As promised, a quick health update from the halls of Hennepin Healthcare. I’m still wearing my prism glasses to treat double vision, but ophthalmologist Dr. Amy Chang is happy with the progress so far. She has reduced the strength of the lens twice now and said I can stop bi-weekly occupational therapy after my next appointment later this week. The hope is still to get to no glasses by October, but surgical options remain available if it takes longer than that. I can read my phone without them now and my left eye is really good at seeing far away, while my right is better close up. This has been mildly annoying, but my first attempt at golf while wearing glasses went much better than expected.
Last week’s big news was a successful third cerebral angioplasty to assess the stent and arteries in my head. The procedure had more risk than I realized before getting there (about a 1% chance of the catheter breaking something loose that would cause a stroke), but vascular neurosurgeon Dr. Adam Khan calmly explained everything before I signed the release form. It really amazes me that they can run a tube up the 8mm-wide artery in my leg, past my heart, up to my brain, inject contrast and take an x-ray of the blood vessels in my head. Science, for the win!
With the stent looking good and no signs of other aneurysms, they took me off the blood thinner. Neurologist Dr. Ann Hoang-Tienor has been managing my seizure care, which consists of anti-seizure medication and a review of activities that may be dangerous. At our last appointment, the doctor reduced my dosage a second time (with a goal of eliminating it altogether). She also gave the green light to all outside activities (with the exception of swimming alone), so I purchased a new bike helmet and ordered a new bike that will hopefully arrive in time for the bike challenge at work. Still haven’t returned to any alcohol yet, but she said it would be OK to take it slow and see how my head reacts. I’ve never been a big drinker, but these six months have really revealed what a huge part alcohol plays in fine dining and in many social situations.
Continued thanks to the staff at Hennepin Healthcare and everyone out there who has supported my recovery (and our family).
