Alwayz♥️Love
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Hello everyone, I have an update on my girlfriend. I’m very happy to report that her angiogram has showed that her aneurysm repair was a success! She said her doctors were all very happy as well. They want to see her in another year.
I really wanted to say thank you guys so much for all the info and support. And for giving me a “shoulder to cry on.”
She really needs to have a rest I think. She’s been on the quiet side lately, so I’m going to give her a break.
She still has a “shunt”(?). Put there early on to help drain fluid from the brain. I’m uncertain if it’s permanent.
Thanks everyone
Wayne
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Hey Wayne,
A ‘success’, we love to hear of success stories. 
“She has a ‘shunt’…” Me too 
I actually have 2 shunts, one functioning and one that broke (what the medicos call ‘fractured’). I queried why they didn’t remove the broken one altogether when they replaced it, and was told that if they removed it, there would likely be a bleed as it would disturb the vessels around it. Removing it would also leave a void, from the tubing, for the blood to fill and sit in, which could lead to future strokes, so the safest option is to leave it in place. They have removed the non-intracranial (outside of the skull) tubing and valve from the broken shunt, but cut the tube level with my skull, leaving the intracranial (inside the skull) tubing in there. Hence I have 2 shunts.
Now, I’m not a Dr, just a patient, but I’d suggest it’s permanent or it’s safer to leave it now that it has been installed.
Rest is going to be her friend. A brain injury is unlike any other bodily injury. If you break your arm, it’s sore. They plaster it and 6-8weeks later it’s all healed and life goes back to normal. A brain injury can take longer, MUCH longer, to settle. The external wound can heal really well, but what’s happening inside the brain is unseen. The scans can look perfect, but the changes in blood flow within the brain can send our whole system for a spin. And it can take quite some time for us to adjust, both physically and psychologically to these changes. Unlike a broken bone, the recovery is not a straight line of progression. I have good days, bad days and days that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. I have to manage around ‘Me’.
Hope it helps
Merl from the Modsupport Team
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Great news Wayne! As Merl wrote, we do love to read success stories. I hope she continues to improve daily. We are always here if something else comes up.
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