We headed to Baptist yesterday to get my images and see Dr. Quintero-Wolfe for my two year follow up after the last angiogram. Can you believe I was in a new MR machine at Davie Medical Center that only took 15 minutes? Wowza! They did both the MRI and MRA in 15 minutes! I still can’t believe it and I was there. The very kind tech said it’s the newest machine. It was new, all clean and bright with a mirror so I could see them in their room. We didn’t know what to do with the hours left to us and we decided to go to a museum. Wouldn’t you know it, all the ones we looked up in Winston-Salem are closed on Monday😂
We stopped at a coffee shop inside a grocery store, did a bit of shopping, they had fruit on sale, and I do love fruit of all types. Picked up a couple thank you cards and it was almost time to head to Baptist. But of course I had to change directions as something overcame me and we headed to a club store to pick up some snacks for Dr. Q-W and Ms. Ryann and their crew. I was still in the fruit mood and picked up fruit, nuts and some Korean jerky which I have a fondness for. BH said I could keep the jerky, BH doesn’t like it, any jerky, but I was insistent that it go to them. Off to Baptist we went…
Baptist is under construction again and we opted for valet parking which isn’t that much more than trying to park, pay for the time spent we park the car which we usually do but the construction has closed some parking decks and it was a hot mess. We made it in time to get checked in and there we were with fruit, nuts and jerky in tow.
Saw Ms. Ryan first after my vitals, BP was up a bit but understandably so and of course hugs. She and Dr. Q-W reviewed my questions prior to me coming in and we got to tag team with the answers. And I was allowed some time to get a few pictures off the computer screen! Thank y’all for teaching me that!
Here’s my rupture image (all the white is the blood that escaped my little bugger)
Here’s my stent and all the coils (the three dots are part of it that goes into the LACA from the LICA)
And here’s the results, they have new software!
How cool is that! As you can see, I’m a bit torturous (squiggly). All my arteries are so it’s a good thing she’s an expert with AVMs
We went over the symptoms I’ve been having, apparently all stress and doing too much related which we pretty much had figured out. I do believe Ms. Ryan may have rolled her eyes when I asked why I was having more issues moving 6”x6”x12’ treated timbers then I did 20 or 30 years ago when I could have picked one up with no problems😂. She suggested I be more aware of what I’m doing though, I think. I was excited y’all and I’m sticking to it for memory lapse. They hadn’t had time for a lunch break, there was a women waiting for surgery.
Call it what you will, Divine Intervention or the Universe watching out for them but they hadn’t eaten.
Hugs again and a short wait for Dr. Quintero-Wolfe. Did y’all know how much we love these women? Dr. Q-W and I go back to 11/8/2013 when she stopped the bleeding and I’ve seen her a time or two as y’all know. She mentioned the need to get to the OR asked about the fruit etc and I said you need to practice what your preach hydration, protein and rest. A good laugh that I remembered.
She caught me up on what’s been happening in her world of Neurosurgery - she won three grants! I will start its own topic because I’m simply amazed with where they’re heading and I think y’all will be too! The stent is working perfectly and has stayed where she put it despite what I do. Can you tell I’m still excited?
She had to get to the OR to hopefully fix a patient whose aneurysm ruptured and the woman had already been through some other brain vessel issues. So I said see you in five years which is what I have to do for my pituitary adenoma. She said sooner than that.
She quickly explained there was a new RN of 20 years or so who’s been hired for a new position and Dr. Q-W wants me to help her! So I will be getting a call. The best I can remember is the RN is going to help develop a course of action for patients that rupture on how to get more help quicker. The wait time for cognitive behavior therapy in Winston Salem is nine months out! Dr. Q-W knows that there were none for me when I ruptured in my county. She shared that as a surgeon, she had the mindset that her job was done when she finished and because of some of her patients learned that isn’t how it is for us. She’s been rethinking her mindset and is changing it to help us who’ve ruptured get along better after release.
We did discuss networking with Wake Voice for a minute as an alternative to get something started sooner. My first thought was for the RN to make up a list of what the patient needed for follow up in the city they live in that could be given to their PCP. After all, a PCP should know what their area services are, better than a hospital we are flown to that is far from where we live. I also shared what @Suszanne has been wanting up in Canada! So I said get the patient evaluated by PT, OT, ST before they leave ICU.
So for me, great news and I’m really happy! So here’s a thought- next time you have to see your Neurosurgeon start a fire under them to help change they way they view things, challenge them if need be, what ever it takes. Remind them that we have problems that go on long after the rupture and we need help to navigate those issues. Be nice about it but stick to it like a dog with a bone. Who knows, your Neurosurgeon may be as good as mine!