I'm not a believer in miracles. I don't follow any religion, pray to any god, or believe in mystical powers. A doubter, that's what I am. What I am also is the luckiest unlucky person I know.
So there was a life threatening aneurysm in my arm. I don't know how long it had been there, but every second it was sitting there in my elbow there was a chance it would blow out and I would die. That's what happens when aneurysms blow - people die. This one didn't. Incredibly lucky it didn't blow, but profoundly bad luck that it was there.
Turns out the aneurysm was putting pressure on an artery and the veins that were carrying blood out of my arm. Since the blood flow was backed up my arm wasn't getting fresh oxygen or properly moving oxygen out, and that was causing the horrible swelling and pain throughout my arm. The danger of the surgery was that in removing the aneurysm the artery (which it was right next to) would be damaged. If that happened it would have to be repaired, and that could go horribly arm resulting in losing my arm.
Well he removed the aneurysm without damaging the artery, and without requiring any kind of graft.
The second threat was a previous plastic tube graft near my wrist had become a host to an infection. It would have to be removed, and the artery it was grafted to repaired just like with my elbow. Also the infected tissue around the plastic graft would have to be removed. If there was too much damaged tissue then, again, amputation becomes the only solution. There was also damaged tissue from previous infection, and from the botched surgery I had in June. It became "very likely" (the doctor's words, not mine) that if the plastic was infected I was going to lose part of my arm.
There was no sign of infection in the old graft.
Again, my perverse luck shows itself. There have been infections there, and cultures showed some sign of infection still in the soft tissue. Minor infections like that are completely treatable. IV antibiotics have been ordered for the next 2 weeks to wipe it all out.
So now I still have my life, and I still have my arm. Removal of the aneurysm seems to have fixed everything. My arm and hand are normal size again. There's no more pain. I don't need to keep my arm elevated at all anymore if I don't feel like it. The gash in my arm from the horrible surgeries in May and June is healing. It's slowly healing (there's still necrotic tissue that's really gross), but I don't need surgery to fix anything else. It looks like, at last, the problem has been resolved.
It's taken almost 18 months, 3 surgeons, 2 hospitals, 4 ER visits, and more pain than I care to ever think about, but it's done. For the first time in a year and a half I can say that I finally feel like I'm really ok.
So there was a life threatening aneurysm in my arm. I don't know how long it had been there, but every second it was sitting there in my elbow there was a chance it would blow out and I would die. That's what happens when aneurysms blow - people die. This one didn't. Incredibly lucky it didn't blow, but profoundly bad luck that it was there.
Turns out the aneurysm was putting pressure on an artery and the veins that were carrying blood out of my arm. Since the blood flow was backed up my arm wasn't getting fresh oxygen or properly moving oxygen out, and that was causing the horrible swelling and pain throughout my arm. The danger of the surgery was that in removing the aneurysm the artery (which it was right next to) would be damaged. If that happened it would have to be repaired, and that could go horribly arm resulting in losing my arm.
Well he removed the aneurysm without damaging the artery, and without requiring any kind of graft.
The second threat was a previous plastic tube graft near my wrist had become a host to an infection. It would have to be removed, and the artery it was grafted to repaired just like with my elbow. Also the infected tissue around the plastic graft would have to be removed. If there was too much damaged tissue then, again, amputation becomes the only solution. There was also damaged tissue from previous infection, and from the botched surgery I had in June. It became "very likely" (the doctor's words, not mine) that if the plastic was infected I was going to lose part of my arm.
There was no sign of infection in the old graft.
Again, my perverse luck shows itself. There have been infections there, and cultures showed some sign of infection still in the soft tissue. Minor infections like that are completely treatable. IV antibiotics have been ordered for the next 2 weeks to wipe it all out.
So now I still have my life, and I still have my arm. Removal of the aneurysm seems to have fixed everything. My arm and hand are normal size again. There's no more pain. I don't need to keep my arm elevated at all anymore if I don't feel like it. The gash in my arm from the horrible surgeries in May and June is healing. It's slowly healing (there's still necrotic tissue that's really gross), but I don't need surgery to fix anything else. It looks like, at last, the problem has been resolved.
It's taken almost 18 months, 3 surgeons, 2 hospitals, 4 ER visits, and more pain than I care to ever think about, but it's done. For the first time in a year and a half I can say that I finally feel like I'm really ok.
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
charlielove:
this is very good to hear.
_tab:
That is fantastic news! 