Things Are Looking Up Health Wise

Well, I saw my neurologist today. It was potentially my last step in this battle I've fought for 20.5 months.

I had noticed that my symptoms had been waning since I began getting weened off a medication I had been taking for 11 years, tegretol, and being placed on another, lamictal. This trend has continued over the past month or two.

All I needed was to get a third opinion on what I should do from here. One neurosurgeon in Columbus stated that I shouldn't bother getting surgery around my spine, because the AVM (arteriovenous malformation) was not active and there would really be no point in my doing so. A neurosurgeon in Cleveland took the direct opposite angle and said if the AVM was active, it would get progressively worse, to the point where I could lose my legs and he'd recommend an angiogram to make certain AVM was present and if it was, to seriously consider surgery.

So, I asked my neurologist his opinion on the matter and he confidently sided with the Columbus neurosurgeon. He said there was no evidence of the AVM being active and due to that, he saw no reason to risk having surgery around my spine. If the AVM happened to be active, then I'd have something to think about, but based on what we know, there's no proof of that.

This was indeed a relief. As I told people with regard to the appointment, I was cautiously optimistic about it, because I know I am feeling better and if things supposedly get progressively worse with AVM being active, it was difficult for me to believe that it is in fact active. I also had a hunch that my doctor, not being a neurosurgeon excited about operating, would give me a more unbiased opinion than the two neurosurgeons I saw.

I can finally move forward with my life. For a little over a year and a half, I've been stuck in my household, unable to do a whole lot, uncertain of my future and seriously wondering if I'd ever attain happiness again. On February 10th of 2011, I got the final word, breathed a heavy sigh of relief, closed my eyes and tried to hold back the tears, before opening them and looking ahead.