| I too am a cavernous malformation survivor. I was 43 years old, on New Years Eve 2007. I started the day feeling sick and dizzy. By that afternoon I could not stand, talk, walk or visually focus on anything. I had severe headaches for several years but I attributed them to my hectic work schedule and being a mother of twin 6 year olds. But this time it was different. It wasn’t just a headache; I felt like I was dying and couldn’t talk to explain myself. Once at the hospital the MRI clearly showed bleeding in my brain so I was rushed into ICU. I can’t remember too much after that, but do have “blips” of memories. I was transferred to one of the bigger hospitals in Houston a few days after that where specialists finally determined the best course of action, which was surgery. My husband was given the news along with all the possible outcomes. A few weeks later I woke up, having just had surgery. I felt as if I was a computer that had just been rebooted; Slow, but finally awake! Over the next year, I had to relearn how to talk, walk, write, feed and care for myself. The first time I walked I felt as if the floor was loaded on springs and I was trying not to fall off. This eventually got better. My eyes could not focus on anything and I felt like they were bouncing in all different directions every time I tried to focus or look at someone. The hospital would put my food in front of me, but I couldn’t use the fork. I was scared, confused and worried about what was ahead of me. I tried to research the diagnosis of “cavernous malformation” but there wasn’t much about it. So instead I just pushed forward and prayed I would get better and that this would not happen to me again. So today I am a different “me” than I was in 2007. Some dizziness and lethargy seem to be my daily struggles, but other than that I have very few issues and I thank God every day for the second chance I was given at life. Here are a few pictures of me, the first is 2 weeks before my surgery, then 2 weeks after my surgery. |