Hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a good one! If you’ve been reading the posts you know we have some members who have been having it pretty rough, please keep them in your thoughts. We all have rough times, it’s how we deal with those times that can help or hinder us getting past them. When I think of rough times, it always reminds me of a story BH would tell. BH did something teens do, I forget exactly what and Mama Marvie threw up her hands and said “How much more do you think I can take?” If you knew BH, my MIL would learn to take a lot more over the next few years. Those years passed and BH settled somewhat. By the time we met, Bh had settled a lot. It’s like aneurysms that rupture isn’t it? We have the fallout and with years, we settle hopefully. We do need to be like a dog with a bone and fight like heck to get sorted out. Sometimes those fights are within us, sometimes they have to be with our specialists when we know something is wrong and they brush us off. It’s being tenacious, setting small goals that can lead to larger goals, even if the goal is just to get through today.
My brain is muddled. It’s easy to do and hard to get over. We had some really nice guys helping me in my shop which requires me to concentrate a lot. That level of concentration gets me muddled and it takes a week or more to get back to where I need to be. I used the wrong coffee cups on the wrong days, they help me know what the day of the week is, BH was off for a week and I lose my sense of time. So I’m late in the new welcomes. Let’s get to them!
Starting us off is @Cathie up in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Cathie had a rupture whilst playing tennis which was repaired with a stent. She credits her survival with a lot of luck and the Neurosurgeon who took care of her at Savannah Memorial Hospital. She shares she’s done well physically but not the same mentally. Cathie is experiencing memory issues but more importantly has gone from being positive and highly motivated to feeling flat emotionally and unmotivated. She is trying to find resources to help her and is wondering if any exists. Cathie also has been retired for almost 20 years. She’s enjoyed traveling, tennis, biking, her children and 2 wonderful grandchildren. You’ve found us, some of our members can relate and share their experiences, hopefully those can help you!
@Crystal82 is down in Florida here in the U.S.A. Crystal shares she has an Internal Carotid Artery saccular aneurysm that is effecting her vision so much she cannot work. Her aneurysm was found after her son was diagnosed in May with cancer, went through surgery in June, lost her job because of the time needed to spend with her son healing. Their routine was going back to what it once was and she was diagnosing with the aneurysm. Sounds like she’s had a rough year.
@ElizabethK is also here in the U.S.A. Elizabeth was diagnosed with a 3mm aneurysm February of this year. She was having stroke like symptoms, they did a CTA and found it. She’s been put on the watch and wait list with CT’s every 3-6 months. She is feeling grateful it was found.
@Faith is in Arkansas. Faith shares both her sister and grandmother had aneurysms. Her sister has four aneurysms. Faith needs testing but has no medical insurance right now. She has been recently diagnosed with high blood pressure and is throwing PVC’s (Premature Ventricular Contractions) with every other heart beat. She’s also experiencing sharp pain in her left eye accompanied by headaches. She is trying to quit smoking but Chantrix is messing with her PVCs and blood pressure. Fortunately she doesn’t drink alcohol. Without insurance for two months, she is concerned with receiving a diagnosis and how it will affect an insurance plan. It’s a heck of a lot to be concerned about, in the U.S. if we get diagnosed with something, it can make our insurance payments go up dramatically for a couple of years I think it is, experience talking. The bright side is that we can still get coverage when there was a time when insurance companies were allowed to refuse us, also personal experience talking.
We end this week’s welcomes with @Ria in Kosice, Slovakia. A few days ago she was feeling dizzy and had problems with vision. She went through a CTA and then an MRA and a 7mm aneurysm was discovered on her internal carotid artery. She has a number of metal allergies so they cannot use a stent or flow diverter. They can do coiling. She has two young children ages 9 and 4. She is hoping and praying that her procedure goes well. We will definitely keep you in our thoughts Ria!
Come talk to us everyone! Just post a new topic under the General or Support tab and ask any questions you may have. You can also jump into an existing topic but please be careful of how old it is. We still cannot find all the wires that our computer needs and I haven’t closed them.