Keeping track of all the trips

Last week was a “trip.” I had a trip to my dentist, a trip to my family doctor, a trip to the optometrist and a trip to get the metal in my head checked.  When I heard the doctor say, “You’ve had a lot of work done,” I’m sorry to admit that I mixed up the week’s medical players and thought the dentist was talking.

Oops.  Wrong doctor.  Let’s blame it on the relaxation medication I was given.

Aneurysm treatment today involves either metal clips or metal coils. What’s used depends on the shape and size of the aneurysm, the recommendation from the team of doctors and the patient’s final decision.  

Clips are put in place by a neurosurgeon who performs an open craniotomy. It’s a permanent fix that involves about a week of hospitalization.  Altogether I have eight clips.

Coils are done by a neuro interventionist who threads the metal from the femoral artery into the brain aneurysm. I have four coils. This less invasive technique involves just one or two nights in the hospital and recovery is a breeze. The downside is that coils need to be checked every now and then to make sure they are doing their job. They are checked with a cerebral angiogram.

My last cerebral angiogram was 18 months ago. Since then, St. Joseph’s opened its new National Brain Aneurysm Center. What a difference! A procedure I was dreading turned into a trip that was surprisingly easy and pleasant. 

Let’s start with my team of caregivers. They were a perfect blend of kindness, friendliness, humor and exceptional skill. Dr. James Goddard was excellent about getting the job done without any surprising brain burns (the dye burns a little when it hits the brain and it burns a whole lot more when you aren’t expecting it).  Most surprising? The hours spent laying flat in bed after the angiogram were not as boring, noisy and chilly as I remembered. Instead I had a nice lunch, a quiet private room for naps and cable TV, and self-controlled warmth from a fabulous invention called a “warming gown.”

I won’t need another recheck for 18 months, so the results of that medical trip were good as well as pleasant. I wish I could say the same for my last trip of the week.

Two days after the cerebral angiogram, I flew to Pensacola, Florida, to visit my son at the Naval Air Station.  I anticipated a few days of warm fun with a family military ball and Blue Angels soaring through the skies. Instead, Hurricane/Tropical Storm Ida swooped in and stormed out, washing away planned activities and balmy sunshine. With temperatures in Minnesota warmer (and drier) than those in Florida, I wished more than once for the warming gown I had worn at St. Joe’s.