Morning everyone! The sun is coming up here in NC so the temp has dropped a wee bit but it’s a beautiful Fall morning! Speaking of fall…don’t you hate it when you fall? I know I do. Quite frankly, it hurts and more importantly the CMA or CNA or RN will always ask if I’ve fallen in the last six months. I’ve had to learn to put falls in my health app and in my calendar to why I fell just so I can remember. I was pulling out an invasive vine that the previous owner had planted and fell right flat on my back, fortunately my head missed a rock. That was last month, then Friday a new friend and I were putting up a frame for a temporary cover and wouldn’t you know it, he tripped and landed on his back and a bit later I tripped over a timber and fell taking a hunk of skin out over my shin bone. I am so glad I do not have to see my Neurosurgeon for three years, I’d hate to see the look on either Dr. Q-W’s face or Ms. Ryann’s, they both give those “looks”.
Oh I wanted to share something with y’all. I met a lovely young man yesterday who was born with Chiari Malformation Type 3. He was telling me as a child he was constantly getting CT scans and MRIs. He had numerous CTs from birth to around age 10 I think he said. He only has to have MRI’s every 5 years for follow ups. It is one of the rarest of the Chiari Malformations and is the very dangerous. Obviously he survived as he is now in his late 20’s or early 30’s. He also has a degree and a lovely wife, can you imagine that! Will wonders never cease? He said we are both miracles and I do agree with him. We also think those of us who undergo so much radiation should get to wear one of those buttons that tell the folks in those fields if they’ve been over exposed to radiation. He didn’t know Ben’s Friends had a Chiari Malformation support group and was eager to take a look at it. Y’all do know Ben’s Friends is the same group that moderates here on the BAF support group I hope.
Let’s get on to our welcomes, yes my brain is muddled, it may be hard to keep up with me…it’s the fall and a painful shin bone that’s preventing me from sleeping well.
@pikopepper starts us off this week! Piko is in my birth State of Hawaii. Piko collapsed June 5th and was taken to the ER. Woke up a few days later and was told about their ruptured aneurysm. Piko like most of us who rupture didn’t even know what that was and felt like life was over. Piko shares “I never thought it would take a life changing event…to make me a better person in terms of being kinder to others and myself.” Aloha Piko we are paddling the canoe together!
@Miracle is in New Zealand. Miracle doesn’t know much and shares their mother has been dealing with high blood pressure and has been in and out of the hospital for the last decade or so. Welcome Miracle, we hope we can help you!
@Meanie45 is in Bronx, New York. Meanie45 had a craniotomy 8 weeks after the onset of a thunderclap headache. 8 weeks y’all! She’s also a mother of two you g adults and a newlywed!
@KGray is in Virginia and had a craniotomy for a SAH (Subarachnoid Hemorrhage). She ruptured two years ago and has a lot of struggles with regulating her emotions, judgement and accepting who she is now. She’s been married for 32 years, has three girls and she’s just become a Grandmother to a little boy born in July! I bet she’s busy in the rocking chair with that bundle of joy. Welcome Kathy!
@Jomoll is in the East Midlands of the United Kingdom (It’s in England, I had to look it up). Jo is waiting for coils and stent to be placed late this month. She had an incidental find on a CT scan and has a giant aneurysm in the left cavernous sinus artery. Jo is retired, lives on her own and has one daughter. She also has Sjögren’s and is a member of their support group finding it helpful. She’s also hoping to benefit from our stories and hopes her experiences can help others here. That’s what we are all about Jo, thank you and welcome!
Rounding up this week’s welcomes is @joycelee is in Nevada. Joyce has an unruptured aneurysm that was treated with coils and stents. She was having headaches and the doctor did an MRI/A showing a 9mm ACom (Anterior Communicating Artery) aneurysm with a wide neck. Welcome Joyce!
Just some reminders, please be careful about responding to old topics, they will have the month and an apostrophe with the last two numbers of the year. It’s better to start a new topic either under the General or Support tabs. Remember what you post can be seen by everyone on the internet, so please do not use your last name, don’t post your personal email (just use a PM if you want to notify a specific person) or any other information you don’t want the world to see. If you have problems navigating the site, reach out to me @Moltroub or the wonderful folks @ModSupport and one of us will help you out. Myself and @ModSupport are volunteers and you may have to wait a day for a reply, so be patient. Merl is in Australia and may have to have another craniotomy if you’ve been following his topic, Sharon and I are on the East Coast of the USA and Richard is in England and he also is a Moderator for the AVM support group so we may be in a different time zone than you.
I’ll end this with a big shout out to @JoeF whose wife passed away from a ruptured aneurysm. If you haven’t checked out his recent topic, I encourage everyone to read it here Trying to control anxiety
Until next week then and please don’t fall!
Moltroub