After an extremely speedy 4 hours, I was back in my 'own bed' in our hotel room. The doctors told my parents not to let me fall asleep for long periods of time, to make sure I stayed extremely hydrated and to keep an eye on me to make sure I was alive at all times! I want to thank my Mom for doing such a great job at that. I was obviously exhausted and every time I started to drift off into sleepy-land there she was, calling my name and sitting me up to drink more water. If anyone's ever in need of a personal caretaker or in-home nurse contact me for her number. She's very attentive and persistent! :)
Besides being a little dopey, I had a huge bandage on my groin to show for what I had just endured. As I said before, access to my neck veins were through my femoral vein near my groin to be as minimally invasive as possible. Because the wound was still very fresh, I had to make sure that I didn't move around too much. The blood had clotted properly after surgery but too much movement could cause it to 'spring a leak', as the doctors referred to it! Anytime I wanted to bend at the hip, I had to push extremely hard on the bandage. This was a little painful and annoying, especially when walking. For this reason, I stayed in my hotel room all day and took it easy. 24 hours after the procedure, I was able to shower and remove the bandage. I contemplated posting this next picture at first, but wanted you all to see how amazingly small the incision was...... The aftermath bruising was more vicious than the wound itself!
They told me to take it easy with foods at first... start with something liquid and slowly upgrade to solids when my stomach could handle it. After the procedure and for the rest of the day I had a smoothie and some cheese and crackers. Nothing too heavy, but I found that I wasn't very hungry anyway... (It may of had something to do with the liter after liter of water that mom had me drinking. My belly literally didn't have any room left for food!)
The next day was a beautiful California day, apparently above seasonal temperatures for that time of year. It reached above 100 Fahrenheit. Unlike most people with MS, I've never really had any issues with the heat (thank god, cause I love summertime and traveling down south). For someone living with MS, being exposed to heat would normally cause their already existing symptoms to worsen, they bodies to feel like mush and cause them the inability to think clearly. Fortunately, heat intolerance is a symptom that has had good results in going away after treatment for CCSVI. And being that this treatment is in Sunny California, it's a symptom that people can notice right away if it's disappeared and enjoy a little sightseeing!
So the day after the procedure (the day it was above 100 degrees), I felt good enough to get out for some fresh air. We drove down to Newport Beach pier which was just a 10 minute from the hotel. The sun was nice and it felt good to walk around, but looking back it was probably a little too much, too soon. I tried to eat but couldn't stomach my meal and the bit of walking made me really dizzy. The outing wasn't a complete bust though... I got my little bit of souvenir shopping done and got to eat lunch on the pier from the popular TV show, The O.C. - the Bait Shop :)
At 2pm that day, I had a follow-up appointment at Synergy. Dr. Harris couldn't make the appointment because he was in surgery elsewhere, but one of his colleagues was there to answer any and all of our questions. I had prepared a list of questions regarding after-care, follow-up care, exercise, sleeping positions, blood thinners, things to avoid, things to do and anything else I could think of. The doctor went through the findings of the procedure and then answered everything to our liking. We were given multiple phone number and contacts in case anything went wrong, or in case we had any concerns when we got back home. The doctor also gave me a CD with my MRV results, ultrasound images and short 2-second videos of the actual angioplasty taking place. I also left the clinic with a 2 months supply of blood thinners that I paid out of pocket for because I was scared my GP wouldn't prescribe them for me once I got home.
Now I have to use this space to say how absolutely wonderful Synergy was during this experience. They had all the bases covered, with every aspect of my trip to Orange County. I couldn't have been more pleased with my decision in picking this clinic and my surgeon. Two thumbs up to an amazing team of doctors and staff! If anyone is reading this who's on the fence about the CCSVI procedure and if/where they should get it done, feel free to PM me for more details. This is a link to an amazingly well-done video Synergy just had made about their clinic. Check out my (very hunky) doctor, Dr. Todd Harris, seen at exactly 1:00 min in: http://www.synergyhealthconcepts.com/synergy/
Mom and Dad left California on Thursday (2 days after my procedure) and I stayed one more night until Friday (because I was told not to leave the area until 3 days post-procedure). They took all my heavy luggage with them so that flying alone on Friday would be as easy as possible for me.
Travel day on Friday was tough but I managed just fine. It was definitely good to be home.. in my actual own bed!
H. xo
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