Category: Support

Aneurysms Be Damned….

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Aneurysms be damned…we’re taking that trip to the UK finally!

Although Dave and I had planned on waiting a year after our wedding to take our official honeymoon to the UK, we hadn’t planned on my large aneurysm raising it’s ugly head, the discovery or a new aneurysm and the addition of more coils and a stent to my brain. Those little item resulted in a longer delay for the honeymoon and we had to put it off for another year.

Well, the “one-of-those-days” moments is about to arrive and we’re really going to do it. Tickets, hotels, guides and flights are all booked and ready to go. We’re as ready as two people can possibly be for an overseas trip. Hell, we’ve had long enough to plan for the darn thing!

And even though I know it won’t happen, I can’t help but think all of that metal in my head will set off the metal detectors going through airport security. LOL I know it won’t, but I’ll still think about it for sure.

I love that we’re taking this trip with so much love, support, blessings and prayers from our families, friends, and co-workers. I am truly thankful for it all and for the Dr’s who have provided their expertise and skill to prolong my life and give me another chance to LIVE! So many aneurysm survivors are not able to enjoy living their lives to the fullest, but the majority of us DO try and this is a big step for me. I haven’t flown since 2005 when I flew to visit my friend Gwen in Canada. Little did I know during that trip that I had a 1/2″ diameter aneurysm waiting to blow.

Now I DO know what’s going on and I’ve been given the “Green Light” to travel by my Dr. So…LETS GO TO LONDON BABY!

KAT-Walk and Karo-5K Run for Maine Brain Aneurysm Awareness

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Lace up your walking and running shoes and join us for the KAT-Walk & Karo-5K for Maine Brain Aneurysm Awareness. This annual event benefits the Brain Aneurysm Foundation in their efforts to support early detection, education, fund research and create awareness about
brain aneurysms.

A brain aneurysm is a weak bulge on the wall of an artery in the brain and can catastrophically rupture. Up to 1 in 50 people in the U.S. will develop a brain aneurysm during their lifetime and each year about 30,000 people will suffer a ruptured brain aneurysm. Almost half of the victims will die and of those surviving, only a third will recover without disabilities.

This year’s event will be held on Saturday, September 15, 2012, around the Back Cove Boulevard in Portland, Maine. The event starts at 11:30 a.m. on the pathway across from the Hannaford Plaza and the walk & run will take place at 1pm. The whole family is invited for a leisurely walk or to enter the timed 5K run. A Silent Auction, 50/50 raffle and many new attractions will make this a special day.

The KAT-Walk originated in memory of Kimberly Ann Tudor, a Portland native, Deering HS and UNE graduate and athlete, who lost her life to a sudden brain aneurysm in December 2008. The Karo-5K is in memory of Karolina A. Kurka, a Scarborough HS and UNH graduate who passed away from an undetected brain aneurysm in July 2011.

September is Maine Brain Aneurysm Awareness Month. Join us as we “share our tears, remember with love, walk & run to honor” those families affected by this silent killer and help save lives!

More information about the event can be found at: MaineBA.org or find us on Facebook at: KAT-Walk.

Angiogram Check Up

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I had my 1-year angiogram (video) check-up yesterday at Maine Medical Center in Portland to see
how the stent, re-coiling, and small aneurysm were doing. I was a little nervous, but more concerned about experiencing pain at the onset of the procedure than anything else. So, I expressed my concern with everyone who would listen. LOL You’re not put completely “under” because they need you to be semi-awake to participate in the procedure when they ask you to hold your breath or hold completely still at certain times.

I was given some minor meds that made me very, very dopey, but I still felt quite a bit of discomfort in the groin when they started to insert the wire (video). I have to believe this particular area of the artery has endured quite a bit over the last 5 1/2 years with multiple angiograms, coiling, stenting and recoiling. There MUST be some scar tissue or something there that makes this part particularly painful. Once that part was over I did not recall too much pain.

Dr. Ecker uses a much smaller catheter which means the puncture hole is so small that an angio-plug or seal is not needed. Unfortunately, that means one poor member of the procedure team is in charge of putting pressure on my groin until it stops bleeding after the angiogram. LOL Thank you Brian! The plug is painful…you were not.

As usual, the staff in the Radiology department at Maine Med were fantastic. From the main reception area to the medical team involved with the pre- and post-procedures, they’re very professional, fun, and attentive. I recalled several names and faces and they even remembered me too, which is kind of sad! LOL That means I’ve been there enough times for them to recall who I am, even with the number of patients they must see on a daily basis.

While I was being wheeled out of the interventional radiology suite, they informed me that Dr. Ecker was already showing Dave the 3D images that had just been taken. Because my glasses were taken away from me before the procedure, I couldn’t see anything or make out any faces, but I heard Dr. Ecker’s voice and Dave’s and as I was being wheeled by they gave me the good news that preliminarily things looked good! So that was fantastic news.

Another off-shoot of using the thinner catheter is that the stay for the patient at the hospital is much shorter as well. Only two-hours in recovery where I had to keep my right leg still and flat and couldn’t raise my head too high in the bed. MUCH better than 4-6 hours afterwards. Two-hours was very doable. I was able to eat a yummy turkey & cheese sandwich, a bowl of fruit and a cookie with Dave’s help. Difficult to eat half laying down without making a mess or choking, but we did it.

So, we left the hospital around 1:30 and were home shortly before 3. After calling my mom, I promptly went to bed and slept for 3 hours. I’m sore and sleepy today, but overall pretty good.

I’ll have my follow-up, in-office appointment with Dr. Ecker a week after next because he’s on vacation next week. I’m hoping that after closer inspection and comparison with last year’s pictures he doesn’t find anything of interest and that we’ll still be cleared for our trip next month. I think, and know, that if Dr. Ecker had seen anything major yesterday he would have informed us of it at that point. He doesn’t mess around and is a straight shooter, which I like.

It’s Brain Aneurysm Awareness Week

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Hello, I’m Heidi and I’m a survivor. I’m one of the lucky ones. The statistics are quite sobering and I am trying to do my part in raising brain aneurysm awareness this week.

A diagnosis of an aneurysm isn’t necessarily a death sentence, nor should it be viewed as a “ticking time bomb”. I would think a person should consider themselves lucky. Lucky that it was discovered. Lucky that they have options. Lucky that THEY have the power to do something and lucky to be alive. The medical procedures available today allow a person to LIVE with an aneurysm, not necessarily die because of one. Those are much better statistics.

Understanding the signs and symptoms (if you have any) as well as diagnosis with early screening are vital to survival.

I have two first cousins who had aneurysms. If I had been more informed to the risks of hereditary aneurysms, I may have found my aneurysm before it ruptured. I now have another aneurysm, but I know so much more as a result of the first one that I have a fighting chance….but only because I survived the initial rupture.

Like I said…I’m one of the lucky ones. Please help us raise awareness.