Health Update

Yesterday, I met with the neurosurgeon. It still seems quite likely that I am going to have to have surgery to repair the aneurysm on the right side of my brain. The surgeon pointed out that the risk of rupture or bleeding of this aneurysm is very low, though I have a difficult time taking that at face value because I experienced bleeding with one of the others. (My blood pressure is under better control now, which should reduce the risk of bleeding from any aneurysm.) The surgeon also noted that we need to make certain we understand the status of the aneurysm on the left side - the one that was "coiled" while I was in the hospital. Apparently, when the coiling occurred, something a little bit unusual happened. I've felt fine and I've been released from the hospital, so I didn't really understand until my meeting with the neurosurgeon exactly what had happened. My body's reaction was not negative, it was simply sort of unusual. But, because of this, its important to him that I have another angiogram to make sure that the work on the left side aneurysm was effective.

For now, that's the plan. I'm going to have the angiogram as soon as the interventional radiologist is ready. Once it's confirmed that everything on the left side is holding steady and safe in the long term, we can begin making plans for surgery on the right side. If things on the left are unstable, then we can make plans for urgent surgery or additional coiling on the left first, followed by surgery on the right at a later date. I believe that the next step - the angiogram - will be essentially an outpatient procedure that will require only a day or two off work. I'm  looking forward to getting back to my usual stuff, both at work and at home!

In the meantime, there's one little project I thought I would share with you. You wouldn't believe the amount of paper generated by my hospital and clinic visits. ARGH! I'm a pretty respectable filer when it comes to most of my documentation. But, given all of the on-going care necessary with this aneurysm/high blood pressure stuff, I really need to have my papers with me. For now, I'm carrying them with me basically all the time, though I know I won't have to do that always. This is what my dining room table looked like once I got home from the hospital and got everything unpacked!

On the left side of this photo, you'll notice a black three-ring binder with a white circle pattern. It was my plan to hole-punch all of my papers and shove them in there so I could carry them along to whatever appointments I have. Unfortunately, I didn't check the binder carefully before purchasing it and it wasn't until all the papers were loaded that I noticed that one of the rings didn't close all the way. NOOOOO! Not a good way to keep papers organized, as each sheet threatened to fall out.

So, I replaced it with a different binder whose rings were thoroughly examined at the store. The binder I picked out was plain green, but I dressed it up a little bit with this piece of scrapbook paper I found in my collection. Nice! Preppy, much? Maybe I will replace it with a piece of wintry-themed paper as the holidays approach...

And here's all of it The discharge papers, the doctors' business cards, and the CDs with images all together in one nice little stack. I think this is proof that binders are the way to go! While I love my file cabinet, I've definitely developed a new appreciation for binders as an organizational method.