I look back over the past 2 years with the images in my mind. It is like looking at a photo albumn that has snapshots of the journey. Some of the moments bring a smile to my face and others a tear to my eye. I am grateful that I have the memories.
It all started with a normal day, or at least normal for me. My morning started like any other with putting my son's needs and those of my clients first. I was rushing to get my job done and all the while being unkind to myself. I was neglecting the most basic of needs, food. It was 3:00 on Thursday March 17, 2010. I was wearing green to celcbrate the festivities of the day. I was doing a perm. I fell and as I was falling I can remember thinking, "why am I falling? Why don't you catch yourself? What just happened?" My body didn't resond to any of the questions reeling through my mind. The the next thought, "I don't have time for this! I have to finish the client because she has a chemical on her head, I have to keep her safe."
This moment brings a tear to my eye. I finished the client with a towel on my head wound, one that required stitches and a CAT scan. She left me to tend to her days events. I called my finance' and told him I fell and now I can not think, please think for me. He, the hopital adminastrator, told me to call him when I was done at the hospital, that was his help. My son arrived home from school. He was 16 at the time. My son took one look at me and assumed the responsibilty of my safety. This memory brings another tear to my eye a because as of that moment I realized my son was my hero.
The hours, days, weeks and months that followed were surreal. I had a ticking time bomb in my head and yet I was suppose to think clearly about the daily tasks as well as choose my form of treatment. I was told due to my age, the size of the AVM and it's prior slight bleed I had a 13% survival rate without surgery. The race was on! I had to do what I could to minimize this thing in my head and it's life threat as my Hero, my son, needed me as I needed him that day.