More Observations

Yesterday I noticed how crisp, clear and bright things are. If you would have asked me before the procedure if the sight in my right eye was somehow dimmer, I would have said no. It is subtle, but there is a difference, like switching from a normal TV to a high def TV. I have also noticed a slight improvement in my left eye, nothing miraculous, but I think it's a good sign that my eye will improve over time. Also I have climbed the stairs today without really noticing. I used to feel like there were rubber bands attached to the bottom floor and every step got harder and harder and when I made it to the top I felt I needed a rest. I didn't even think about the climb when I got to the top today, I just went on with my business. These are small things, but encouraging. The big miraculous thing will be having the progression stop! That would be incredible and allow me to live an amazingly normal life.

I tried to take it easy yesterday, but with three kids it's hard to do. My incision got really sore by the end, but it feels fine now.

I will be scheduling my MRI and MRV today. I haven't had one since my diagnosis and the MRV will help the doctor see how well the repair went. I'm not really looking forward to another 48 hours of pumping and dumping. It is so much easier to just feed her, plus my pump doesn't work very well.

Improvements

I noticed two things last night that I feel point to proper blood flow. Several times a day my ears would ring, for seemingly no reason, they have not rung since the procedure! Also, every night as I layed there trying to sleep I would feel and hear a strong pulse in my head. I tried to hear that last night and I couldn't! Even laying very still and listening very quietly, all I could feel was the very slight beat of my heart, just as it should be.

Liberated and I'm Feeling Good!

I went into the hospital at 8:30 this morning to have angioplasty on my veins. Everything went really well. The doctor did a very thorough job of looking at all of my cerebral veins again and took lots of pressure measurements to make sure all was open and flowing as it should, which meant a lot of holding my breathe. He found that my jugular vein wasn't narrowed as they thought. He said the other doctor must have had the catheter up too high in the vein and caused the reflux that he had seen. The azygos vein was narrowed though and he did balloon that area.

At one point during the procedure I felt a lot of pressure and some pain in my chest, I mentioned it and they said they were ballooning it right then. They put a lot more catheters in and out this time, different lengths and sizes and I could feel them being more rough. That is pretty much the only place I am sore right now, just above my leg where they were inserting it.

I'm not sure if I feel any different yet. The sedation and anesthetic made me pretty tired and I have been trying to take it easy today. I think only time will tell. My mom made the analogy of unwatered, brown grass. Even after you have watered it, it still takes a week or two to green up again. I do feel a little clearer, not in eyesight but in awareness, if that makes sense, but I haven't tried to do much and it has only been 7 hours.

I am on blood thinners for a month. I have to inject myself with Lovenox twice a day for a week and then take Plavix for a month. The doctor checked and said both are ok for breastfeeding.
They are expensive meds, over $1,000 just for Lovenox, but my insurance paid for all but $250. I've never injected myself before, I hope I can do it tonight.

Two Month Check Up

Claire had her 2 month doctor's appointment yesterday. She is little, coming in at 9lbs 9oz. The doctor is not concerned because she is well proportioned and meets all of the cognitive mile stones. He even says she seems advanced and cautioned me that she might end up being an early walker.

They clipped her tongue yesterday, she screamed for a lot longer than a newborn would, poor thing. I should have had him do it at the first appointment, but she is fine now. But she is constipated, it's been almost a week since she's pooped and I just started feeding her a little bit of watered down apple juice to get her to go.

She is so sweet. We all love her so much.

My Next Venogram

I talked to Dr. Hatch yesterday. He said he has been studying my images and found my jugular vein is significantly narrowed right at the valve at the top of the vein. He didn't notice it at first because it is common for valves to be narrower than the rest of the vein, but not this much. He also found a couple places in my azygos vein (the one that drains the spine) that are narrowed and can be opened also.
It is good news that he found something to fix. My next venogram is scheduled for November 22, the Monday before Thanksgiving. I plan on taking it easier this time during recovery. The last venogram through me for a loop. I should feel better within a week or two and hopefully I will have more energy and stop the progression of MS. Wahoo!

3 is the azygos vein.
I guess mine isn't nice and smooth like that if it has a couple of narrow spots.

First Captured Smile

I finally caught a smile on camera. Not a great one, but cute. It is hard to get good pics of babies.

I also made her some leg warmers. I wrote about them on my craft blog: buzzaboutbaby.blogspot.com

8 Weeks Old Already!

These past 8 weeks have gone by so fast. We are really enjoying our Claire Bear. She has smiled at us everyday since she was 5 weeks old, though we haven't caught one on camera yet.

Yes, she is in our bathroom sink in this picture. And the blow dryer is on, resting on the counter. It is the only way I can put her down without her crying while I get ready in the morning.
She loves to be held!

She is a little girl, I'm not sure how much she weighs, I'm guessing right around 10 lbs, but she doesn't fit any of the 0-3 months clothes yet. And the big news is that she slept through the night for the first time last night! Just yesterday I told my sister-in-law that she wasn't ready to do that yet. Maybe just hearing that it was possible helped both Claire and I to not get up in the night. I hope she keeps it up.

We haven't been getting many pictures of her. Just busy with three kids I guess. I am surprised she has slept on her own this long to allow me to write a couple of blog posts.