A different experience

Continuing the discussion from Gamma Knife:

Hello Richard,

I am here to share my experience if that could be beneficial to the community. But my case is different, at least has been till now!
I had a ruptured brain AVM on 12th July 20222, when they did an angiogram to find out more about it. They had planned to find the source of bleeding and embolize at the same time, but since they found considerable blood in a pool, that is known as hematoma, they postponed the embolization procedure till the hematoma had resolved as expected to occur in a few weeks.

The neurosurgeon looked at the angiogram and told me that my AVM was in the right temporal lobe, that he referred to as a non eloquent area of the brain. He explained to me that it should not affect any of my thinking or language abilities, which are managed in the left temporal lobe.

Embolization was scheduled for 18th August 2022 and it was uneventful. They used liquid Onyx for the process. During the post op review, I was given the option of Gamma knife for removing any residual AAVM, or wait and watch and have a follow-up angiogram after one year. I chose the latter. We are now in March 2023, and I am waiting for my angiogram to take place in August.

Till now I have not experienced any memory issues, or any physical discomforts like headache, etc. I am 81 years old , and simply thank the almighty for keeping me safe till now.

In my opinion, although many may not believe in it, spirituality plays an important role in supporting good health and keeping you out of trouble. I practice some form of energy healing, and I am learning Reiki now. I also do an hour of meditation every morning, when I am submerged in prayer and the universal energy.

I would suggest these are very useful and easy methods to follow daily in life. It may just need some reading, thinking and modifying your belief system.

I pray for all of you today and every day too.

God bless
Anand

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Hi Anand, Thanks for posting your words. The spiritual aspect is important for me to make sense of having seizures/AVM/craniotomies for 49 years. (I’m 63) Daily meditation and some awareness/wisdom is a way for me to grow and not get bitter or angry because of a feeling of unfairness. (I’ve done that plenty, and it’s not helpful for anyone around me.)
Learning to accept the fear is the journey for me-- not fighting it because there are times when it kicks in and I can’t vanquish it.
There’s lots of spiritual questions that arise like, “Why me?” or “What did I do to “deserve” this?”… Then, sometimes, the process leads in a good direction of empathy, compassion and kindness. That’s why I like this site. People like us can share a bit of helpful insight. Best wishes, Greg

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Hi Greg, Thank you for your words in support of spirituality. I was happy to note that it is helping you face fear and move on with life with compassion and gratitude.

I am sure it will carry you a long way. Best wishes for a wonderful life ahead!

SIncerely,
Anand

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Anand,

Hello again! It is good to hear from you (and I am glad you got through the embolisation well; I hope the few words I shared with you back in August helped you to get through better than otherwise).

Honestly, I think your experience is very much the same as a whole bunch of people here, other than you’ve discovered your AVM at a much more advanced age than most of us. And I agree about spirituality or a belief or the simple act of sharing with someone else how you are getting on as very helpful means to cope with various of the challenges that life throws at us.

As a principle, this site tries to be open to everyone expressing their own beliefs (and those who do not believe) in their own space, without us treading on each other’s toes or imposing our views on anyone else. I agree that these things are important, not least at the point that we are having to face significant health risks, etc. However, discussion of religion can get into a tangle from time to time, so it is an area that the moderators keep an eye on.

I hope you continue to be well and your planned angiogram gives good news: you will tell us how you get on, won’t you?

Best wishes,

Richard

HI Richard,

Thanks for your comments in response to my notes on a different experience. I hope by wiring about spirituality I have not stepped on anyone’s religious beliefs. I am sure most of the folks know that religion and spirituality are two different things, and I was talking of only spirituality, which is my favorite topic, and not religion.

Thank you for your good wishes and I hope that my next angiogram will reveal that my AVM is obliterated, a good possibility as per many medical journal articles I have researched.

Best wishes-
Anand

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No. All I mean is that it is a difficult subject which different people take in different ways. Since you have introduced it in your own thread, it is fine.

Welcome to the family & glad to read you are doing well!

I think I took my spirituality to a new level during my AVM battle that is also still a big part of me today after near 13 years later… I believe positive energy and thoughts were also the key… God bless!

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Thank you, Adrian for your good wishes. I hope your battle with AVM is over by now, since 13 years have passed! You have a golden heart and I wish you the best!!

God Bless you too…

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