Thank you, Gwen. I read your report almost daily and trust that my surgery on September 24th will be as amazing as yours. You have given me much peace of mind and something to not be afraid of next week.
Hi Cecile, I pray you have an easy surgery on the 24th. I'm glad my experience can give you some peace of mind. I'm back at work now and all is well. Where are you having your surgery? Prayers your way!!!
Jan
My Surgery is at UT Zale Lipshy also. It will be on the 9th. My Surgeon is Dr. Babu Welch. Praying mine will go as good as yours did. I am staying positive and upbeat about it and I really feel blessed that they were found before a rupture. I have 2 behind my right eye 10.6mm and 7mm. Thank you for posting the pics. My incision will follow my hairline from center forhead in front of right ear. The muscle to my jaw is also going to have to be moved so I know I will have a sore jaw. I am so glad you are doing well.
Don't worry about tomorrow because God is already there. Prayers to and for all. My Surgery is on the 9th.
If I missed it, I apologize but where was your aneurysm? Thank you for yor detailed journal, it’s informative and inspirational.
Hi, I'm glad my journal was helpful to you. That's why I wrote it - it's scary enough with all the other stories you read, I wanted people to know that not everyone has problems. My aneurysm was in the right temporal lobe area. If I had to point to it I would point to a spot about 4 inches above the front part of my right ear. I had the surgery at UT Southwestern and my surgeon was Dr. Jonathan White. I will pray for your safe surgery. Is there anything else I can answer for you? Hang in there. Jan
Jan, thank you so much for sharing your story. It is just what I needed to hear and know. I am having surgery at UTSW tentatively scheduled for the first week in November. So glad to hear all went well with you! (I have an unruptured anterior communicating artery.)
Hoping your surgery went well. Praying for you!
How are you doing? Have you had surgery yet? I am seeing Dr. Batjer for my clipping also.
Okay Jan... my surgery is November 7th - thank you again for posting your story and the photos! It helped so much to know success stories do happen. I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Any other words of advice? Mine is being done at UTSW also.
Hi Carol
The surgery really isn't as bad as it sounds. I know people have had difficulties but I didn't. I was very worried right before the surgery but it turned out fine for me. You will go into the hospital early in the morning and they will call you back. Your family will stay in the waiting room until they get you into the hospital gown and the compression stockings. Then your family will come back to wait with you. The anesthesiologist will come in and talk to you a bit and your doctor will stop by. They will make a small mark on your head to make sure they operate on the correct side. Right before the procedure they will give you something to make you relax and wheel you into the operating room - not scary at all. When you wake up you will be a bit groggy but no pain which is what I was so concerned about. Hopefully your surgery will be easy. I did really stretch my neck to the right and left a lot to loosen it up. Sometimes they have to put your head in a strange position for long time and I have heard some people complain about neck pain afterwords. Mine was fine. November 7th was my mom's birthday and it is my daughters birthday so I feel it's a really lucky day so we will remain very positive that you won't have any problems at all. Is there anything specific you want to know? The nurses and all the staff at the hospital are very good to anticipate your needs and to be quick to get you whatever you need. My surgeon was Dr. White - I like him a lot and I really liked UTSW. I will continue to pray for you. :) Jan
I think our doctors are on the same team at UTSW so there’s lots of peace in knowing my process should be very similar to yours. Now, if the outcome is the same that will be wonderful!!!
I didn’t know about the compression stockings… You didn’t have to wear them after leaving the hospital did you? And, you were able to walk downstairs on day 3??? Wow! Also, did you get a card stating you have a metal implant? And if so, did anyone tell you why you might need it? Thanks for your openness!
Jo, I thought the clips were safe for all MRIs… How’d you do in the closed MRI? I guess you’re not claustrophobic? So you can’t go thru airport scanners now? I feel like I’m asking too many questions but thank you for the info!
Hi Carol,
I wore the compression stockings until I left ICU. They just prevent blood clots. When I got out of surgery they would inflate and deflate every few minutes. Not uncomfortable, just a little strange feeling, sort of like a blood pressure cuff just not as tight when they inflated as you get from a blood pressure cuff. As soon as I got the OK to move downstairs they removed them. For the surgery I actually liked putting them on - made me feel a bit less vulnerable - almost like I was wearing some clothes :). I see your comment to Jo below - I am scheduled for an MRI in a week. They asked about the clip and I gave them my card - no problem with the MRI they say. Also, please don't worry about asking too many questions. I think most of us will answer pretty much anything you throw at us because we've been there - the questions and uncertainty. I am very happy to answer whatever you need. I just wish I had someone I could have asked these type questions to. Would have made it easier I think.
Thanks again Jan and Jo! Wish you two lived closer!!!
Hi Vickie,
Hope your surgery went well and you are doing well.
Thank you so much for sharing such detail information. My clipping craniotomy is next Thursday, Dec. 12 at Hopkins with Dr. Tamargo. I found little information online from the perspective of the patient, but was glad to find your posting. From the looks of the reply, looks like you've comforted a bunch of us that are about to go through the procedure. Hope you are doing well. Just wanted to tell you how much I appreciated and was comforted by your post.
Jam
Hi Jam,
I'm so glad you were able to get some comfort from my post - that's exactly why I wrote it. So many scary things are written by people that have bad experiences and I promised myself I would document it for others so they could see that not everyone has problems. I see you are going in on the 12th. I will be praying for your quick recovery. Are there any questions I can answer for you? My surgery wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated. I think we all think the worst. :) I'm absolutely fine now. Please let me know if I can help with anything. Jan
Your post is amazing and has helped many people on this site - I hope to do the same one day. I wish I had seen this before my surgery, although different, I believe it would have helped put my mind at ease. Unfortunately, my road was not as smooth and we had some complications. However, due to your post, I am now being very thoughtful about how I memorialize that information in a post for others to review. I am very new here and was scared out of my wits due to some of my earlier complications - it is good that I did not review "scary" posts....However, all information that I did receive was helpful - especially seeing that folks got to the other side of their complications and were now doing fine.
So glad that your surgery went well - Continue to take care and have an amazing holiday!
Hi, I'm glad the post is helping, that was what I wanted it to do. I was petrified because of everything I saw online. I'm sorry your road to recovery wasn't as smooth but am glad you are trying to be as positive as possible about it. Thank you for replying to my post. Are you going to have to have surgery again? I hope you are doing well now. Happy Holidays to you as well. Jan