Tuesday, April 3, 2007

More recap...

After my MRI, the doctor requested that I come in right away, Sue offered to walk over with me and I was really grateful. I was not having a very wobbly day I was just really really scared and she can be super solid. We walked over and the doc told me I had a cluster of veins in my brain that did not belong there and that they had bled. I did not really understand. Like a stroke? Yes, like a stroke she said. Is it dangerous? It can be. She wanted me to have an angiogram, I think now to rule out an aneurism. She sent me to be admitted to Mt. Sinai through the ER.

I was pretty freaked and really did not understand what was going on just tha it was serious and I had to go to the hospital. I told Sue and we walked back to school. I was already (over)packed for my trip to Cambridge but I had not written any plans for the sub and I felt guilty leaving the class in such a mess. Fortunately it was a test they were doing so that would be easy enough. The worst thing I felt and This really was all I could think about was how disappointed Sachi was going to be that I could not come to Cambridge for Junior Parent's Weekend. We had both been really looking forward to it for weeks. I grabbed my stuff, talked to Meryl, and Sue took me to the hospital in a cab. She stayed with me and we called Brian, Sachi, my mom. I ended up turning a lot over to her because it was too much getting checked in and everything. This turned out to be a brilliant move because besides being an excellent teacher (Sachi's improvement in both athletic prowess and confidence stand as proof), Sue is very good at keeping a situation under control. No loose ends.

Little by little, my sis, Brian, my mom got there. And little by little more doctor's saw me. I wish I could remember their names. Each had his own style and explained more about what was going on. One very handsome neuro guy did the best job and I finally got it. As a result of my MRI they could see that I had what is known as a cavernous angioma or a cavernoma. It had suffered a slight bleed and was swollen. It was pressing on my trigeminal nerve and that was causing the numbness on the left side of my head. It was also pressing on some balance nerves or whatever and so I kept stumbling and feeling nausea, etc. They all said I would need surgery but Dr. Handsome explained it the clearest.

Then there was the endless wait to be admitted. Caroline and Brian P had brought me some food because I missed lunch and dinner waiting in the bed in the ER. They kicked the whole family out but kept saying I would be moved upstairs to a bed soon. At that point I just wanted to be up there in time for Survivor. No way I was going to miss that. Okay more later.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Alyson,
Aunt Kay forwarded your blog to me. I know it has been a long time since we have been in contact, but I have been thinking about you. What I remember about meeting you nearly 14 years ago is that you were sooo strong and vibrant. I dont know if you remember but there was a wreck in front of our cab and in 2 seconds you over the front seat telling the driver to stop the meter - we werent paying extra - blah, blah, blah! I thought to myself, "I wanna be like her!" For what its worth I believe you can make it through this. Hang in there. Sending love and healing vibes your way. Your cousin, Brandi Schumacher