And Now the Fun Begins

Here we go.

April 15
Shower
Before: Could only use luke-warm water due to heat sensitivity.
After: Took a very hot shower with no heat intolerance.

Transferring from shower chair after shower.
Before: Had a very difficult time getting off of the shower chair and scooting up the bed
After: Transferred with ease.

Feet on the floor
Before: After 30 seconds of my feet being on the floor, the blood would pool causing extreme pain causing me to become hysterical and combative.
After: I can put my feet on the floor and even though there is still blood pooling it is not nearly as painful. from a 4 to 2 1/2 - 3.

Lying flat on the bed and pushing head back against the pillow.
Before: I have not laid on the bed flat for 5 years. I have not been able to push my head against the pillow.
After: I can do both with no vertigo.

Hand strength
Before: My left hand was weak and atrophied.
After: My left hand is no longer stiff and weak.
I can lift my upper body weight off the surface with both arms.

Eyesight
Before: Cloudy and come and go vision to complete blurriness depending on my activity, stress levels or body temperature.
After: All eye prob;ems gone. Vision is not 20/20 perfect (never was)but much better. No come and go.

April 14. Procedure day.
5:15 a.m. Andrew called 911 to help lift me into the power chair from the manual wheelchair. I was already tired from waking up at 3 a.m. and had tried to get into the power chair with no luck. Luckily we have a staffed fire station 3 miles down the road. Four beefy firemen showed up and helped me (lifted me entirely) from one chair to the power chair. Then into the transport van we went and were only 8 minutes late to the hospital.

7:20 a.m. Into the pre-op room we went. A couple of guys lifted me with a patient lift from the wheelchair to the gurney. The hospital gown went on, IV line went in and the drugs started flowing via IV for anxiety. The P.A. did a neuro exam. The other normal exam stuff was done too like blood pressure and temperature.

9 a.m. I was wheeled into the operating room. Prep was don such as shaving and cleaning. I think I fell asleep.

10 a.m. The venogram started. I woke up enough to feel the doctor applying pressure to my groin where the catheter prob shoots the contrast dye into the veins showing the blood going through them while the x-ray machine takes constant pictures. Everything was fine as I dozed on and off until the doctor got up to the jugular vein in the neck and started ballooning. Later he said he ballooned (angioplasty) 3 places in the right side vein because it was very narrowed. There we also collateral veins that were next to the main vein. Those weren't doing much so he didn't touch them. Back to starting the ballooning. I was awake when I felt the balloon inside the vein expanding. That was uncomfortable, so I said "HEY". That was all I had to say because out I went again thanks to the powerful IV drugs. Later I was told that they gave me the max amount of drugs that could be given. So by the time they were finished, I woke up again to see a monitor with a picture of a vein with dye in it. They were done. I was wheeled back to post op.

12 p.m. In post op they watched me wake up. Just a couple of notes. On one occasion of my wake up, I completely didn't know where I was. On another occasion I woke up to the halucination of 3 bikini models standing in the corner of the OR. Must've been the drugs.

3 p.m. Lifted back into the wheelchair and went home.

April 13. The day before the procedure.
I had a Foley catheter installed around 12 p.m. I wanted this done because I didn't feel like peeing myself all the way to the hospital, during the procedure and all the way home. The nurse at the hospital said that they prefer catheterization during procedures anyway. This was the 2nd time this was done in the last two months. That night I thought I had to use the potty chair, so I slid to it (no results) then slid back. When I got settled in, I noticed more pain in the abdomen than usual when catheterized, menstruating, and constipated. I called the home health nurse on call and she said to take it out. She later showed up (@ 8:30 p.m.) and installed another one. That one was fine and to sleep I went.