Preparation

“Let’s get this over with” became a recurring phrase after my angiogram follow-up appointment.

This appointment took place just a few days after the angiogram, making it early November. Dr. B. was of course straightforward and told me that he wanted surgery to happen in December or January.

At this appointment, I got an idea of what surgery would all entail. I would be having an embolization the day before surgery, which is a procedure that helps cut off blood supply in the AVM. Then, I would stay overnight at the hospital and have surgery the following morning, which would take several hours.

Two weeks after my angio follow up, I met with Dr. P., the radiologist who would do the embolization. Here, he walked me through the basics of an embolization and did some simple nerve function tests. After this appointment, I felt pretty prepared for surgery.

All we had to do was wait for everything to be authorized by insurance and for the hospital to have an operation room open. Finally, on November 27, I got a call during class saying my surgery was going to happen December 14th, with my arriving at the hospital on December 13th for the embolization. I was so relieved to have the date set!

I finished the semester two weeks early, on November 30th, so I could go home and prepare for surgery. The first week of December included several doctor appointments, where Dr. B hashed out the final details to try to help ease my anxiety. I also met with my regular doctor, where I was officially cleared for surgery, and had just a few blood tests.

The week of surgery I had a functional MRI, a special MRI where I would move my hands and feet, make facial expressions, read, and simply think! This would let us know if the doctors needed to avoid certain areas while removing the AVM and would help us know if I was going to have any problems with movement of speech post-op.

On December 12, we had a big family dinner before we headed to bed early, as my parents and I would be up at 3 a.m. to head for the hospital. We also finally publicly announced my brain surgery to everyone, and asked that people wear the AVM awareness color, burgundy and post pictures with #BurgundyforAmy.

I was very ready to get everything over with!