da da da dum.....my avm

My first AVM...I have a pic of no. 2. but I can't figure out how to get it loaded.

There is nothing going on today.... not even on my other blog.
here if you are interested.
So what to do.... well how about me?
(or at least my story)#2
I was on a working vacation.
I went to lunch with a friend... I think....
I woke up in a hospital... my second.... weird.
I could not talk... I was paralyzed on my right side.

My wife had showed up.... with a couple of her sons... they were not well behaved... they are 30 and 27 in age.

My friend showed up too... he is webmaster here.

He spent quite a lot of time with me.

My friend that I went to lunch with stayed with me too... she was an angel!
I quit smoking... it just was not a concern.

Then came the transport came... Another friend drove his camper down.
(I live in GR Mi.)

I really can't tell you much about the trip, I was out of it.

Next came rehab... it feels like it was yesterday.... It was closer to 2 years ago.
I can remember wheeling around the hospital at night and early in the morning... I don't know what I was looking for... but I don't think I found it....

Rehab is a blur... I just don't remember it much... truth is I don't remember much these days.

I got to go home I think it was 2 months... Then came more rehab.
The only thing I was missing was a bed where I took rehab... This lasted 3 months.
Then I was told go home... you are cured... well as much as your going to get. I could not talk... I was terribly frustrated. I knew what I wanted to say... but something in between the thought and my mouth there was a block of some kind.

Fast forward to now...
I still can't talk as well as I would like... but it is getting better. (slowly)
I can manage stairs! I am a little slow... but I manage them none the less.
I got rehired (part time) by my old job. I am not in the same position... but they have me working a little.

I stared smoking again..... dumb I know.
but I did quit drinking... that is one check it the good coulomb.
I take an antidepressant... but that is it.
Not bad if you ask me.... not to bad at all.

I still can not spell... but I never could.
And that's about it...
so let me give youtube a plug...


ha ha ha!


Iron Maiden - 2 Minutes To Midnight (Music Video 1984)

I can cut-and-paste as well as the next guy.

here buy something....

Here are two.... AVMs

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends!

from...

(It has many photos.... well worth the time)

Greetings to all this evening!

How is everyone? Well, I've had quite a day I thought I would share! I still can't believe what happened myself! So, it all started this morning right after I got to work! My co-worker Kathy had been out last week, just as I had, and wasn't in yet this morning - and our Supervisor Mr. Jay Rios was about to leave for a meeting @ the main office - so I needed to go down the hall and leave the phones @ my desk while I did what I needed to. I was rushing, so I could get back, when I tripped over my own shoes, just for being in a hurry! I fell forward and kept hoping I could catch myself before doing too much damage! No such luck! I'm guessing when I fell forward or from the stumble, my right big toe jammed to the end of my shoe and is now hurting! I ended up bumping into the wall, then falling backwards where I hit my knee and then landed on my behind and then on my back! Luckily, @ this time of the morning, many of my co-workers were going about their morning routines and saw what had happened to me! I know there was a man down the hall that asked if I was ok, and I remember saying, "I don't know"! and moaning in pain (and shock)! The next person I remember seeing was Connie Morgan from the IT department! I know she had a very concerned look on her face and ran to grab a handful of paper towels after telling me I was bleeding! I had a feeling that would be happening! From the impact of the fall, I started bleeding from the wound on my face. For those of you new to my blog - I have an AVM (arterial venous malformation)that I have to constantly be looking after! PLEASE VISIT MY FRIEND SHALON WHITGOBS WEB SITE FOR LOTS OF GREAT MEDICAL INFORMATION ON AVMS! YOU CAN GET TO HER SITE FROM MINE, OR GO TO: http://sites.google.com/site/shalonsavm/Home. I remember my co-worker Roland asking whether I needed help getting up off the floor. People were asking me what they could do to help - I said to no one in particular, that I needed my medical bag that was in my desk area. Immediately, my co-worker Gina McMillan ran to my desk and got my 2 totebags. I got up, took the totebags and told everyone I would be ok - I just needed to get the bleeding under control by putting pressure on the wound site. I met Martha Sanchez from Risk Management that is a sweetheart! She told me not to be concerned @ all about the bloody mess on the floor - she was calling housekeeping or someone to come clean up! I want to make sure you know that the bleeding came from the impact of my fall, but not because I actually hit the area of my face or anything. I knew when I hit the floor that hard, that I would probably have a bleed from the wound area.

My co-worker Ray Rodela was very concerned and kept asking what he could do to help. He's always told me if I ever need him to cover the phones while I need to go down the hall, he is more than willing to help! Another co-worker, Kim Escamilla came to the bathroom to check on me, and make sure I didn't need any help getting the bleeding stopped. Grace Garcia, my co-worker kept asking whether I was dizzy or needed to go home. Even the tall, young man that works down the hall came to the bathroom door to ask if I was ok! Gina took over answering the phones until I could get back to my desk, thanks so much! We have a great team of people @ Court Services Supervised by Mr. Jay Rios!

I just wanted to take this time to thank all of you for being so great in my time of need! I know now that I have nothing to worry about should this have been an actual emergency! I think it was Connie Morgan that asked if I needed her to call 911. She came in to my department later in the day to check on me. Martha Sanchez really made me feel better talking to me about some of the things going on in her life medical wise. Of course I filled out a workmans comp. form for my protection - but I think I'll be fine! Thank you so much everyone on the 3rd floor that came to my rescue - I am very impressed with how everyone came together to help!!! Normally when I have a "bleed" @ work, my friend and co-worker Diana Arredondo helps me redress the area, but she was @ the main office @ a meeting, so I was on my own this morning. I probably could have put something together from my wound care bag to cover the area, but I called my husband Mark to come help! After that darned fall, I really needed some TLC and the best one for that job is my amazing husband! He was over right away and got my wound area redressed! After a couple great hugs, I was good to go! I usually keep an extra t-shirt in the bag which I needed to change into after bleeding all over what I was wearing earlier!

A few years back I fell down @ work while I was working @ the main office, and I still have one of those walking casts (boots) - I'm wearing it now and think I'll wear it a while! At least it will slow me down some! Wish I had a photo to include of my co-workers, but I'll see what I can post for now! Thanks again everyone!

Oh! I happened to have taken Rulon w/me to work today, but already I'm being asked where Saba is! For those of you who don't know - Saba is my Therapy Build a Bear! She is named after one of the techs @ the Swedish Medical Center where I have my procedures for my avm! The real Saba is from Eastern Ethiopia and a doll!

Cyndi Schuman

P.S. The photo I've included, was taken outside the Whole Foods Mart in Englewood, CO! My sister Celia and I had gone for one of my treatments around this time last year and it was snowing!
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Day 3 Prayer Focus - My Face

At this point, the right side of my face is still frozen. When I smile, only the left side of my mouth turns up. My right eyebrow and forehead remain still while my left eyebrow arches and the left side of my forehead wrinkles. Again, during the surgery, the choice to partially cut important nerves had to be made to remove the AVM and save my life. The intracranial nerves that control my facial movements, from my forehead to my chin, including my lips, tongue, and soft palate, are damaged to a degree where there is no real response at all, unlike some of the other damaged areas. There has been some tingling and even stinging a few times on the right side of my face, especially during the electrical stimulation therapy (electrodes are put on my face, as well as my throat during swallowing therapy), as well as some sensation returning to my soft palate. Apparently, the right side of my face has less droop than it used to, but that is hard for me to notice. Also, the inside of my right cheek is numb, like after a dentist appointment where novacaine was invovled, so it feels like I have a large chunk of chewing gum lodged there.

The hard thing about having a face messed up is that everyone knows that there is something wrong with me. If it were not for my face, then it would be difficult to tell what had happened to me. Also, the issues with my face and the affected nerves create major problems with my right eye and mouth, which greatly impairs my sight and my speech (see Days 4 and 5). Please pray that the right side of my face would wake up again.

Day 2 Prayer for SWALLOWING Follow-up:
Today during swallowing therapy, I gagged multiple times in response to the cold lemon swab rubbing the back of my throat, more times than I usually do (though there was still no response on the majority of right side rubs, while the left side almost always automatically gags). This is progress because it shows increased sensation in my throat with a corresponding reflex, both very important for swallowing. My next swallowing test will likely be next week on October 21 (6 months exactly since my AVM rupture), so please pray for more signs of progress!

Day 1 Prayer for WALKING Follow-up to the Follow-up:
Today in physical therapy, I walked the length of the breezeway 4 times (totaling over 100 yards)! Again, I had a good deal of assistance, with Jay in the front and a therapist in the back to steady me when I needed it and to give me verbal cues, but nonetheless, it was great progress. (see the picture on Caringbridge) This is also a great indicator of the strength and endurance I have gained since I have been here. Praise God!

Love,
Katherine, Jay, and James

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18

from...
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...and that's it...
It seems unreal the feed-back that some people get. Good for you, I say.
Today I go to work. We'll see how I do.
Wish me well!
No youtube today... I got things do due!
(Ha ha ha)
Peace,
R

Missing in Action - plus more.

Missing in Action

Hello fellow travelers! Sorry for the long absence. Honestly, even AVM bloggers get tired of having AVMs. It's true. I made it through my semester and finished everything. I won't say I did well on my finals, but I finished and did not flunk out, so that is a small victory. All has been quiet on the brain front, which is good news, I am six months post gamma knife now, and still counting the months until that one year MRI. I am also moving. As hard as it is to move away from the Mayo Clinic and the blessed botox neurologist, this place has been killing me. Since everyone seems to think I am really lucky, I am considering buying a Kawasaki Ninja to celebrate. People have told me I am out of my mind to do this, but, hey, I've got a good excuse, right?

Migranes and Hula-Hoops

Last night I had my first real headache since having gamma knife for my arteriovenous malformation. In the past I have had random pains, weird sensations, and passing discomfort, but nothing like this. I called the pharmacy and asked them if I had any refills, they replied, "of what?" They seemed taken aback when I said, "Whatever, anything really." No dice.

My head felt like it was splitting open, but I still drove 20 miles to take a baby bird to a wildlife refuge, and went to two separate stores looking for hula-hoops for one of my kids, wondering all the while if I was going to drop dead in the process. By time I got home (after three temper tantrums--the baby's, not mine), I am bitched out by my older child about the sub-par hula-hoop. She followed me around the house, hula-hooping and moaning, making faces and stomping her feet to demonstrate what a terrible hula-hoop her mother had imposed on her. I was curled up, holding my head in my hands, and I tried my best to think of a way to constructively ask her to stop, but that came out was: "Will you please fuck off?"

I am thinking about writing a book about my AVM experience, but if that doesn't work out, maybe I'll give Lynne Spears a run for her money and write one on parenting instead. I will call it: "Profane Parenting: Nurturing Through Expletives for the Vascularly Challenged"

Who else has used this technique?

Insurance is a Magical Thing!

(Photoshop Dramatization)

Well, it turns out that if your insurance decides to cover Botox for neurological damage, Neurologists suddenly decide that wrinkles are neurological damage! From now on everyone will just have to picture my world weary, sardonic expression in their mind's eye! Wooohoooo!

Monday, May 26, 2008

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.

Half of Canadians don't treat stroke as emergency

from...

CTV.ca News Staff

A new cross-country survey by the Heart and Stroke Foundation has found that Canadians are not taking the warning signs of stroke seriously -- to their own peril.

The report card finds that at least half of all Canadians don't respond to the signs of stroke the way they would to other medical emergencies.

"We were very surprised by the results," Stephen Samis, director of health policy at the Heart and Stroke Foundation, told CTV Newsnet on Thursday.

"It's pretty frightening to think that half of Canadians don't think that stroke is a medical emergency, especially when you think how critical it is that Candians get to the office of their doctor or to the hospital as soon as possible."

Stroke, typically caused by a blood clot that cuts off blood flow to the brain, can be treated in most cases if it is dealt with within three hours.

But once that window has closed, the effects are usually irreversible, Samis said.

"Canadians, like other people, will often think 'oh it will pass, it's not a problem.' The problem with stroke is, you don't have time to do that," he said.

"If you have any of those warning signs and if they're sudden, even if they're temporary, call 911, get to the hospital. If you get there within three hours if it is a stroke it can be reversed."

Here are some of the warning signs of stroke:

* Sudden vision problems
* Headache
* Weakness
* Trouble speaking
* Dizziness

The study found that three quarters of Canadians can recognize at lease one of those signs of stroke, but less than half said they would call 911 if they or someone they knew was experiencing one of the signs.

Samis said the survey is intended to serve as a wake-up call to Canadians.

About 50,000 Canadians experience stroke each year, The Heart and Stroke Foundation estimates:

* 15 per cent will die
* 10 per cent will recover completely
* 25 per cent will recover with a minor impairment or disability
* 40 per cent will suffer a moderate to severe impairment
* 10 per cent will suffer severe impairment and will require longterm care as a result

In a province by province analysis, the study found that Quebec had the highest proportion of people -- 53 per cent -- who said they would call 911 if they experienced one of the symptoms.

Newfoundland had the lowest proportion, with only 24 per cent saying they would call 911.

Here are the results for the other provinces:

* Ontario: 51 per cent
* Nova Scotia: 50 per cent
* British Columbia: 49 per cent
* Alberta: 43 per cent
* Manitoba: 41 per cent
* Saskatchewan: 33 per cent
* P.E.I.: 26 per cent

Averaged out nationally, 49 per cent of Canadians said they would call 911 if they experienced one of the signs of stroke -- a number that is far lower than it should be, the Heart and Stroke Foundation maintains.

Stroke and Depression: Frequently Asked Questions

Stroke and Depression: Frequently Asked Questions
Robert Robinson, MD
Division of Psychiatry
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics

Creation Date: June 2000
Last Revision Date: December 2004
Peer Review Status: Internally Peer Reviewed

Some facts: there are approximately 500,000 strokes that occur in the United States. Of those strokes, about 70 to 80 percent of patients survive the stroke. Of those patients who survive the stroke, depression occurs in approximately 40 to 50 percent of patients. Major depression occurs in about 20 percent of patients. Major depression is the most severe form of clinical depression that we recognize in neuropsychiatry. Another, about 20 percent of patients, will develop minor depression. There are some, approximately 10 to 20 percent of patients, who develop either major or minor depression some months or even a year after the onset of the stroke. Most depressions occur within the acute period after the stroke, but there are some depressions, that are delayed in onset and occur during the first year of poststroke recovery. The issue of poststroke depression has gained worldwide interest in the past 10 years. There has been a general agreement about the prevalence of both major and minor depression after stroke. Depression is one of the major impediments to full physical and mental recovery from stroke.

Do most stroke sufferers end up suffering depression?

Approximately 50 percent will become depressed at some time during the first two years after the stroke. The majority of patients, approximately 40 percent, will develop depression within the first one to two months after the stroke. There is another number of 10 to 20 percent of patients who will develop depression at some later time during the first two years.

What type of rehab can help with stroke depression?

By rehab, I assume what is meant is the usual types of rehabilitation therapy such as physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy. These do not specifically treat depression after a stroke. The treatment for poststroke depression that has received the most scientific study has been the use of antidepressant medications. Both Nortriptyline and Citalopram have been demonstrated in controlled studies to be effective in treating poststroke depression.

more...

this one aint bad

i had every thing but death...
i had an anurisem. only spell correctly.


lets see if they got any other one...

that aint bad...


umm there a though....

if you want to make a donansion (aging spelled correctly)try www.americanstroke.org

merry Christmas

i am so pissed off...

ok you idiots read this...
http://www.americanstroke.org/content/view/91/125/
oh ya...
then read this...
http://www.americanstroke.org/content/view/36/56/

and keep reading... you idiots!


10 ways...

my speech is different... and my right hand side is fucked up.
but thats about it.


ok i'll go now...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG4hI2aHFVE
This compilation of photographs from various sources was matched to one of my favorite songs by the late John Denver.
It is dedicated to Erica F. a courageous very young Canadian stroke survivor, mother of 3 who has shown enormous courage and determination under the most trying of circumstances by maintaining her determination and dignity.
The video reflects the initial sombre mood and helplessness that patients can display after a stroke followed by what should be in my opinion, our life's philosophy, as described in the lyrics of the song.
Listen closely to the words. You might learn something.
Cheers Erica!
Unauthorized use of this video is forbidden.
Please donate to The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Who knows? YOU might need them next time!

good day....


and this too...

oh almost forgot this one...

i can not belive i have a pr of 3!

i have a pr of 3! thats right 3!
damn!

oh well 3 it is...

if you wanted to post a link here i think it would help..
sure I know it stinks since i have had my stroke...

here you go...

ouch!



i can never remember the link i want to put here...
oh well....
i was never given the devises you see...

fuck