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Comment by Ksucat on February 11, 2013 at 1:45pm

Comment by Ksucat on February 11, 2013 at 1:44pm

Dakota--how did your appointment go?

Comment by SlowLights on February 9, 2013 at 9:51pm

Thanks for your comment A. Collins. I am so glad to hear that flying may be a reality for me. I'm really looking forward to my follow up just to know more about my situation.

Thanks for everything : )

Comment by A Collins on February 9, 2013 at 5:56pm

Dakota--I've had 3 Gamma Knife treatments for my AVM & a craniotomy for my ansurysms.

They don't actually drill into your head for the GK. They do use a torque wrench (which you can't really see at the time) & they kind of screw the pins in--they go through the skin & just to the skull. Prior to that, they'll inject lidocaine into the pin sites to deaden the areas. The lidocaine shots actually hurt worse than the pins going in.

And believe me--GK is WAY easier & less painful than a crani! Since the first 2 GKs & the crani, I have flown 3 times--no big deal. I live outside of Houston, and I've flown to California, New Orleans, and Puerto Rico in the past year. Really, the only thing I haven't been able to do is SCUBA. And I used the AVM & annies as a good excuse to decline to participate in the staff vs. student dodgeball game at the high school where I teach.

Comment by SlowLights on February 9, 2013 at 4:52pm

I have had a very similar experience with KU Med. I spent from December 30th to January 20th there. My parents talked to a Neurosurgeon once or twice in the first three days after I was admitted into the hospital. After that, there was no contact.

When I left the hospital from the rehabilitation center I was given little no information on my restrictions, didn´t get an oppurtunity to speak to a neurosurgeon and pretty much had to find all of this information through others and this site.

However, as you mentioned, the nurses and janitorial staff at KU Med are great! I know I gave them far more grief than they deserved, but they still maintained a great nurse-patient relationship with both myself and family.

Really my opinion of KU Med will be largely determined by this follow up appointment now that I am more aware of what is going on. As nerve racking as the follow up is, I feel optimistic that they´ll answer my questions and treat me well....Still nervous about the Gamma Knife procedure, however. If that is how they choose to treat me.

Comment by Ksucat on February 9, 2013 at 3:41pm

I hope you are getting better care than I did at KU Med. Neurosurgeon never returns calls and then sends me to other doctors for treatment without talking to them or sending records before hand. The only positive has been the great nurses who are patient and will take their time to talk to me.

Good luck to you. Believe me the screws in the head are really not that big of a deal compared to all the other things. Don't sweat the small stuff. Just imagine how much better you will feel after the treatment is all over.

As for the radiation it is out patient and your life should return to normal. If you see Dr. Wang he will explain everything and take his time to answer all questions. His staff is also awesome. I have called his office a couple of times for questions even though I am going elsewhere for treatment. He personally calls me back.