Back home

I am so thankful to be back home looking out over the beautiful Black Hills and watching the God blaze the sunset over the sky.  How I missed seeing His beauty all around me.  Its so easy to forget that God is everywhere when all you see is mostly big buildings, concrete sidewalks and paved streets full of cars going too fast. So as I sit here looking over the hills I am sure of where my help comes from; it comes from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. 

I had my last appointment for this round at Mayo on Monday, March 14.  While I was gone I had my PT-INR tested twice and both times the INR went down despite the increase in dosage of Warfarin so the Neuro department thought I should have some testing done and see the hemotologist.  It was a very interesting visit and productive.  They did discover that I have an abnormal clotting factor in my blood; which they believed caused the start of the Dural AVM Fistula.  At some point I had a clot in my brain that caused the abnormal growth of vessels to "feed" the part of the brain that was being deprived.  There is an enzyme in my blood that is caused by a virus that puts me at a high risk for clotting and the enzyme is resistant to the blood thinners.  Now we can understand why I can't get my INR at a therapeutic level and keep it there.  They are also doing further testing to see if this could also be genetic.  I will have to be on blood thinners the rest of my life because of the danger if having a clot anywhere at anytime.  God is leading us step by step to find the answers. 

I go back on April 14, 2011 for more testing in the balance clinic.  They are going to do pressure testing and also tones because these are two things that can cause me to feel off balance at any point.  I will also see an ENT and then follow up with Dr. Eggars (the nuerologist in charge of my case).  There is still the issue of my own voice making me feel like my brains are vibrating, I still can't walk in a store and turn my head and the issue of the transient pain on the left side. 

The balance is much better and I'm not always nauseous!!  I can sit up in the car and watch the road so I'm hoping I will be driving soon.  There are so many things for which to give God Praise and I do.   Mostly, I praise Him for Skip and his support, patience and love, for all my family; which includes so many, many friends who have  supported and encouraged me.  I know this journey isn't over and there may be more bumps in the road but I do know that I'm not alone!

Ps 150: "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord."

If there is more news I will update before the next appointment.  Please keep praying for the doctors as they continue to review my case.  Blessings to all of you.
Jeanne

Round One is Done

We finished up Jeanne’s appointments on Wednesday morning. One was a neuro surgeon consult. We believe his task was to review the embolization films and look for any issues that could be causing Jeanne’s symptoms. He said that probably the embolization is the cause but he could see nothing out of the ordinary in the films.

Our next appointment was a blood draw. They want a comprehensive study of her clotting factors. There is speculation that the AVM started because of a clot. We will review that information on our way back to SD on March 14^th.

We are in Naperville spending time with Andrea, Randy and the grandchildren until our return to Mayo.

There will be no more news for a few days. Thank you for checking the blog and for your prayers.

Skip

More doctors

Since we were done last week by Thursday, we took a break and went up to Minneapolis to see our son Peter and have a change of pace.  We came back to Rochester on Sunday evening for my appointment with the neurologist on Monday.  He was very pleasant but it wasn't until almost the end or our conversation that I finally got his attention.  His specialty within neurology is the vestibular nerve and other balance issues so that was where he was camped.  He couldn't give a good explanation for the "vibrating" feeling I have in my brain when I talk, the constant head pain (not headache) and pressure and the nausea.  There is no doubt the vestibular nerve on the left is functioning only slightly, but that is only a piece of the puzzle.  He finally came to that conclusion and ordered a CT scan specifically to look at the bone structure in the inner ear.  I have an appointment with a vascular neurologist this afternoon and a neuro surgeon tomorrow morning.  They are familar with my vascular problems and will understand more what has been done and is possibly causing the problems.  If they want more testing we are going to try scheduling that for more of the middle of March so we can get to Chicago and see our daughter and family then we will stop here on the way back if needed.

God gave me a verse before I went yesterday;  Deut. 31:16   "So be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or panic before them.  For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you.  He will nver fail you or abandon you."  He was definitely there in the room giving me the courage to continue to ask questions and guide the conversation.  I'm counting on that today! 

Until the next post
Blessings to all,
Jeanne