AVM News...

First...
3D models take the guesswork out of brain surgery

OK, let’s do it,” says a tall man in pale green surgical scrubs. “Lights please.” As the lights fade, Stefan Brew stands silhouetted by the glow from a bank of X-ray monitors. In front of him a child’s hair peeps from under a blue drape that gently rises and falls as the young patient breathes. …

James, the 8-year-old patient, suffered a stroke in February and required emergency surgery to drain a brain haemorrhage. Then last month, at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, Brew’s team found the cause: James had a dangerous arteriovenous malformation (AVM), an abnormal cluster of potentially leaky connections between veins and arteries. During the procedure described above – called an embolisation – Brew sealed off the AVM by injecting a hard-setting plastic liquid through a catheter. …

Around 1 in 10 patients suffer haemorrhages as a result of embolisation procedures.

“At the moment we do AVMs more or less blind,” says Brew, an interventional neuroradiologist at the [UCL Partners hospital] National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London. “We eliminate as much of it as we can, but it’s basically a blunderbuss approach.”

Now that promises to change. A new imaging system aims to give surgeons a detailed, near real-time picture of the vasculature – and its abnormalities – and so remove much of the guesswork.

Called “Grid-enabled neurosurgical imaging simulation”, or Genius, the system fires off brain scans to a network of supercomputers. These then use their collective processing might to generate an accurate 3D model of the unique blood flow patterns in a patient’s brain, showing the surgeon visual representations of critical parameters such as blood pressure and flow rate. …

The imaging side of Genius is being made possible by a brain scanning technique called rotational 3D angiography. This builds up a 3D image of the vasculature from large numbers of 2D X-ray slices shot from different angles around a 180-degree arc. …

However, the shape of the blood vessels does not reveal the key pressures and flow velocities that may indicate where ruptures are likely. So Marco Mazzeo and Peter Coveney [UCL Chemistry] have written software that calculates these critical parameters, as well as stresses on artery and vein walls, based on a handful of pressure measurements made by the surgeon using a special catheter. …

Surgeons working on a patient also need such images to be bang up to date. …

That means processing vast amounts of data to constantly update the model – around a trillion calculations per second.

To do this, Genius will access 20 supercomputers across the US’s TeraGrid and the UK’s National Grid Service, which offer a dedicated processing infrastructure for scientists. …

“These procedures involve life and death decision-making,” says Coveney. “The goal is to enhance the ability of clinicians to make these decisions through information technology and high-performance computing.” …

It’s part of a wider effort to model organs or body systems under the umbrella of the Virtual Physiological Human (VPH) project. …
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Second....

Oh no! Not again!

Hi Family & Friends!

Let me begin w/something fun! I've been taking Saba in to work w/me all this week! Well, I had taken some time off, so it was really only Wed.-Friday! She makes me feel better (my therapy bear) so I like taking her to work! Anyway, Grace, one of my co-workers, has a monkey from the Build a Bear collection and she had been telling me she would bring him in for a play date w/Saba! So, Friday, Ryan the monkey came in, so he and Saba spent the day together! (see photo) Grace would tell me that if Ryan didn't behave to let her know! Her fiance Raul is one of the courts baliffs, so when I saw him in the hall, he asked how Ryan was doing? I told him Ryan was in love! Right before the end of the day, I picked Ryan up and hugged him and she asked if I would like to take him for the weekend! "Oh yes"! I was so excited that she trusted me to take care of her furry kid for the weekend! Grace and her fiance Raul had put Ryan together and dressed him so cute in some khaki shorts and polo shirt! He's wearing an Astros baseball cap, but no shoes! That's ok - Saba lent him a pair of her brown sandals!

Got up this morning w/every intention of running some errands and meeting mom for lunch. As I mentioned before, I have been hacking w/the crud that is going around. I was ironing the shorts and t-shirt I would wear on my outing, and I could just hear the wheezing in my chest. I told Mark I just had to cough that gross phlegm out and I wanted to do that while I was @ home - just in case I had a bleed. So, I hacked and was trying to get that darned crud out and I could barely breathe, so I really coughed to get it out and sure enough - I started gushing blood! In seconds the front of my tank top was covered in blood and it ran down my arm and down my body! It's as if someone threw a bucket of blood @ me - I headed to the kitchen sink w/Mark following close behind! I immediately grabbed a mirror and started taking the dressing off as Mark was grabbing a paper towel and wetting it so I would be able to put it over the area that was bleeding and apply pressure! We can't get this done fast enough it seems! Mark helped me take that wet tank top off as I kept holding pressure on the wound site. Mark tossed the tank top in the washer and soaked it. I checked my wound area a couple times, until we found it had finally stopped bleeding. Got myself cleaned up and we headed to the area where I sit and Mark redressed the wound area. So that took a chunk of time out of our morning.
Meanwhile, Mark gets a call from his supervisor @ work telling him there was an emergency and he needed to come in! Apparently the Memorial Colliseum had been broken into and since it's City property - Mark needed to go in and take care of the problem!

Mom called shortly afterward saying she was ready to run errands and go to lunch!
I met her @ JoAnns as she is buying yarn to crochet the boys each a throw! After that, we headed to Red Lobster and it was super crowded! Mom called Markie Poo Hoo to see if he wanted to join us, but got his voicemail and mom left a message. Before hanging up, she added, "if you join us for lunch, I'll buy you crab legs"! Is that a bribe or what? It worked! Markie called a few minutes later and asked whether he had time for a shower before joining us. We had a 25 minute wait, so no problemo! We were so glad Markie could join us - he is hilarious and wonderful company! He had us laughing - so quick w/the wit!

During our lunch, a couple of the wait staff came over to compliment the furry kids that were sitting on booster seats next to me! As we enjoyed our lunch, we started to hear singing coming from a nearby table full of ladies - it was the Sweet Adelines! It was so cool and they got a big round of applause from everyone in the restaurant! They were celebrating a birthday from someone in their group!

Went to moms house for a bit, Vicente was heading out to his daughter Margarets house, so mom and I had time to visit. I went over some computer stuff w/mom and not long after, Vicente was home again. I was missing Mark and decided to head home myself, so here I am!

When I write about the bleeds - it's mainly to give y'all a chance to know something about the life we are living right now. I feel bad that we don't always have time to visit w/friends, or always answer e-mails, but these bleeds take a lot out of us sometimes! We've learned how to handle these situations, but it also interrupts what might have been a typical day. I just live for the weekend when I can relax @ home w/my wonderful husband and feel "safe" knowing if anything comes up w/my avm, I can deal w/it so much easier than when something happens @ work! Ok, I know I'm selfish, because when I'm home, I love, love, love to read and that's what takes up time too! I think I mentioned that the other day I called Rhonda Sharp (PA in CO) and asked whether we could cut back on the Neurontin - the med. that was making me so drowsy! I was staggering 4 of those capsules a day, so Rhonda told me to go back to taking 2 a day for the next couple of weeks. I'm telling you this because now that I'm not so darned drowsy, I've had a chance to complete New Moon and just started reading Eclipse from the Stephenie Meyer Twilight Series! (see photo)! It's reading and relaxing that help me deal w/all the avm crap (excuse my french)! Of course I couldn't do any of this w/out the most amazing husband in the world! Mark patiently helps clean me up, cleans the wound area and redresses it better than any wound care therapist ever could! He never complains, just gives me lots of hugs and reassurance! He took the photos of Saba and Ryan and put it on the computer so I could include it in my blog! I am really blessed to have so many prayers and friends and family that care - Thank You so much!

Please include my new e-mail buddy Marijn from Holland. He is going through a lot w/his avm and will be having surgery soon. Don't want to disclose much since I don't have his permission, but prayers would be so much appreciated!

XXOO's!

Cyndi

P.S. I want to thank my Aunts - Josie Sanchez and Sister J. (and my sister Celia) for all signing Shalons guestbook on her website! Thank you, it means a lot to her and to myself as well!
---------------------------------------------------
That's it...
Not too bad...
I have a request... Rod I need your email...and blog info.
Thanks,
R

Johnson works for third term ... AVM News

Johnson works for third term, continued recovery

By Kevin Woster

The campaign trail isn’t any longer than it used to be for Tim Johnson. But it’s a slower, more difficult journey as the South Dakota Democrat seeks his third term in the U.S. Senate and works -- with slurred speech and halting, heavy steps -- to overcome impairments left from a cerebral hemorrhage almost 21 months ago.

Johnson’s recovery from that life-threatening brain injury is a personal story of heroics and exceeded expectations. His doctors have expressed amazement at his progress. His wife, Barbara, says she is more likely than her husband to tire of the tough campaign schedule.

“There have been days when I’ve been exhausted, and he just keeps going,” she said. “I don’t know how he does it.”

The 61-year-old veteran of almost 22 years in Congress hasn’t missed a vote since his much-celebrated – among Democratic and Republican colleagues alike -- return to the Senate on Sept. 5, 2007.

And he throws a bigger policy punch with his growing seniority and committee assignments -- particularly his seat on the cash cow called the Senate Appropriations Committee – as well as his sympathetic, respected place in the Democratic majority.

But he’s not the man he was, at least not in speech and mobility. That is clear whenever Johnson makes a public appearance, as he did last week with his first stop at the Rapid City Journal since he fell ill and required emergency brain surgery in December of 2006.

It was a much different senator who struggled stiffly out of the passenger’s seat of an SUV and, with the help of a staffer, methodically shuffled in through an alley door held open by a Journal employee.

From there, Johnson made a 35-foot journey from the alley through a single-stall garage and small kitchen to the newspaper’s main conference room. And it was indeed a journey. A 10-second stroll for others, it required almost five minutes for the senator to get from alley to chair, as he leaned hard on the cane in his left hand, led with the left foot and half raised, half dragged his right leg in short steps toward the conference room door.

“Speed demon,” Johnson said softly, keeping his head down to focus on the onerous movements below.

His limp right arm hung at his side, the hand in a half fist as the senator worked his way, with staff always close by, to a chair at the conference room table.

That’s how it goes for South Dakota’s senior U.S. senator every day, step by step, in a recovery that is 21 months old and has years to go.

“It is very frustrating, and it’s difficult,” Johnson said during the interview. “But I am improving all the time. And, sometime, I will get there.”

By “there” he means back to something close to 100 percent of what he was before a collection of malformed vessels in his brain burst, jeopardizing his life and changing his world forever. He’s clearly not “there” in speech or movement on his right side. But he maintains that he is completely back in the quality that counts most.

“I’m 100 percent in terms of my brain,I'm less so, 80 percent or so, in terms of my speech, uh, less than that in my arm and right leg, but that doesn’t matter as much,” he said. “But I am 100 percent in my mental abilities, my cognition, and I’m just, uh, less than that in my speech … my articulation, and so on.”

During his 50-minute stay at the Journal, Johnson’s speech ranged from clear to almost unintelligible, but most often was slow and slightly slurred. He paused often during and between sentences, punctuating his comments with moments of silence or the often-heard “uh.”

That's not unusual in common speech, even for people who are not recovering from brain injuries. But it seems, to people who have covered Johnson for years, more pronounced in Johnson's speech pattern now than it was before, as he works to construct sentences and enunciate them.

Johnson doctors and speech-rehabilitation specialists say the senator's speech problems are consistent with his brain injury and have nothing to do with his mental process. They also say he is fully capable of serving in the Senate and running for re-election.

Dr. John Eisold, attending physician of Congress, said by e-mail that Johnson is doing well in recovering from the hemorrhage caused by a ruptured arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in the brain. And on an unrelated health issue, tests indicate the senator is cancer free, after prostate surgery in 2004, he said.

“There are no limitations to his activity at this time,” Eisold said.

Dr. Michael Yochelson, medical director of brain injury programs at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C., called Johnson’s recovery from the AVM rupture “remarkable,” and said he has shown “phenomenal improvement” in language and physical function.

“If you listen to him speak, you will notice that his speech is not as fluid or fast as it used to be,” Yochelson said by e-mail. “Occasionally you will also hear him hesitate, trying to say the right word. These are all problems with language, not cognition. His cognitive function – memory, concentration, processing – fortunately is fine. This fluctuation in speech does not indicate that he is having any difficulty with comprehension.”

Yochelson said the greatest chance of a “re-bleed” following an AVM incident is in the first year. Johnson is nine months past that.

“Sen. Johnson is in excellent health,” Yochelson said.

Johnson has reached the point where he now works just twice a month with his main speech therapist, Paul Rao of the National Rehabilitation Hospital. Rao said “Tim’s thinking and cognitive skills are remarkably robust.”

He said Johnson’s speech problems are typical with such a brain injury but in no way interfere with his ability to perform as a U.S. senator.

“Does he have the intellectual, cognitive and language, voice and speech skills to do his job?” Rao said. “The resounding answer from my perspective is ‘yes.’”

Johnson maintains that his record in the past year has proven that. He’s especially proud of his role in securing millions of dollars for continuing work on the Lewis & Clark and Mni Wiconi water projects and his growing influence on veterans' health care issues as chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.

Johnson also worked hard on the farm bill, including work on requiring country-of-origin labeling for meat products, which has been one of his priorities for years.

The senator points to a busy travel schedule during the August congressional recess that is taking him to 19 communities for a variety of public meetings and events. He said there’s no reason he can’t finish out this term and fulfill the duties of another six-year term in the Senate, as he continues to improve in speech and movement.

There’s no doubt he wants a third term. But he’s hesitant to speculate on a fourth.

“That’s too far in the future to tell,” he said.

Some people wonder whether Johnson would even be likely to finish another six-year term, given his age and the rehabilitation challenges still ahead. Northern State University political science professor Jon Schaff questions whether Johnson will run for a fourth Senate term if he wins a third in November, or even whether he would finish a third term.

“I would not be surprised to see Johnson step down (during the third term) in order to concentrate on his health,” Schaff said. “I certainly don’t think he’ll ever run for office again.”

Jarding is predictably fervent in his disagreement on that point. Johnson intends and expects to serve out a third term if elected, Jarding said. And he said people shouldn’t rule out the possibility of an even longer stay in the Senate for Johnson.

“Tim thinks he’s in a position to do a whole lot of good for South Dakota. I think he sees himself at his peak in seniority and power,” Jarding said. “With all due respect to Jon (Schaff), Tim clearly intends to serve out the full six years and possibly beyond.”

Johnson's Republican challenger, state Rep. Joel Dykstra of Canton, said he hadn't seen enough of Johnson in person to comment on his cognition or chances of serving a full third term. That was both a statement of fact and an assertion of campaign rhetoric.

Dykstra continues to complain about Johnson's decision not to engage in campaign debates. The senator said his speech impairment might give voters a faulty impression of his abilities.Dykstra thinks that's unfair to voters.

"I understand why they would want to protect him from an all-out competitive environment," Dykstra said. "But there are still formats where the two of us could have been together to talk about issues. I think that would be valuable for voters."

Jarding said Johnson's schedule of public appearances, as well as editorial-board interviews at the Journal and Sioux Falls Argus Leader that were video taped and put online, give the public plenty of chance to see Johnson and judge his stage of recovery.

Tim and Barbara Johnson reject speculation that the senator might already have experienced his biggest gains in speech and mobility. They say Johnson’s doctors say the improvement spectrum is open-ended.

“One year isn’t it, and, uh, I can continue to improve,” Johnson said.

Barbara Johnson fully expects that to happen, to a degree that will surprise skeptics. She said her husband’s progress continues at the same slow-but-sure pace she has watched since he began rehabilitation work.

“It’s always been an inch a day. We’ve never had a day when we’ve gone two feet, or less than an inch,” she said. “It’s really, really hard when you make an inch a day to keep going. But he does.”

The Johnsons work together every night on Tim’s physical therapy. That includes stretching and pulling on his right arm and right leg. The senator is now able to lift his foot slightly when he walks and move the leg more independently, and he has begun to get some movement back in the arm.

“The arm is funny,” Barbara Johnson said. “The OTs (occupational therapists) tell me it’s the last thing to come back. But it’s also the one that’s hardest to predict. Last year he could barely move his arm. This year he can pull it down, extend it and pull it across.”

Johnson wears a remote-controlled electronic band under his knee that sends an impulse to his foot. It stimulates the muscles and helps prevent atrophy as Johnson works on his rehabilitation.

“His leg looks normal, just like the other one,” Barbara Johnson said.

Rehab specialist Paul Rao said Johnson has had one of the best recovery curves he has seen in patients with similar injuries.

“Not a little of his remarkable recovery comes form his natural intelligence, his brutally hard work, his penchant for practice and his self-deprecatory and self-demanding manner,” Rao said.

Barbara Johnson said she sees all that, along with a level of determination and patience that makes her marvel. And she is certain that it will continue.

“Honestly, we’ve been married for almost 40 years. You kind of feel like you know somebody. Then you watch him deal with this,” she said. “What I wish people could see is that every day, Tim is stronger today than he was yesterday. And he’s going to be stronger tomorrow.”

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com.
--------------------

Speaking with Tim Johnson:

Q. What is your relationship with John McCain?

A. "I respect the senator, but his temper is awfully hot. I like the guy but, uh, he's awfully pricklish."

Q. Who are you closest to personally, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or John McCain?

A. "Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are new to the Senate, and John McCain is not new. But he is a Republican. So I would have to say they're all equal."

Q. How would you compare your positions on South Dakota issues to those of your Republican challenger, state Rep. Joel Dykstra?

A. "I'm not very familiar with Mr. Dykstra, position wise. I know nothing about them."

Q. How would you describe your relationship with John Thune?

A. "I am supportive of almost everything he does in terms of South Dakota. Apart from South Dakota I differ with him frequently. But I have come to an agreement that I will not say anything negative about John and he does not say anything negative about me."

Q. Which stop in Rapid City this afternoon were you looking forward to the most -- meeting with the Journal editorial board or meeting with the Canyon Lake All-Stars?

A. "The Canyon Lake All-Stars."

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I'd vote for him.

from...

Buzzy Day! #1, HARTCLIFFE BOY DEFIES MEDICAL EXPERTS

A Hartcliffe boy has defied medical experts by walking again only a month after a life-threatening hemorrhage caused a stroke.

Three times, Kray Mundy's parents were warned to fear the worst after he was taken ill on June 7.

The 11-year-old, from Hartcliffe, was paralyzed on his left side and doctors told his mum Soniya and dad Adrian that it could take two years for him to get his mobility back.

But the Teyfant school pupil has amazed his family, nurses, doctors and other medical staff by getting back on his feet.

He is recovering so well that he has already been allowed a weekend visit to his home in Pavey Close to see his sister Shannon, 13, brother Kydis, eight, and baby brother Harry, aged two.

"He is an absolute miracle," said Soniya, 32.

"He was so determined to pull through and to take his first steps. Now he is working hard with physiotherapists and occupational therapists to get movement back in his hand and arm."

The family say they are immeasurably grateful to all the NHS staff who have helped them over the past few weeks.

Soniya said: "Without the amazing consultant paediatric neurosurgeon Mr Mike Carter and his team, our son would not have survived.

"We cannot thank the wonderful nurses and staff in Frenchay's high-dependency unit and the Barbara Russell unit, their counterparts at the children's hospital and the paramedics enough.

"We are forever in their debt."

The drama began shortly after 5.30am one Saturday when Soniya and Adrian, 48, were woken by their toddler Harry.

They heard an odd sound, which they soon discovered was Kray trying to call for help.

They dialled 999 and their son was taken by ambulance to the children's hospital, then, after a CT scan revealed a bleed in the brain, to the specialist unit at Frenchay.

His condition worsened, although he was still conscious.

Soniya said: "All he could say was, 'I love you mum'."

Further tests showed that a blood vessel malformation, known as an AVM in Kray's brain, which he might have had since birth, had ruptured and caused an acute stroke.

"He couldn't speak, feel his whole left side or see," said Soniya.

Doctors had to operate immediately, putting in a drainage system to the brain and a device to measure pressure. At that time they felt it was too dangerous to operate to remove the clot or AVM - but by Sunday night Kray was deteriorating and doctors opted for further surgery.

Senior staff nurse Jo Jones supported the parents throughout the eight-hour op. Soniya said: "She was our guardian angel.

"But it was tough. They could not give me the answers I wanted to hear. They couldn't tell me whether Kray would be all right. They didn't know what would happen."

After the operation Mr Carter was confident that the clot and AVM had been removed and things were looking up. But a few days later, Kray began to feel very ill.

"He was ventilated again to allow the brain to rest and stop swelling and he was transferred to the children's hospital. Then, on the Saturday, another amazing doctor, Daniel Low, took a chance on taking Kray off the ventilator. He even played him the Star Wars theme on his mobile phone to help him come round."

Back at Frenchay, Kray was in a lot of pain and there were fears that the stroke had done permanent damage to nerve endings - but in fact it was the feeling returning to his limbs.

Soniya said: "Things took a turn for the better from then. At first he was like a jelly baby, he had no strength in his body, but he was so determined. Every day he has just got stronger and stronger."

Soniya paid tribute to her son for his quiet bravery and spirit.

"He has never cried and never once complained. He has just taken on every challenge," she said.

Soniya and Adrian have received great support from extended family and from friends. Imperial Rugby Club, where they are members, held a fundraising event to help them.

Kray has also had dozens of cards, including many from school friends, and one from his heroes at Bristol Rugby Club. Pals George, Jack and Danielle have been especially supportive.

"Our lives have been changed for ever by what has happened," said Soniya. "We never left the hospital in 15 days and I didn't think I would ever see Kray walk again. We are so lucky to have had a positive outcome.

From...

Please pray...

from...

Please pray...

for my friend Rebecca and her family. Here is the latest:

"...Rebecca and Jacob welcomed Molly Ann Mutz Friday morning at 5:27am. Molly didn’t breathe for 4 minutes and her oxygen levels were all wrong when she was born. They immediately took her to NICU. They said she had a significant heart murmur and ran various tests, etc.

Since then Molly has been transferred to a Children’s Hospital. Molly has Pulmonary Hypertension which is making her little body “extra sensitive.” So even a bath (or a wipe down) discomforts her. However the PH should go away eventually.

The main problem that Molly has is AVM (Arteriovenous Malformations). AVM’s are masses of abnormal blood vessels which grow in the brain. They consist of a blood vessel “nidus” (nest) through which arteries connect directly to veins, instead of through the normal elaborate collection of very small vessels called capillaries. As a result, blood that is pumping in Mollyʼs body cannot keep its oxygen level high enough as a significant portion of that blood does not re-circulate back through the heart and lungs in time to get fully re-oxygenated. She is on a breathing tube to help regulate her heart and to keep the oxygen levels where they need to be. She has a 2nd tube in her mouth that goes to her tummy to help keep air out of her little tummy..."
Keep reading...

Becca is a dear friend of mine, and my heart aches for her and Jacob right now as they walk this road. Please keep this dear family in your prayers.

Nanay had a stroke

from...
As most of you probably already know, Cherrie's mom Anita (Nanay) had a major brain hemorrhage on Saturday night at about 6 o'clock. It turns out that she has a large AVM (Artereo-Venous Malformation)just like Devin. These malformations have weak walls which is why it hemorrhaged.

At first she didn't have any symptoms other than a sudden excruciating, debilitating headache. For about fifteen minutes we were with her, talking to her, trying to figure out what was wrong, we even took her blood pressure, but she didn't have any other stroke symptoms, just the headache. So we were left to either dial 911, run her to the emergency room (about 15 minutes away) or run to the insta-care clinic in Bountiful (about 10 or minutes away). I was afraid of going to a busy emergency room and getting ignored as the "Lady with a headache", so I left Cherrie and the kids and drove with Nanay and Tatay to the Insta-care clinic. Nanay was still talking to us the whole trip, but as soon as we started to get out of the car, she stopped talking and starting mumbling. She had lost all strength and could barely stand up. We hurried her into the lobby, and we were lucky that nobody was there. Just as we got inside, she started vomiting, and lost all strength in her legs. I yelled at the receptionist that she was having a stroke and everyone in the clinic jumped on it. Within a minute she was on a gurney and being evaluated by two doctors and several nurses. They're response was awesome, and they got her stats and info as they started loading her into an ambulance. It just so happened that our very good friend, Alili Perez, was also in the clinic at that moment, and she came over and got my keys to lock my car and take Tatay home while I climbed in the ambulance with Nanay.
We drove to IMC in Murray while the ambulance team stabilized her and contacted a stroke team at IMC to be ready for us. They put did a CT scan to see if the stroke was a "bleeder" (hemorrhage) or a clot. It was a bleeder, but they also thought that there was something else there too, so they put her on medicine to help control the brain inflammation and keep her blood pressure low while they did further MRI's and angiograms to see what was going on. They found that she had an AVM which sort of changed all the treatment options. If there had been no AVM they would have tried to get in and relieve the pressure immediately, but with an AVM they needed to stabilize her and let the bleeding stop on its own so that they could evaluate where to cut without causing more uncontrollable bleeding. On Monday they performed an angiogram/embolizaton (just like on Devin), where they blocked of the major feeder veins to the AVM.
On Tuesday they performed surgery to remove the clot formed by the blood which had pooled as well as the veins and arteries of the AVM itself. She is still recovering from that. She has weakness on her right side and still isn't able to talk, but the doctors are hopeful that she will make a pretty good recovery and be able to regain some of those functions.
Cherrie and I feel really blessed. We were supposed to go down south for two days to celebrate Cherrie's graduation from the dental assisting program, but Cherrie had a feeling we shouldn't go, that something might happen. Wow was she right. I can't imagine what would have happened if we had been 4 hours away when this happened.



What a change from the way she looked a week ago.

posted by Kirk Benge @ 8:42 AM

that sucks!!!

i do have an AVM...

i was diagnosed with an AVM about 5 years ago. I had it Gamma-Knifed. The surgery was easy... if it would have worked i would not be writing this today...

Thats why i post so much on them.
It seems that where it was they thought it was gettable...

What it has damaged is my ability to wright and move my Right side.

it is funny, i was going to schedule an MRI, when it sprung a leak...

so now you know....

I will right a little more when i have more time.

Male ,41 years of age.
pic is a joke... ha ha ha

in the mean time here is a few things from Amazon.


go ahead... i really like them... you may to.

oh ya, it has been nearly 3 years since it sprang a leak... I think?

My friend, Katherine Wolf

from...

I can’t believe that I have not posted this before, so please forgive me. A friend of mine and my wife’s, Katherine Wolf, is currently recovering from a severe brain bleed caused by an atrioventricular malformation, or AVM. From my limited knowledge of AVM’s, they are present long before they actually present themselves medically. Katherine is married to Jay Wolf, a friend of ours from Samford University. Jay’s father is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church Montgomery in Alabama, a church that has done some great, great things in the city and in the state. They also have a seven month old son, James. You can imagine how hard it is for your wife of three years to be in ICU for now six weeks. You can also imagine the thoughts going through Katherine’s head. She can’t feed or take care of her baby. She can’t take care of her husband, who just finished law school and is looking for a job.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katherinewolf

Please remember Katherine, Jay, and baby James in your prayers.

Sh!t For Brains AVM Blog

from...

For Everyone Who Wishes They Weren't Interested in Arterio-Venous Malformations and Brain Surgery

Is That a Giant Sucking Sound, or is it Just Me?

There are international agreements governing trade, and countries who are parties to the agreements take on certain obligations that prevents them from erecting barriers to free trade. For example, customs rules. A country must agree to publish instructions on what you must do in order to get things through customs. Sounds simple, but there is a reason the rule was needed. In order to protect domestic industries, countries come up with clever and sneaky ways to foil trade. Many only published lists of things that you can't do if you want to get things through customs. An affirmative idea is infinitely more powerful than a negative. Imagine if you asked my how to roast a chicken, and I said, "Don't boil it." Not very helpful, although technically true.

Lately I have been inspired by this concept as it relates to personal healing, both for my brain and my spirit. I don't want my AVM to bleed, I don' want to have gamma knife again, I don't want a craniotomy, I don't want a seizure, a migraine, or an anuerysm.

These are all really general thoughts and fears, diffuse and tress induceing. They don't really address my hopes, my wants or desires. From now on I am trying to channel my thoughts into the affirmative. I want the AVM to be obliterated. I want my brain to heal. I want to relax. If I give my brain clear instructions, I am hoping to remove the barriers to healing. A treaty, if you will, to root out the sneaky processes that undermine progress. And while Ross Perot might disagree with my logic, I'm hoping the benefits will lead to better relations between my body and mind...after all, they're stuck being neighbors, they might as well get along.