Awake surgery at st luke's

its been a while since ive been on the site. i had "awake surgery" with dr duckworth in houston/st lukes late april. i had an initial embolization in 7/2012 (with dr ameer hassan) and had residual avm that needed more treatment. i chose surgery instead of cyberknife, even though i would rather not have had to pick. with the surgery, everything went well and i spoke at a stroke symposium 15 days after my surgery. i received a standing ovation after i presented! i would be willing to share my experience with others going through the same thing. during surgery, they brought me out of anesthesia and they connected me to my brother in the waiting room. i had a 30 second cell phone conversation with him while the "team" monitored me. i need a f/u angio to see that my residual avm is gone. wish me luck!