have every right to be emotional and that it’s okay to cry, but it hurts when I do! Double-edged sword there. Not only the near-death aspect of it, but it has effected my health, my life, my love life, my work life, my play life……everything, so this one other, unexpected side-effect, kind of blind-sided me. I’m probably far too emotional about it than I need to be, but I can’t seem to stop it just yet.

I’m not comfortable stopping the Pill cold turkey without speaking to my OBGYN, which will be my next step.

So, todays visit helped resolve some issues, but brought up some new ones. We won’t have  PT session until April to still give me time to rest and heal. It’s coming up on my four month anniversary…..it truly hasn’t been that long in the grand scheme of what has happened, so I need to remember that.