Da-bomb (Ambulatory EEG)

I am doing a 72 hour EEG which means I get to wear this cap and these wires for a little while. I'm looking good huh? They LITERALLY glued the leads on with something similar to super glue, and plan on getting the glue off with acetone. My poor hair. Other than being a little itchy and the opposite of fashionable this test isn't too bad. They are doing it to check to see if the "convulsive syncope" I experience is is actually a seizure. I am pretty sure it is all blood pressure related and figure the test results will be unremarkable but I'm glad the neurologist is being thorough.

Since I have all these wires coming off of me and a couple inside of me I have decided that my new nickname is going to be "Da-bom" lol!

P.S. Isn't my mom cute the tech smuggled her a cap of her own so we could be twinners :)

Happy Mothers day Mom! I love you so much. You are my guardian angel and bad influence all rolled into one:) We were meant to be friends.

3 Months later

Yup it has been 3 months to the day since I had the stroke. How does one celebrate such a momentous occasion? I really wanted to put something funny up about strokes but there is an embarrassing lack of stroke humor out there.

Things are going well. I’m starting to get some energy back. I still blackout lots multiple times a day if I'm not careful, but I’m certainly able to do more then I was 4 weeks ago. If it is a short trip I’m able to go solo if it is a longer excursion then I use the walker or wheelchair. I even got to go to the mall the other day.

Easter was great. We had dinner with my Dads side of the family and instead of the traditional Easter egg hunt we had a piñata. I didn’t even dent the thing but my brother Dom destroyed it.

Thanks again to everyone who has done so much to keep me entertained and have blessed me with your prayers.

The family on the way to our delicious Easter Dinner

Dominic and our Easter piñata

All patched up!

The hole in my heart (PFO) is now patched!

Surgery was not too bad. It all happened in one day. I showed up at 8 and got to leave a little after 5. They used a femoral line to get to my heart. This is the 2nd femoral line I've had in 2 months. I'm so glad they didn't have to crack open my chest, but I've got to say I don't find femoral lines very comfortable.

My mom LOVES pictures so she gave one of the nurses a camera.

Just before they started

This is the device they used to close the hole. It is bigger than I expected

You can just make it out on the x-ray.

They had a hard time getting around the pacemaker wires but eventually they got it where it needed to be. Before I even came to my heart started to beat irregularly. That was the complication we were most worried about. For now we are going to give it time to gets used to the device and see if it goes back to normal, or whatever my hearts approximation of normal is.

The hardest thing at the moment is my blood pressure is super low. I can't stay up for long before I black out. I'm trying to be especially careful not to fall. The doctor said not to jar the device or it could break loose, also I don't want to hit my head while on blood thinners.

Everyone has been so nice. I've got candy, movies, and books to keep myself occupied, plus before the closure a friend did glitter toes for me! (thanks Mette)

I'm very grateful for all the prayers said for me. Thank you for all the support and love you've shown me.

Bubbles

I recently had a test to figure out how big the hole in my heart is. The test is called "Transcranial doppler with bubbles". They put a something like a hat on my head that ultrasounds the main arteries in my brain. Then through an IV they push some air bubbles. They use the ultrasound to see and hear if bubbles are getting through the hole into the wrong side of my heart and then into my brain. PFOs (the type of hole I have) are given a rating between 1-5 . 1 meaning not much gets through. 5 a lot gets through. I got a rating of 5+ it sounded like pretty much everything was getting through.



My cardiologists were arguing about whether or not to go through with the closure since there is a risk of arrhythmias, however now that we know so much is getting through they feel that the only option is too close it soon. The closure is set for March 28th.


The video below is what we expected to hear during the test. He said to expect 2-10 bubbles.


This next video is what we heard when we did my TCD bubble. (Warning it is kinda loud)


Cool right? I had to chuckle to myself because while they were doing the test all I could think was THIS.

Press forward

I keep on keeping on. I talked to a cardiolgist about closing the hole in my heart and we will probably do the surgery at the end of March.

My speech therapy is going well I get frustrated at times but so does my mom and even the therapist... those tests are tough.

I feel pretty sick lately flu like and exhausted. Luckily I am home during this crash and not at school it's easier with my family there to make me laugh and fetch me stuff such as ice cream.

Speaking of ice cream I love candy/junk food. I LOVE IT. I feel sick much of the time but I still don't have the strength to say no to sugar in all of its delicious forms. especially ...

Cadburry mini eggs

I spent $10.00 on these fantastic morsels today and kind of wish I had bought more. The next time I will be able to buy these is at Christmas time. Do you think this candy trial is supposed to teach me patience?

Last but not least I have figured out why pirates always look like this:

"arrrrr" They had a stroke

That is me trying my darndest to smile.

My Mom and I went to Pirate Island just to get that picture :)

Foward not backwards

Hello folks
Things are going pretty well. It is nice to be here with my family they are good at helping me plus the endless stroke jokes keep me laughing.

I started my outpatient therapy yesterday. My physical therapist doesn't even know what to do with me. I can do most everything that he asks me to. He couldn't believe that I had a stroke 3 weeks ago. Awesome!
My speech therapist is great she is going to help me strengthen my vocal cords, work on articulation, and my ability to pay attention. Not being able to pay attention is quite an experience for me. I have been known to study for hours at a time without a problem(just ask my roommates) now half an hour of reading a novel is a struggle. I have been working on it though and I think I am making progress.

The hardest thing at the moment is that this stroke thing has thrown me into a Dysautonomia crash. It hasn't been this hard to funtion since highschool. Luckily I have been through crashes before so I know what I need to do.

All things considered I am doing wonderfully. I'm sure I will continue going..." forward, not backward. Upward, not forward. And always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom."(the simpsons teehouse of horror season 8)

They call this the stroke smile

Cards from the people in my major