The theme of this trip definately ended up "Friends everywhere!"
Josh somehow managed to rack up a bunch of vacation hours at work, and so I am lucky enough to have him as my trip partner for three months in a row! I do love having my husband with me during these treatments. Everyone who has gone with me is fabulous, but without a doubt I still love having Josh with me.
Our trip started early as seems to now be the routine. Direct flights to Denver leave Sac at 6:00 in the morning which means a 4 am check in. We were there so early in fact, that Southwest wasn't even open!!! Next month we are sleeping in a little! We got on board and all settled into the front row. And then I watched as the crazy old man tried to find a spot for his bag in the overhead while juggling an open cup of coffee...disaster in the making...and sure enough before I could even process those thoughts, that hot coffee was flying through the air to land on Josh's lap, leg, shoes, the wall...everywhere. I hoped that this was not a sign of how the trip would play out.
We arrived with no problems and as always jumped on our Hertz shuttle to go see what car was waiting for us. And for those that know us, you know Josh is a Toyota guy...like seriously. So he was thrilled that we had a white 4Runner waiting under our name. No snow on the ground, but it was chilly and windy! We arrived at the condo and took a little nap since we knew we would be out late that night with friends.
Over to see Dr. Reed for my pre-treatment review. No issues, no singing, just a quick meeting. We did discuss Bleomycin treatments as I had recently heard from a woman in Canada who was thinking of taking this course for her VM. Dr. Reed is always interested in options that are out there, if they will work, what they entail, etc. He is a great person to have that inital conversation with, to help point me in the right direction and to clarify my understanding. I always enjoy the visits we have with Dr. Reed.
Cyndi from Texas was in for embolization the day we arrived. Our plan for the trip was to meet up with her and Mark, as well as our new friends Jody, Denny, and Arie. Arie was due for treatment the same morning as me. So the only time for all of us to meet up, was Wednesday night at Swedish. We walked ino the lobby and were met with hugs all around from the Wrights! Arie is a beautiful 11 year old, very mature and very charming. I was worried about how she would react to seeing me and seeing Cyndi. But Jody assured me that Arie was prepared and would be fine. And she was. What wonderful parents she has that have prepared her to deal with her AVM journey, to have compassion and understanding for others who are facing this, and also just to be confident enough in herself not to be completely freaked out when faced with what an advanced facial AVM looks like. After chatting for a while, we headed up to the 4th floor to see Cyndi. We surprised Rhonda, Dr. Yakes PA, as we all walked in and announced that we had arrived early for our treatments!!! Cyndi was sleeping but Mark assured us it was ok to come back and that she wanted to see us. She was swollen and still in quite a bit of pain but as always she had let her spunky personality shine through and laughed with us during the visit. They had broght me a few gifts from their home town of Corpus Christi, a Tshirt, a magnet, and a beer cozy!!! Thanks guys! We took some group pictures and I have added those to the picture page. It was a nice little visit and we all agree that these connections that we are making with other AVM patients is so rewarding. As always, I encourage you to head over to Cyndi's blog and read her trip reports.
After leaving Cyndi to rest and recoup, we went out for a yummy Mexican dinner with the Wrights. We had a wonderful time getting to know them, sharing stories about our AVM's and just life in general. Josh and I both felt an instant connection with them, like they were old friends instead of new ones. But we all had to prepare for treatment the next morning, so we bid farewell for the night and went back to the condo for a good nights sleep.
We arrived at the hospital for the 9 am check in. Arie was already in the OR by that time and I had a long wait ahead of me. As we were lead to our spot in Ambulatory Care, I was on the lookout for Allison and Brad from Alaska. I email regularly with Allison's mom Jody and she had told me that they were also scheduled for treatment on Allison's calf VM that morning. Directly across from us was a beautiful young blond woman and a gentleman with bright blue eyes and gray around his temples "from actually being old!" (Jody's words, not mine!) I pointed and exclaimed "Alaska!" Hugs all around again, and more presents! Jody had sent them off with some salmonberry jelly and a chocolate Moose lollipop! Such tortuous gifts to send someone fasting for surgery! Because Allison is in her early twenties, she was still ahead of me on the schedule for the day. I was actually the oldest one in for the day (all 31 years of me!) and was in for the long wait. Did the routine, met with Eric the PA, Jill got my IV in on one try (go Jill!) joked around with Sue and Derek, and just hung out. We visited with Brad and Allison and again felt like we were spending time with old friends. After Allison went off for her treatment, Josh and I had a little time to just relax and wait. We met Jesse, a beautiful girl (seriously!) with a VM in her arm. She has had treatment for 3 years now and only comes in when it acts up. For the most part her VM seems to be under control and something that she doesn't have to worry about on a regular basis. I'm very glad for her in this.
Eventually Arie came out of post op and was in the room next to me. Jody and Denny stopped by to say hello and I also was able to meet grandma & grandpa! turns out that Arie had an angio but no alcohol this timme! The AVM looks good with little to treat, and Yakes told her not to come back for 6 months! What great news that is for her. Soon after, in came Cyndi and Mark hoping to catch me looking my "best" after treatment!!! ha ha!!! Unfortunately they didn't get me post op! Better luck next time! We visited for a while and they also stopped in to check on Arie and family before heading off to the airport for their trip home.
Allison made it out of surgery within a few hours and was back to ambulatory care to rest up. Jesse was taken back, and then finally it was my turn! The OR wasn't quite ready for me so I hung out in the hallway for about two minutes. But during this time, Dr. Yakes happened by and stopped took my hand, and in his soft manner told me how good my lip was looking and that we were going to get this. It was a nice comforting little encounter just before heading into the OR. I chatted with the anesthia group while they prepped me, got a little happy juice and was out! Woke up feeling good, but knowing my face was very swollen. It was pretty empty by that time, but I had my heart set on mac & cheese for dinner. Rhonda was there to discharge me and we went back to the condo. Brad & Josh had exchanged numbers so that we could meet up that night, but by the time we left it was after 7:00 and Brad & Allison were on their way to dinner. So we promised to meet up the next morning before their flight.
I felt really good, other than the swelling. I like the trips that are "easy" and with very little pain. I cherish those and have been very fortunate that they seem to be the rule instead of the exception. But I do feel guilty when I am able to get through these with little pain when I think of the other patients who have a much harder struggle. I am grateful at the same time. The complexity of emotion is hard to reconcile, but I do know that I am lucky and I do try to be thankful for that.
The next morning we did meet up with Brad & Allison at Starbucks. Allison is a typical college student, with sparking eyes and a great smile. She is silly and girly, and very TALL! I like her! She is very athletic and I can tell she is having a wonderful life and a great time at school despite dealing with the occasional trip to Denver. Brad and Josh got along great, talked about all things Alaska including Brad's super fast snowmachine! Apparently I'm going to be planning a trip to Alaska soon!!! Josh has always wanted to go and at this point I just don't see how I am going to avoid ending up in the cold. But we will definately make sure we go during the warm season. Our new freinds left to make their flight, and we headed back to the condo to relax.
It was a good thing I was feeling well, because it just so happened that Friday was a night of celebration with my original AVM sister Stephanie! Her 40th birthday had just passed and James had arranged to surprise her with a constant stream of good friends that day. My trip to Denver just happened to coincide and I was able to join in as part of that celebration. James said to stop by and surprise her anytime after 3:00. Well, we had to make a small sideline to the shoe store first. But really, this one was out of necesity! I had brought my cute zip up ankle boots to wear with jeans, but somehow my feet were swollen (from treatment?) and I could not zip them across my arches! So new silver heels replaced them and we made our way over to Stephs. Surprise! She already had one friend in from New York and we all went out to Sushi while James was "busy" off doing something. Back at home, Steph was greeted with more friends from New York as well as one from California. We had a wonderful time haning out with them and really enjoyed seeing Steph, James, and the girls again. They are definately like family and we are so glad that they are in Denver where we have many opportunities to see them.
After such a hectic few days, it was nice just to get back to the condo and get some sleep. But this trip was great. So many friends, new and old. Despite the treatment we had a great time and feel so lucky to have all of these people in our lives. What a wonderful "side effect" of having an AVM...so many friends! We know that these people will be part of our lives for years to come and that we will create many memories with all of them.
I'm a lucky girl!
Next trip #12 is just around the corner. We will be in Denver Feb 4-7th, and will update soon after!