Bridget's Surgery Updates: 250

Thursday, July 12, 2012

250

Dear readers! Times have been busy lately. Bridget's sister, Sihu, and her fiance Joshua arrived two days ago from Norway. And Bridget is so active these days it's hard to find free time to post! Which is a good thing.

Anyway, just a short post for tonight. The exciting news: Today Bridget walked a total of about 250 feet! The day before she about 140, so that's a significant improvement! But that wiped her out pretty good, and so she had an early bed time tonight.

There haven't been any huge improvements in Bridget's sensation, but little sensations here and there have come back. She finds them hard to describe, as their not exactly like normal sensation, but she can feel "something".

The double vision is still a problem, and her vertigo has increased somewhat of late. Probably all of her increased activity with walking and spending more time sitting is shifting things around in her brain, which makes her a bit more dizzy. But hopefully this a good thing in the long run!

OK, more in a few days.

2 comments:

Alicia CravenJuly 13, 2012 at 11:17 AM
250--hot dog! That's awesome. Great to have more family around to cheer her on, as well.
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Emily NeuhausJuly 14, 2012 at 11:26 AM
Good work, Bridget!! You're doing great!! Excited to see you soon!
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What is a cavernous malformation, and why does it need to be removed?

A cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) is a vascular abnormality shaped like a raspberry, that sometimes can develop spontaneously in an otherwise healthy brain. Bridget has one in her brain stem, on the left side of her pons.

These CCMs will sometimes leak out blood, and when they do, they cause neurological problems, sort of like having a small stroke. Bridget's has bled twice now, and doctors suspect that it will continue to bleed. To try to prevent future neurological problems from developing, it makes sense for it to be surgically removed.

What will surgery and recovery be like?

Surgery will cause Bridget to have some neurological problems like facial numbness and vertigo. There is some chance that she will also have facial muscle weakness, double vision, weakness/numbness in one arm and leg, or hearing loss after surgery. Hopefully most or all of these problems will go away with time.

She will also have a lot of fatigue, and will have to heal from the incision and from the removal and replacement of a "bone flap" in her skull.

If everything goes well, she will be feeling good enough to be out and about after a month, and closer to normal after 3-6 months.