This was Josh's 3rd consecutive trip with me to Denver! And I was so glad to have him with me. I want to say a special thanks to Mercedes Benz of EDH for allowing him the time off to accompany me. Next trip though...no Josh! :(
We had the usual early morning flight leaving at 6 am. The flight was pretty uneventful minus the totally annoying, loud, loves to hear himself talk, obnoxious, stereotypical Hollywood version of a sales guy! He took two seats in the front row, which means that I had to sit in the second row and try not to allow my paranoia to get the better of me. Josh and I were constantly rolling our eyes, and the stewardess hated that guy! We were actually a little pleased that she gave him no slack. Is that mean? Oh well!
We saw our regular helper ladies at Hertz, got Josh's favorite 4 Runner, and were off to the condo. We were both exhausted and took a little nap before heading out to see Dr. Reed. We met first with Doug, my birthday twin, to review my symptoms, changes, etc since last trip. And I need to make a quick clarification about both Doug the birthday twin, and Shana Banana! I've been referring to them both as Dr. Reed's PA's. However, these two Voice Specialists both hold a CCC-SLP (Certificate of Clinical Competence- Speech Language Pathology) as well as an MS for Shana, and a PhD for Doug! Super smarty pants, both of them! Anyways, no big change since last trip. Doug did do a very "nice" job of lecturing me on the importance of drinking enough water each day to help keep my lip stable! I know, but it's hard to drink that much water! I'll do it though cause it's good for me regardless. All good and valid points Doug! And thanks for not being the least bit condescending or judgemental! Anyways, no big changes, did mention that it seemed like the AVM was moving up behind my ear and up towards my temple. Dr. Reed did the usual check up and to my relief confirmed that the stuffy nose I had for the past week was merely allergies and not a cold! I've never been so glad to have allergies. Had it been a cold, infection, fever...they wou;ldn't have treated me the next day! Thanks Dr. Reed!
Josh decided he needed a new wallet since he was having a hard time getting his license in & out of the old one. Sooner or later that wallet was going to make us miss a flight! So we stopped at Nordstrom rack to find him a new replacement which now allows easy access to that important little card! We found a nice restaurant close by called Thai Basil and had a very nice little dinner. fun atmosphere with LOTS of lanterns hanging from the ceiling. We both got a special which included soup, dinner, & dessert. Plus Josh took advantage of the $1 beer special and ordered a Fat Tire (or Flat tire if you ask me!)
Back to the condo to get ready for bed and set the alarm for treatment the next day. Arrived at Swedish just before 8:00, after stopping for coffee & Caribou poop for Josh! We had our favorite admission lady, Darlene, and I showed off my glamour gown that I brought to wear instead of the regular hospital attire. Then up to the third floor, follow the purple line, and wait in the Surgery waiting room. It was very busy that day and we ended up waiting for quite a while before heading back to my room. In fact, Julie came out to the waiting room to have me sign the consent forms and do a quick review. Little did I know at that point that Julie was leaving! I'm really going to miss her, seeing her, talking to her on my post op check ups, and just having her available when I'm experiencing one of my hypochondriac moments. I wish her the best of luck in her new job and hope that those patients love her as much as I know us AVM'ers do!
Cyndi and Mark were in the same day. However she had an earlier check in time and was already talking with Wendy for Anesthia when we got back to my room. I hurried and changed into my glamour gown that I made, and did a big "tada!" to show off my super cool outfit! Derek was the first to see and he really liked it. Then Cyndi & Mark, Rhonda, and a bunch of the nurses. I did a quick stop in the nurses station on my way to the restroom so I could show off a little more! It was a fun little change to the regular hospital day. The ladies all told me how cute it was, and I happily turned around and struck a few poses! I'm such an attention seeker!!! :)
Cyndi got taken back pretty quickly, and I got corralled back to my bed so that I could get set up for treatment. New nurse again this trip. Meagan is very nice and personable AND she is a super duper IV'er! I warned her upfront that I was a difficult patient ONLY for the IV part. And as she started gathering the supplies to do the IV I was a little bossy in telling her to use the blue needle, not the pink, and showing her the typical entry sites. Josh kindly told me to just let her do her job! Anyways, Meagan got it in only ONE poke, without having to dig around to find the vein or anything! Hardly any pain or discomfort from the IV ordeal. At that point I knew this was going to be a good trip. A cute gown, and easy IV...all signs pointed to a good time.
Within a short time, Dr. Qin came in to check in with me for anesthesia. This has been her 3rd time in a row as my partner in blissful sleep! We chatted for a little bit since we were still waiting for the lab to finish up with my blood work. And of course I showed off my gown!!! She said we had the beach room again and soon I was on my way back. Josh stopped in the hallway to give me a quick kiss and good luck, and then I was in the radiology room. Showed off my gown again and explained that I had intended to have a matching surgical cap. However it proved to be harder to make than I anticipated and was still sadly at home incomplete! So one of the anesthesia girls said she had an old one in her locker that she would give me to use as a pattern! How cool is that?!?!? I chatted with the team for a few minutes, flashed the empty control room as I did the crab walk over to the table, and Dr. Qin mentions that she has already shot the medicine into my IV...so I try to remain cognizant and talkative for a few moments, but can feel the dizziness and my lack of ability to hold a real conversation...lights out!
Woke up to Missy as my post op nurse! Last trip she was the new pre-op nurse that Mary was showing the ropes! So that was nice. Nope, I'm fine, no pain, I'm easy. Did you call Josh yet? Heard her tell him I was ok, and then that she was going to see if there was a bed available to put me in for recovery. I pretty much slept through the wait, with the occasional ice chip from Missy! Room ready, and Missy dropped me off for Kim to look after until I could get discharged. Sue was also wandering about and came to visit me a few times both pre & post op! I often have very few memories during the recovery time, and those that I do have our fuzzy at best. Apparently this time, I had a discussion with Kim about the TLC shows Little People Big World, John & Kate plus 8, and even the Duggars which I never watch that one! I have absolutely NO memory of that conversation!
Eric came in to see how I was, said Yakes used 2 coils and 14 cc's of alcohol. We chatted for a few moments, and he confirmed that Julie was really leaving. So sad! He said he was going to miss her as well! I also had to lay flat for 4 hours due to the groin cut from the angio, and of course the closer it got to "times up" the more I needed to use the restroom! luckily Kim let me cheat and gave me my escape about 15 minutes early! On my way back, I stopped again to chat with Cyndi & Mark since Cyndi was waiting for an overnight bed to open up as she always stays the night. Don't forget to check Cyndi's blog and read about her trip experience!
I was ready to go, discharge papers signed, mac & cheese eaten, and real clothes back on. About 6:00 nurse Karen told Josh to go get the car, and she wheeled me down to the pick up area at the main entrance. Back to the condo, rested for a while on the couch, and then off to bed!
I had a lot less swelling this time. My lips and mouth were spared, and the swelling was further off the side by my ear and under my chin. I've added a few pics to my time line slide show. It actually was more swollen two days after embo that the day of or day after. And there was a little swelling inside instead of so much outside. But minimal, with just a few aches that could be cured by Tylenol. I seldom need the Vicodin that they always prescribe, and Eric and I have a little joke going about how I must be selling them on the street! ha ha, can you even imagine??!?
The next day we were up rather early, had breakfast and coffee, and just lounged for a bit until we needed to do chores and head to the airport. But Steph decided that we should try to squeeze in lunch real quick. So we hurried up and met her at the Noodle Co and spent a little bit of time hanging out with her, chatting about the treatments, and she is convinced I must be halfway through! I hope you are right Steph!!!
Back to the condo to finish chores, returned the rental car, and headed off to wait for our plane to take us home. No front row again for me! What the heck?!?! We had a smooth flight, did the crossword puzzle in the back of Spirit Magazine, and got into Sacramento just after nine. Made it home just after ten and I went straight to bed! Picked up our Huddy from Grandma & Grandpa's today...and now we are just all hanging out at home. Quick, uneventful, but good trip!
I'll be back for Trip #14 April 8-10th, so check back in just after that!