2 months pos-op and doing great!

Hello everyone! Sandra is now 2 months post-op, and she is doing fantastic. We could not be happier. We had that little dilemma post-op with the Keppra causing her all kind of problems, so we switched her to Topamax and she is a new person. Topamax is working just fine with her so far, thank God. She has virtually no side effects from the surgery at all other than maybe a little minuscule short term memory issue, and in school she has a little more trouble reading because the words seem to jump around a little in her head. This also manifasts in her writing as well. But all of this is very minor and the doctors are saying that it will get better in time. She is back in school, and will be graduating with her Master's Degree in May, on time with her class! Also, what we were so terrified of before surgery was her singing ability,since her avm was on the r. temporal lobe and this is where her music center is, well....Dr.Bendok is a genious!!! He approached her surgery in a very different and unique way in order to preserve her singing. So, Sandra sings better than ever, and she will be able to complete her Graduate recital on March 9 th 3 months after craniotomy. We are so proud, and so greatful to her doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hosp. I know a lot of you are still struggling with this aweful disease, but technology is getting better and there are doctors out there that are super-specialist in this field so there is hope for all of us. Wish you all the best, God Bless,

YAY, Maria on Sandra's successful surgery!!!
May she continue to do well & thrive!
Thanks for sharing. :)

Congratulations and continued good wishes for your daughter's health and happiness!

That is great news! Super Hurrah!

Thanks so much Patti, all the best to you as well. :)

Thank you very much Dancermom, and I wish you great success in your son's care as well. I hope soon you will find the right treatment that works in his case. Best wishes!

Ninibeth! :} How are you? Good to hear from you. Yes she is very happy and proud of herself and we are of her as well. We are very strong and positive thinking people, and Sandra was not going to let this bring her down. Yes the words gets mixed up in her head, so we still have to proof read her papers,( sometimes it looks like a puzzle) LOL,and sometimes she has to search for a word, but interestingly enough, when she sings, she has no problem with the languages at all, not even foreign languages. Go figure...But all in all she is doing great. Thanks for all your support in my darkest hours of fear and despair. I am very proud of you too for your accomplishment of your Master's degree. You are a little fighter too, like my Sandy. :) God Bless you sweetie

Hello Barabara. Thanks so much, indeed we are very happy for the great outcome. As you remember I was so scared, and so devastated to hear of this diagnosis AVM for my daughter, AVM which I never even knew ever existed. Not knowing anything, made me even more scared. So in my search on the web, I've found you guys, and it was a blessing. You were so helpful instantly with a wealth of information, just as I needed it, when I needed it. Thank you for that. Everyone int this site was super helpful and gracious and understating. Thank you all for helping this frightened mom through some rough times. God Bless!