I haven't been on this site for months...you tend to drift away when everything is going really well!
My brother is now over 10 months post-surgery for two cranial AVMs. It was his second surgery...first was when he was a toddler. Coming out of the last surgery, he couldn't speak properly, slept most of the time, couldn't walk...the list goes on. Now, he has a slight weakness on his right side, which is mainly in his right hand, and has some aphrasia and apraxia of speech, but nothing that most people would notice. Yesterday he actually went for a run!
His neurologist switched his medication from Dilantin to Tegretol, as they expect him to be on it for a few years, which is apparently how long it will take for his brain tissue to recover from the surgery.
Everything seemed to be going really well, until his recent cerebral angiogram; he'd asked for it to be bumped up from May, his one-year anniversary from surgery, to March as he was planning on moving to another country. Unfortunately, it's come back showing that there is still some AVM left. After everything he's been through, this was a big blow. His neurosurgeon has recommended radiation, which we know nothing about, IF the AVM is large enough to treat...it's been a bit of a shock. Now we're waiting for him to have an MRI and CT scan to determine if they can treat this thing for the third time.
But, we remain positive. We've been blessed before, and we will be blessed again.